Sunday, August 05, 2012

Building an Economy for ALL

-- Invest $250 billion per year for the next six years to rebuild our nation’s crumbling roads, bridges, ports, airports and public transportation systems. -- Favor workers over Wall Street. Ensure the Federal Reserve’s policies and priorities promote full employment—jobs for all who want them. -- Implement a financial transaction tax to discourage short-term speculation and reduce the chance of financial crises. -- Free government from corporate interests by reinstating the firewalls between investment and banking. -- End the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. The Bush tax cuts are the largest single contributor to our current revenue shortfall. A NEW DOCUMENT, “Prosperity for All,” written for a leading think tank, contains the above policy recommendations, and dozens more. It is not for nothing that the introduction to the paper says the authors “present a bold new vision of our economy.” You can download the document from the Economic Policy Institute’s website (EPI.org). On July 31, in its downtown Washington headquarters, the EPI hosted a special briefing by one of the co-authors, Professor Andrew Hacker. The event, including a discussion period, was moderated by EPI President Lawrence Mishel. Read more!