It was over four years ago that along with a smallish group of demonstrators I walked onto Westminster Bridge to photograph an illegal demonstration calling for a ‘Tobin Tax’. I knew what it was, and that it had been proposed by Nobel prize-winning economist James Tobin (1918-2002) in 1972 as a microtax – perhaps 0.1% – on currency dealings that would be so small as to not affect actual currency deals but would be enough to put a real drag on speculation.
It was a proposal taken up by charities concerned with the effect of speculation on the poorer countries in the 1990s (and given some support by French President François Mitterrand) and early 2000s, when they also suggested that a very small levy – perhaps 005% – would enable the wealthy countries to actually meet the promises they had made on overseas aid. For several years I had a large poster about the proposal on my kitchen wall.
As I wrote in 2005: (when I still hadnt found the Caps key)
the aim was to deter speculation on currency movements, thus giving the elected governments greater control over their fiscal and monetary policies, and reducing the power of unelected speculators (who include some of the larger multinational companies) to affect the markets. Exporters, importers and long-term investors would all benefit from less volatile exchange rates, and the revenue raised by the tax could make a significant contribution both to the revenue of national economies and also for international development projects.
as a small gesture of support for the tobin tax, another illegal demonstration took place in westminster this afternoon, unnoticed by police. a small group of demonstrators, again following an example from boston – although this time from 1773 – chose tea as a way to symbolise their protest. each threw a teabag, produced by one of the giant corporations, from the middle of westminster bridge into the river thames below.
As you can see, I hadn’t at the time quite perfected my technique for mid-air hovering that such events really require – and it still needs a little more work.
I really was pleased that the police didn’t try to arrest the protesters. I’d watched (and photographed) earlier in the day as police arrested and led away five protesters simply for peacefully holding a banner in Parliament Square, ashamed at seeing my country become a police state.
When Lord Turner brought up the idea of a Tobin tax again at the end of August, it seemed very much an idea whose time had come, and another leading Nobel prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz backed the idea at the start of October, saying that the technical problems which would have proved impossible in the past were no longer an obstacle with modern technology.
It came as a surprise to hear Gordon Brown adding his support yesterday. Perhaps after five years those tea bags had really brewed. Less of a surprise that the US immediately turned the idea down, but at some time Obama will have to decide to stand up to the bankers, so it may yet happen.
