Ever imagine Mark Ruffalo, Chris Martin and that one guy from Rage Against the Machine would be in a video together about tax policy?
It's happened. The latest video promoting the so-called Robin Hood tax has all three celebrities showing support for a tax on financial transactions, with the money being used to the benefit of those most negatively affected by the recession (h/t Dealbook's William Alden).
“The idea has been around a long time, but the time has really arrived to put it in place,” Columbia economist Jeffrey D. Sachs says in the video financed by The Robin Hood Tax coalition, an organization of advocacy groups.
Support for the tax, which if adopted could raise billions annually by levying a tax of less than one percent on financial transactions across the globe, has been gaining steam as of late. Celebrity supporters, including billionaire Bill Gates and actor Bill Nighy, among others, pushed for the policy during last year's G20 summit meeting.
Most advocates of the tax say that the most practical way to implement it would be to have many countries adopt the proposal, since one nation's decision to abstain from the policy could give it an unfair advantage over those that don’t.
Around the same time as last year's G20 summit, Sen. Tom Harkin and Rep. Peter DeFazio introduced a bill that included a 0.03 percent fee on financial transactions. Support spans the globe; Germany's opposition leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier has also advocated for the measure.
The movement has already come up with with a variety ways to promote its cause, often using viral videos and big names. This most recent effort gives everyone with a buck the chance to spread the wealth at no cost. How? Simply give George Washington a Robin Hood-style mask and cap on any old dollar bill to show support.