This Thursday (only 2 days!), President Obama will have an amazing opportunity to show his support for the 99%, and help make a major move toward stabilizing our financial markets. The Financial Transactions Tax, as proposed and to be discussed by the G20 this week, would levy a tiny tax on all financial securities trades. This small tax, although not greatly affecting the average American, would have major implications for financial institutions that continue to speculate in our markets. Short term speculation, buying and quickly selling securities using high-speed, automated software, is a major contributor to market volatility. The wild swings we’ve seen daily in the New York Stock Exchange are a great example of the effects. By taxing each financial transaction made, we would greatly hinder the ability of the 1% on Wall Street to continue speculating on the hard work of the 99% with the dollar of the 99%. On top of helping stabilize our markets and dampen speculation, the tax would raise billions of dollars in annual revenue.

The European Commission has already voted to adopt the tax, and the UK supports it, but is looking to the US for backing as well. Unfortunately, Treasury Secretary Geithner has recently spoken out against the tax, acquiescing to the 1% on Wall Street. We ask that President Obama ignore the pressures from the heavy hitters on Wall Street, and do what is right for our country.

Paraphrased partially from Professor Jeffrey Sachs:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/obama-the-g20-and-the-99_b_1069030.html