#TaxTheRich, it’s a decent start

Posted by Bluebird | Mar 12, 2025

"As incredible as it may seem, just a handful of #billionaire #Mainers could fund the state for years out of their own pockets and still live out their lives as multimillionaires. So when socialists say tax the rich, we mean more than raising what billionaires pay by 1% or 2%, we mean raising their taxes by 25% or 50% or more to start with. We mean we should take back the wealth they have collected by exploiting all the people who have worked for them, all the land they have stolen, and all the resources they have grabbed all around the world. In the meantime, socialists often support smaller measures whenever we feel like they are a way to raise funds to help our class, raise consciousness, and build organization.

However, increasing taxes on the wealthy isn’t a permanent solution to the persisting problems of #capitalist society. It’s a good start, but it’s not enough.

[...]

"By all means tax [the wealthy] at a rate of 95%, 99%, 100%, 200%! Take back everything they have stolen from us. Truly solving the causes of social inequality cannot happen until the property of the capitalist class has been expropriated, but for the reasons explained above, simply taxing them at any rate will prove ineffective given enough time.

"Moreover, tax increases tend to antagonize capitalists. Sooner or later, as we are seeing very clearly now in Washington, they will transform their economic might into raw political power to claw back even the small social costs that generations of #SocialMovements and trade unions have imposed on them. During such times, as grim as our prospects may seem, it becomes clearer than ever that so long as the capitalists have all the power, even the most progressive public policy can only be temporary.

"How much longer will capitalist industry be allowed to #pollute the planet? How many more times does the economy have to crash? How many more wars will we be forced to fight on the behalf of these #RobberBarons? How many more lives will be ruined by #debts, mass #layoffs, denied insurance claims, and more? Why should we tolerate a system that exploits those whose labor keeps society functioning?"

Read more:
https://pineandroses.org/opinion/www-pineandroses-org/
#MaineDSA #Socialism #CapitalismMustDie

#PortlandMaine: Weekly protests, Saturdays at 11am! #MonumentSquare (alternate site, City Hall)

#Protesters rallied at 16 #demonstrations across #Maine

by Carol Bousquet, Maine Public March 2, 2025

"Protesters rallied at 16 statewide demonstrations this weekend called #MarchEndTheMadness.

"Hundreds filled #MonumentSquare in #PortlandME Saturday to speak out about the #Trump Administration’s actions that have harmed #Mainers, including #farmers and #FederalWorkers.

"The protesters said they are calling for the restoration of checks and balances, the rule of law, and equity for all under the law.

"Steve Titcomb of Falmouth said he worries about the security of our country and that of our allies with Trump in charge.

"'The president has taken the side of #Russia and #Putin and is turning his back on decades of security for Europe and NATO,' Titcomb said.

"Susan Hanley of Orr’s Island said she’s disgusted with how President Trump treated #Ukrainian President Volodymyr #Zelenskyy Friday at the White House and said his administration is not working for Americans.

"'It’s not about ‘We the People’ for them. It’s about #greed and #money and #power,' Hanley said.

"The #16CountiesForCourage marches were organized by #IndivisiblePortland, #IndivisibleBangor and other advocacy groups.

"Earlier in the day about a hundred protesters gathered at Portland City Hall to speak out against the Trump Administration’s sweeping measures to downsize the federal government workforce.

"Angus Ferguson organizes a protest called 'Every Saturday at 11 am in Monument Square' that has been gathering for several weeks but met at City Hall because of multiple protests across the city. He said the Trump Administration is ignoring the U.S. Constitution and turning it upside down.

"'We’re protesting Donald Trump, #Musk and the #MAGA movement’s destruction of the U.S. Constitution, firing federal workers, decimating federal agencies,' Ferguson said.

"Ferguson, who is an attorney, said the President is literally 'executing' or destroying the law with his actions."

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/03/02/politics/state-politics/protesters-rallied-at-16-demonstrations-across-maine/
#MaineProtest #BadDOGE #USPol #MainePol #MaineProtests #Resist #ResistFascism #ResistDOGE