Well some of you may be old enough to remember Ernestine Tomlin, the blunt Ma Bell phone receptionist. Now, we find out she’s not just a pretty face–she is an advocate for Universal Health Care! “One ring-dingy, two ringy dingy’s…hello…” and she’s off to the races.

This week we have two very honorable guests to share with you. We promised them we would not tarnish their stellar reputations so they agreed. First, Ken Zinn the D.C. based Political Director for National Nurses United then retired army nurse captain, Vietnam war veteran and founder of the Women’s Vietnam Memorial, Diane Carlson Evans.

Ken talks with us about the recent announcement from the European Nations that 11 countries have signed on to a “financial transaction”tax, aka the Robin Hood Tax. The tax will raise billions of dollars by taxing financial transactions .50 per $100. Nurses in the U.S. have been on the leading edge of this concept and are making some headway here at home. Keep an open mind. If you listen to the simple details you might agree this is a very fair and doable measure.

AND…Diane Carlson Evans who served as an army nurse in Vietnam is with us to talk about the recent announcement by the Pentagon that women can now serve in combat roles in the military. Diane shares her story and tells us that women have been serving in combat since World War 2, mostly as nurses. BUT because it was not “official” combat the women were not given weapons though were oftentimes still caught in the front lines of battle. Read more…

Learn More about the Robin Hood Tax!

New York – The U.S. Robin Hood Tax Campaign today applauded the introduction in Congress of a bill that would impose a tax on Wall Street speculation.  Introduced by Rep. Keith Ellison, HR 6411, the Inclusive Prosperity Act,  would raise up to $350 billion in annual revenues that would be used to breathe new life into Main Street communities across America, as well as international health, sustainable prosperity and environmental programs.

The legislation embodies the Robin Hood Tax, a 0.5% tax on the trading of stocks, 50 cents on every $100 of trades, and lesser rates on trading in bonds, derivatives and currencies.  It marks the return of a sales tax on financial transactions in place from 1914 to 1966 and targets the high-risk, high-speed trading that dominates the markets.

“The American public provided hundreds of billions to bailout Wall Street during the global fiscal crisis yet bore the brunt of the crisis with lost jobs and reduced household wealth,” said Rep. Ellison in a press statement.  “This is a phenomenally wealthy nation, yet our tax and regulatory system allowed the financial titans to amass great riches while impoverishing the systems that enable inclusive prosperity. A financial transaction tax protects our financial markets from speculation and provides the revenue needed to invest in the education, health and communities of the American people.”

The legislation’s goal is to raise meaningful tax revenue dedicated to low- and moderate-income families by strengthening the social safety net and by expanding investments to protect health, rebuilding infrastructure and creating good-paying jobs.  Read more…

Big news out of National Nurses United’s Staff Nurse Assembly in Chicago last weekend was the rally in Daly Plaza supporting a half percent tax on stock trades.  Nurses have aligned with the worldwide Robin Hood Tax Campaign say:

We’re committed to rebuilding America by introducing a small tax on Wall Street transactions.

We believe it’s time to rewrite the contract between banks and society.

We are charities, green groups, trade unions, community organizations, celebrities, religious leaders and politicians.

We are businesspeople – Microsoft founder Bill Gates, financier George Soros, entrepreneur extraordinaire Warren Buffet

We are economists – Nobel Prize winners Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs and 1,000 other economists from across the world.

We are thought leaders – the Vatican, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson and Ban Ki-Moon.

We are world leaders – President Hollande of France, Chancellor Merkel of Germany, among others.

We are part of a global movement representing over 220 million people in 25 countries.

We are a force to be reckoned with, and we’re demanding justice.

Are you?  Learn more at robinhoodtax.org.

A May 15, 2012 blog post on the site, Nurses Push Tax on Trades to Help Sick,  shared by Sarah Anderson Director the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C first appearing in the Chicago Sun Times, quotes NNU President RoseAnn DeMoro, “RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, says there’s a simple explanation: “The big banks, investment firms and other financial institutions, which ruined the economy with trillion-dollar trades on people’s homes and pensions and similar reckless gambling, should pay for the recovery.”

Nurses have been on the front lines of the crisis, seeing firsthand the health impacts of skyrocketing poverty and record high rates of uninsured Americans. Read more…

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And we talk with one of our favorite guests RN and Co-President of National Nurses United, Jean Ross. Jean will tell us about the upcoming Nurses Assembly in Chicago next week where over 1200 nurses will gather to talk about everything from healthcare to Medicare and beyond. The nurses will also hit the streets of Chicago in a peaceful demonstration to promote a Wall Street Transaction Tax. Check out this Bill Moyers (PBS) interview with National Nurses United Executive Director Rose Ann Demoro as she talks about the “Robin Hood” tax. Peeps—no matter what your political persuasion—it makes sense!

Read more…

Nurses, Robin Hood and the band of merry women and men, and scores of friends are strapping on their boots and preparing to head to Chicago Friday, May 18.

The absence of AWOL G-8 leaders, who decided to run off and hide in the woods of rural Maryland rather than face a disgruntled public, has not dampened the spirits of Robin Hood and the nurses who will proceed with a colorful march through Chicago streets.

The march culminates in a Daley Plaza rally where Robin and the nurses will scour the brush and trees for the absent world leaders to determine what they are doing to help average families, not just the banks and Wall Street high rollers, in the midst of continuing economic gloom.

Renown musician Tom Morello, The Nightwatchman, will join the festivities, performing at Daley Plaza.

“Bailouts and bonuses for the banks, austerity for the rest of us, that’s been the prescription of the 1 percent and far too many among the G-8. No wonder they have run off to seclusion at Camp David,” said Karen Higgins, RN, co-president of National Nurses United, which is sponsoring the May 18 action.

“But they won’t be able to avoid the 99 percent for long if they don’t take meaningful action to heal the U.S. and global economies. A Robin Hood tax on Wall Street speculation and the gambling with people’s pensions, savings, and homes would be a good start. The tax can produce $350 billion or more every year for a national and global rebirth,” Higgins said. Read more…

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RN Deb Gauldin, Laughologist

Have you ever listened to a baby laugh? You know, the kind of laugh that is so contagious YOU start to laugh? Well, who knew laughing was so good for you! We thought we’d reminder ourselves and our listeners that laughter really is the best medicine.

On the show this week we have RN Deb Gauldin, the incoming president of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor She is a professional humorist and entertainer specializing in health care morale and women’s well being. Deb joins Casey and Dan to talk about humor and the upcoming 25th annual conference where all they do is laugh and talk, and laugh and talk, and then laugh some more.

Why quit your job as an English professor to become an RN? Theresa Brown did. Before becoming a nurse, Theresa
obtained a Ph.D in English and taught literature. After being an RN for four years, she’s written a book called, Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life and Everything in Between. We’ll talk with Theresa about her career and her very interesting and poignant book.

And we share a recent interview (from our friends at Labour Radio) with RN Higgins. Karen addresses questions about the proposed Financial Transaction Tax..50 per $100 ? Wow, so little could raise billions of dollars for vital health care education and other services. Why is this so hard?

Read more about this show. It’s packed!

Virtually every other consumer sale is taxed. Why not Wall Street’s?

A robust tax on Wall Street transactions would raise far more revenue – as much as 17 times as much – than more limited proposals, even accounting for the worst case scenarios of reduced trading as a result of a tax. That’s the findings of an important new research brief from prominent University of Massachusetts Amherst economists Robert Pollin and James Heintz.

This study is the most recent serious effort to quantify current, actual costs and evaluate the impact of the trading costs on trading volume. It can be viewed at: http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/research_brief/PERI_FTT_Research_Brief.pdf

The data in the study come from three sets of sources: the most recent academic and financial market research; a 2011 survey study by the International Monetary Fund; and the most up-to-date and comprehensive data on market trading from specialized firms that obtain these figures directly from the financial market trading businesses themselves.

One of the stories of the past year has been the growing international and U.S. movement for a financial transaction tax (FTT) on the trading of stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.

An international coalition of labor, environmental, and non-governmental organizations have prodded the European Union to adopt a continent wide FTT, also referred to as the “Robin Hood tax.” Several European governments, including conservative leaders in France and Germany support the FTT and the EU which is predicted to adopt the tax by the end of this year.

In the U.S., a renewed push for an FTT has also mushroomed, encouraged by a campaign led by National Nurses United as a vehicle to raise badly needed revenue for healthcare, jobs, and other basic needs. Read more…

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Massachusettes RN Karen Higgins joins us. Karen is a good friend of ours and she always takes time out of her busy schedule to talk with us. As a matter of fact we want to make it perfectly clear that Karen was on her BREAK when speaking with Dan and Casey. Karen weighed in on the Financial Transaction Tax, a.k.a. the Robin Hood tax that nurses and others all around the world asked the G-20 leaders to adopt. The tax would be .005 on stocks and other financial transactions. The money raised COULD dramatically change and add to funding for healthcare, education, infrastructure and more. Karen is the past president of Massachusettes Nurses Association and is currently one of three co-presidents for National Nurses United. Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:43 — 49.2MB) | Embed

Massachusetts RN Karen Higgins joins us. Karen is a good friend of ours and she always takes time out of her busy schedule to talk with us. As a matter of fact we want to make it perfectly clear that Karen was on her BREAK when speaking with Dan and Casey. Karen weighed in on the Financial Transaction Tax, a.k.a. the Robin Hood tax that nurses and others all around the world asked the G-20 leaders to adopt. The tax would be .005 on stocks and other financial transactions. The money raised COULD dramatically change and add to funding for healthcare, education, infrastructure and more. Karen is the past president of Massachusettes Nurses Association and is currently one of three co-presidents for National Nurses United.

And we’ll talk with the author of Critically ILL: A 5-Point Plan to Cure Healthcare Delivery. Dr. Frederick Southwick, author, teacher, respected researcher and decades-long medical practitioner, is an advocate for change to our country’s current healthcare practices, which cause thousands of hospital deaths and complications each year. Read more…