The USA prides itself as being the richest nation on earth, yet we have the lowest ratings among industrial nations on what matters most to the citizenry. No universal health system, no national day care for our children, no federally mandated paid leave for mothers or fathers with newborn children ... All free and paid by taxes in other countries. Those taxes surprisingly are no greater than those currently paid by U.S. citizens. One big difference is the massive inequity in our tax system, favoring the rich and corporations. TrumpƵs 2017 tax law, his only legislative Ƶachievement,Ƶ broadened the divide between the rich and the poor. (Trump paid $750 in federal taxes in 2016!). Today, the U.S. gap is now close to the top, closing in on South Africa, China, India and Brazil. And the disparity has increased dramatically in the last 50 years. The rich richer, the poor poorer.
Simply put, it is time for the rich to pay their dues in the country that made them wealthy. Not a ƵcommunistƵ or ƵsocialistƵ idea, as some GOP politicians claim, but a question of equity and of responsibility and caring for their constituents.
One can have the luxury yacht, the penthouse in Cannes, the winter holiday in Ƶpen and still contribute a fair share to the U.S. treasury. The homeless lady under the blanket in the public park is as American as the wealthy American living in that gated community a few blocks away.
Time to fundamentally change our tax system to benefit not the few but all of our citizens. It is a near impossible task given that more than half of our U.S. Congress representatives are millionaires, and even more beholden to corporate interests. Still worth a try if we still think of our nation as one founded on equality.
