G20: Bill Gates adds his weight to calls for Robin Hood tax

[CHIMO]

Bill Gates will tell the G20 group of developed and developing countries on Thursday that they could raise an extra $48bn (£30bn) a year to fight global poverty by levying a small tax on share and bond trading.

Despite hostility from Britain and the US, the Microsoft founder will add weight to the growing campaign for a so-called Robin Hood tax when he tells the two-day summit in Cannes that a levy on finance would help hard-pressed rich nations to meet their aid pledges to the poor.

Gates will acknowledge the lack of G20 unanimity for a financial transaction tax when he presents a report – Innovation with Impact – commissioned by Nicolas Sarkozy in a 75-minute session on development on Thursday afternoon.But the study concludes that aid budgets would be boosted by $9bn even were the FTT limited to the larger European economies, such as Germany and France, which back the idea.

Speaking to the Guardian on the eve of the summit, Gates said: "It is very plausible that certain kinds of FTTs could work. I am lending some credibility to that. This money could be well spent and make a difference. An FTT is more possible now than it was a year ago, but it won't be at rates that magically raise gigantic sums of money."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/03/gates-urges-g20-to-introduce-tobin-tax

[Dover]

1. Well it might be helpful but generally speaking it's like rearranging the furniture

without changing the room. The problems are systemic and require a holistic approach and even more importantly, compassion for humanity.
The best way to get there? Perhaps Gates and others among the 1% who have managed to get involved and connect with people can teach their peers something
about that and its rewards. Don't know if that is a true assessment of Gates specifically, but there surely are others who might step into that role, not by throwing money at the situation, but rather by being compassionate midwives in the birthing of a new system.