The Jubilee Blog

Debt Trial of the Century Update

by Andrew Hanauer

Argentina filed its final Supreme Court response to hedge fund NML Capital on Tuesday,  urging the high court to take the case that the Financial Times calls "the debt trial of the century." Jubilee USA filed an Amicus Curiae brief in March noting that the precedent in the case will impact debt restructurings, poor country access to credit and debt relief programs designed to help people living in extreme poverty. The US government and the International Monetary Fund support Argentina. On June 12th, the Supreme Court is scheduled to discuss whether or not it will hear the case.

"We've finally reached the end game in the Argentina NML debt case," said Jubilee USA Executive Director Eric LeCompte. "We pray the Supreme Court will take the case as it will impact people living in extreme poverty around the globe."

Last week LeCompte met Pope Francis and presented the Holy Father with Jubilee USA's Supreme Court filing in support of Argentina.

 

Jubilee USA's Statement on Pfizer - AstraZeneca Deal

by Hannah Shultz

Yesterday, Pfizer announced it will not buy British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The board of AstraZeneca rejected Pfizer's 119 billion dollar offer that would have allowed Pfizer to become the world's largest pharmaceutical firm and evade billions in taxes. The corporate tax avoidance scheme is known as "inversion," when a company moves its headquarters to a country with lower corporate tax rates.

Below is Jubilee USA's statement on Pfizer's announcement, delivered by our Executive Director, Eric LeCompte:

"It's good news that Pfizer is backing away from the AstraZeneca deal that was designed to evade billions in taxes.

"When big corporations use schemes like tax inversion to base themselves in places with lower tax rates, they profit without contributing to the very infrastructure that makes them profitable.

"Corporate tax avoidance forces poor and wealthy countries to go into debt to build the infrastructure the corporations rely on.

"Deals like the Pfizer proposal have many victims. The poor are always hurt the most when countries have high debts burden and not enough revenue to provide for basic needs.

"Globally, corporate tax avoidance is a theft from the poor."

Pope Francis Welcomes Jubilee to Vatican

The Jubilee team walks with Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of
the Pope's Council for Justice and Peace

by Hannah Shultz

Pope Francis welcomed members of the global Jubilee movement to the Vatican on Wednesday as they were received for high level meetings with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The Catholic Church, various Christian Churches, Jewish groups and trade unions founded the global Jubilee campaign that successfully cancelled more than 130 billion dollars in sovereign debt and has won tax policies to benefit people living in the poorest countries of the world.

"The Catholic Church was a founder of the global Jubilee movement and is a vital partner in joint efforts to build an economy that serves and protects the poor," noted Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the interfaith antipoverty organization known as Jubilee USA Network. "During our meetings we discussed how debt burdens, corporate tax avoidance and destructive trade polices trap hundreds of millions of people in extreme poverty."

In the tower of the Papal Palace, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin formally received Jubilee USA and global Jubilee counterparts from Africa, the Caribbean and Europe. They discussed a range of common interests from curbing corporate tax avoidance to making big banks and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) more transparent. The groups highlighted the critical interfaith efforts to establish an international bankruptcy process for countries and the formation of the Caribbean Debt Network to combat a new wave of IMF austerity measures on the small islands.

Take Action Today to Stop Tax Havens

The Ugland House in the Cayman Islands is home to nearly 19,000 corporate
entities. It has become a symbol of tax avoidance and tax havens.

by Andrew Hanauer

Tax avoidance is a global problem.

Just in the last year, the G8, the G20, the Pope and President Obama have all expressed that sentiment. While the United States loses billions every year to tax avoidance, countries in the developing world lose more in tax avoidance than they receive in official aid by a 3 to 2 ratio. In those countries, tax avoidance is draining resources from vulnerable communities desperate for social services and economic development.

Right now, the Senate is debating the merits of a series of tax loopholes that are set to expire this year. Two of those loopholes allow corporations to more easily avoid taxes through accounting gimmicks and tax haven schemes, and could result in losses of up to $80 billion over the next decade.

Please take action today by calling your senators and asking them to build an economy that works for all of us. A script and talking points are below. Thank you!

Oregon Residents: Please call Senator Ron Wyden today!

New York Residents: Please call Senator Chuck Schumer today!

All others: Please call your Senators today!

 

$4 Billion Since Typhoon Haiyan

by Andrew Hanauer

On June 12, the Philippines will celebrate its Independence Day. For nearly 100 million Filipinos, this day will be a cause to celebrate a rich national history. The choice of the date itself is a symbol of the country's pride: while the Philippines officially received independence on July 2, 1946, the June 12th date represents the day it declared independence from Spain in 1898, nearly a half century before that declaration would become a reality.

But amidst the celebrations on June 12th, Filipinos will also be given cause to reflect on the events of a tumultuous year. Last November, Typhoon Haiyan struck land, killing thousands and leaving upwards of two million people homeless.

And while hundreds of millions of dollars have flowed in to aid in the relief effort, a little reported fact is how much is flowing out of the Philippines at the same time to pay off old debts.

That figure, based on accounts of how much the country pays each day, is $4,095,590,644.

That's $4 billion, with a "b."

Jubilee USA Executive Director Interviewed in Red Letter Christians

This interview was published May 5th, 2014 at Red Letter Christians

Eric LeCompte is the Executive Director of Jubilee USA, where he represents a diverse coalition of faith communities in the common cause of eradicating extreme poverty and building an economy that serves, protects and promotes participation of the most vulnerable.

Jubilee USA is well-known for its non-partisan approach to financial issues. How are global financial reform and debt relief something that folks of all stripes can get behind?

Our religious voice seeks to build common ground. Both Republicans and Democrats understand that one out of five people live in extreme poverty around the world and that’s one out of five too many. From Congress to international decision makers, we’ve built awareness about how debt burdens, lack of financial regulation and corporate tax avoidance trap the developing world in poverty.

In 2008, when the global financial crisis hit, these issues that long plagued poor countries spread to wealthy northern economies along with the same failed austerity policies from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and big banks. The global economic turndown, spurred by the debt crisis and speculative investments, drove more than 70 million people—mostly women and children—into extreme poverty. Because many multinational corporations don’t pay taxes, countries lack the revenues to protect the working poor. It’s heartbreaking that those who had least to do with creating the financial crisis were hurt by it the most.

- See more at: http://www.redletterchristians.org/record-profits-income-inequality-global-poverty-new-jubilee-interview-eric-lecompte/#sthash.RCVm0l3A.dpuf

Eric LeCompte is the Executive Director of Jubilee USA, where he represents a diverse coalition of faith communities in the common cause of eradicating extreme poverty and building an economy that serves, protects and promotes participation of the most vulnerable.

Jubilee USA is well-known for its non-partisan approach to financial issues. How are global financial reform and debt relief something that folks of all stripes can get behind?

Our religious voice seeks to build common ground. Both Republicans and Democrats understand that one out of five people live in extreme poverty around the world and that’s one out of five too many. From Congress to international decision makers, we’ve built awareness about how debt burdens, lack of financial regulation and corporate tax avoidance trap the developing world in poverty.

In 2008, when the global financial crisis hit, these issues that long plagued poor countries spread to wealthy northern economies along with the same failed austerity policies from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and big banks. The global economic turndown, spurred by the debt crisis and speculative investments, drove more than 70 million people—mostly women and children—into extreme poverty. Because many multinational corporations don’t pay taxes, countries lack the revenues to protect the working poor. It’s heartbreaking that those who had least to do with creating the financial crisis were hurt by it the most.

- See more at: http://www.redletterchristians.org/record-profits-income-inequality-global-poverty-new-jubilee-interview-eric-lecompte/#sthash.RCVm0l3A.dpuf

Record Profits, Income Inequality, Global Poverty, and a New Jubilee? – An Interview with Eric LeCompte 

 

Jamie Calloway-Hanauer

May 5, 2014

Eric LeCompte is the Executive Director of Jubilee USA, where he represents a diverse coalition of faith communities in the common cause of eradicating extreme poverty and building an economy that serves, protects and promotes participation of the most vulnerable.

Jubilee USA is well-known for its non-partisan approach to financial issues. How are global financial reform and debt relief something that folks of all stripes can get behind?

Our religious voice seeks to build common ground. Both Republicans and Democrats understand that one out of five people live in extreme poverty around the world and that’s one out of five too many. From Congress to international decision makers, we’ve built awareness about how debt burdens, lack of financial regulation and corporate tax avoidance trap the developing world in poverty.

In 2008, when the global financial crisis hit, these issues that long plagued poor countries spread to wealthy northern economies along with the same failed austerity policies from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and big banks. The global economic turndown, spurred by the debt crisis and speculative investments, drove more than 70 million people—mostly women and children—into extreme poverty. Because many multinational corporations don’t pay taxes, countries lack the revenues to protect the working poor. It’s heartbreaking that those who had least to do with creating the financial crisis were hurt by it the most.

Read the full interview at Red Letter Christians

Caribbean Religious Leaders Inspire IMF Sunday Schools

by Eric LeCompte

Last Fall, I witnessed the Grenada Council of Churches insert themselves into negotiations between their government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) around the island’s debt restructuring and presumed austerity policies. Religious leaders called from pulpits across the tiny island for a “Jubilee” or national debt cancellation.

When I recently returned to the Spice Isle, I was awed by what I saw – the religious experiment in Grenada was spreading like wild fire to other Caribbean countries.

At Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, overlooking the Caribbean Sea, the Caribbean Council of Churches, four Catholic Dioceses and various religious leaders from across the region gathered to launch the Caribbean Debt Network.

They came from St. Vincent’s and The Grenadines, Barbados, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Grenada, knowing their unity is more vital than ever.

Out of the 20 most heavily indebted countries in the world, six are Caribbean countries.

Read the full story here: http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/05/op-ed-caribbean-religious-leaders-inspire-imf-sunday-schools/

Jubilee USA Welcomes New Communications Director!

by Andrew Hanauer

Jubilee USA is excited to introduce its newest team member, Communications Director Hannah Shultz. Hannah is a native of Iowa City, Iowa, and a graduate of the University of Iowa. She is currently finishing her graduate degree in Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. At American, Hannah is focusing her studies on issues related to religion and conflict.

Hannah brings both a passion for the work of Jubilee and a wealth of experience to the job; she has previously worked on a broad range of professional endeavors, including oral history and public health projects, and recently worked for a large, growing, global non-profit organization. She was attracted to Jubilee in large part because of her desire to end extreme poverty everywhere.

At Jubilee, Hannah will be tasked with continuing Jubilee's strong track record of raising issues of global poverty in the media; since January of 2013, Jubilee has been featured in more than 70,000 news outlets around the world.

Welcome, Hannah!