Saturday, January 24, 2015

The State of Our Union Is Hopeful

NETWORK is a Catholic Social Justice Lobby in Washington, DC.  They issued a superb press release on President Obama's recent State of the Union Address.
President Obama's State of the Union Address last night was an eloquent call to renew our nation's values. Are we to continue as a country where only the super-rich do well, or one where all have a fair shot? Will we support structures that foster hope, human dignity, equality and community or be a nation mired in fear and divisions? Critical questions, all.

During this time of renewed economic growth, we agree with the president that our tax code must be fixed so all pay their fair share. As he stated, the tax code we have now is filled with loopholes that benefit corporations and "giveaways" for very wealthy people who don't need them. This exacerbates an economy of exclusion.

In its place, we need a tax structure that raises needed revenue for investments in people, with the greatest contributions from those who have benefited most from the economy. Simply put, that means closing unfair loopholes that further enrich our nation's wealthiest people and corporations. It also means increasing taxes on capital gains. It is a fact that just 400 top earners, far fewer than 1% of all taxpayers, earn 12% of capital gains. And yet they are taxed at rates much lower than people who earn far less. That is wrong.
Read more: http://conta.cc/1BgnkeZ


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