Tax the [other] Rich

Archbishop Rowan Williams has called for new taxes on financial transactions as part of his support for the objectives of the "Occupy Movement". 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8863794/Archbishop-of-Canterbury-Rowan-Williams-calls-for-new-tax-on-bankers.html

Since before the Pharaohs and their priests convinced the population to bring in their grain so that the "leaders" could protect "the people" from possible future famine, there has been a symbiotic relationship between political and religious rulers.  The religious elite have helped the political rulers maintain power by diverting public indignation over harsh conditions (say, a famine) by promising a better life in "the next world". [The "pie in the sky" argument, to quote Joe Hill's famous 1911 song.]

 

Long-haired preachers come out every night,

Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right;

But when asked how 'bout something to eat

They will answer in voices so sweet

Chorus

You will eat, bye and bye,

In that glorious land above the sky;

Work and pray, live on hay,

You'll get pie in the sky when you die

Rowan Williams is risking departing from that mutually beneficial grift by "advising" the political leaders to introduce new taxes on the sale of shares, bonds and foreign currency.  Now most people know that any new taxes are immediately passed on to the less powerful - in this case by the "bankers" to ordinary folk who are either direct or indirect investors.  [Indirect via pension funds, mutual funds, etc. who would recover the taxes by charging higher fees and thus delivering smaller returns to those investors.]

More interesting perhaps is whether Williams will suggest that his and other churches should start paying their own fair share of taxes. There is still a lot of untaxed church land around, churches get other generous tax exemptions, and are secretive about their own financial statements.  One wonders, for example, what Williams income is, how much tax does he pay, how many untaxed benefits does he enjoy.  [For example, who paid for Williams recent tour of Africa where, among other things, he had a "meeting" with notorious Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe.]

As "churches" increasingly become proxies for political positions, and societies in most countries become increasingly secular, perhaps it's time to end the anachronistic "religious" exemptions and have everyone, including Williams, pay their share.