Our goal is to increase a national dialogue on the Tobin Tax proposal by raising awareness and education among grassroots organizations, opinion leaders, and policymakers in the United States. TTI-USA also acts in solidarity and cooperation with international efforts to get Tobin-style taxes adopted around the world.
The TTI-USA is a program of the International Innovative Revenue Project (IIRP-see below) which in turn is a project of the Center for Environmental Economic Development.
Since the Tobin Tax Initiative began in spring 1998, we have worked to build networks and coalitions as well as to educate and outreach. By March 1999, we were able to form an ad-hoc National Advisory Committee for the Tobin Tax Initiative, with representatives and supporters from 80 organizations. After that we instigated the formation of the TSAN (Tax Speculation Action Network, see below) which held its first meeting in March 2000. TTI-USA is a member of TSAN and helps to coordinate the network, along with several other active organizations.
In addition to our other activities, we publish a monthly email newsletter, the Tobin Tax Update, to keep you informed of the latest events. To get on our email list, contact the initiative or write to us at cecilr@humboldt1.com or at TTI-USA, P.O.Box 4167, Arcata, CA 95518-4167.
Our mission is to increase citizen awareness of the need for international public revenue and expenditures, so that worthy projects to alleviate poverty and reverse environmental degradation may be enacted. We do this by focusing attention on various innovative concepts for generation of revenue through international cooperation: concepts such as the Tobin Tax. We also engage in research and encourage citizen policy formation and participation. We oversee the work of the Tobin Tax Initiative-USA (see above). For more details on the research of the IIRP, see our Innovative Approaches to Revenue section, which will link you to research about other innovative ideas besides the Tobin Tax proposal.
A new approach to funding global priorities... In the emerging context of a globalized economy, there is still a lack of funds for urgent global priorities. Global problems such as poverty and hunger, population growth and unemployment, global climate change, deforestation, declining fisheries and pollution threaten local communities worldwide. Projects which could help to address environmental degradation, provide disaster aid, combat poverty and create jobs could cost $400 to $600 billion annually. Between national foreign aid and private donors, the need is not met, and some nations continue to cut back on aid budgets. New approaches to international public finance will provide part of the answer, through the international cooperation of governments and parliaments. Sizable amounts of additional revenue for local projects around the world will help turn the tide towards global solutions now, in the 21st century...
The IIRP began as a local project in Arcata, California, as a collaborative effort between a local nonprofit group and some faculty members from Humboldt State University . We then established a Local Advisory Committee, in February 1998. This Local Advisory Committee acted as founding members of IIRP, and saw the need to move to a regional approach in order to reach more people. To support the beginning of the Tobin Tax Initiative, we then formed a Regional Advisory Committee in San Francisco made up of grassroots leadership from labor, indigenous, environmental, ecumenical, and globalization/economics groups. The RAC-SF as a group wrote the Tobin Tax Initiative List of Principles, one of the first citizen platforms specific to Tobin-style taxes. The Regional Committees work on policy analysis, regional education, and advocacy.
There are four components of the work of IIRP. They are listed here, with links to other pages on our website:
IIRP Project Director: Ruthanne Cecil, JD
Faculty Advisor and Research Director: Albert Harris, Ph.D, Humboldt
State University, Government and Politics
CEED Executive Director: Daniel M. Ihara, Ph.D., Economics
Local Advisory Committee members
Regional Advisory Committee - SF
The International Innovative Revenue Project is a project of the Center for Environmental Economic Development (CEED). Our contact information:
IIRP/CEED
P.O. Box 4167
Arcata, CA, 95518-4167
tel (707) 822-8347
fax (707) 822-4457
e-mail: cecilr@humboldt1.com
After two years of meeting informally, those groups with an interest in Tobin Taxes and taxing speculation, formed a national steering committee in the US, called TSAN (Tax Speculation Action Network). We meet twice a year in person, once in Washington DC or New York and once in San Francisco or Seattle, and between times by conference calls as needed. Still in our formation, we learn and strategize, rather than engage in public position-taking. During the recent April 2000 mobilization we met twice in DC, on March 29 and April 11. Interested organizational representitives are encouraged to contact us for more information.
TTI-USA acts in partnership and solidarity with our sister campaign organizations around the world, including:
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The Tobin Tax Initiative is a project of the Center for Environmental Economic Development.