Day 48: Taxes

Sometimes standing in front of thousands of people is the encouragement needed to take a stand, to get up and to speak my truth. It took a lot of courage and I wanted to share it here:

Tax March
April 15, 2007

Sh’ma Yisrael, im kol shonuteinu kol ha’adam echad.

Listen, you people who wrestle, in all of your diversity, all of humanity is one.

This week, the Jewish community is celebrating the holiday of Passover. It is the story of our liberation from slavery and oppression.

It is not just a story about supernatural intervention in history. It is the story of sending a message to the Pharoah through demonstrations of just how powerful people can be when they join together and demand change.

It is not just a story of how God intervenes in human history to redeem the enslaved Israelites. It is a story of people who stood up and made the change happen. The rabbis taught that it was an Israelite, Nachshon ben Aminadav, who stepped into the sea. That it was his faith in the possibility of redemption that caused the sea to part.

I stand here today as a representative of different facets of that story. My great grandfather was a rabbi and he immigrated to this country and changed his last name to Benmosche--son of Moses, literally his father’s name, but also implying he was of the people who struggle and travel to find freedom. I inherited both his last name and his passion for service in the Jewish community. A passion to seek out injustice and to work for those who need support.

There is a repeated mandate throughout the Bible to care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger. As American citizens, we fulfill that mandate through the social services that are available because of our taxes and philanthropic efforts to support non-profit organizations dedicated to this work. We want to know that our leaders support those efforts.

But I don't just stand here as a person who has taken on a legacy of service. I am also the daughter of the late, former CEO of AIG, Bob Benmosche. When my father passed away in 2015, I inherited the financial legacy of his work as a corporate executive. It feels especially important to share that fact because I am the “rich” who benefit from unfair tax systems and loopholes. And I am standing here and standing with you to say: it is wrong.

I also understand personally that taking on public roles in leadership takes away the right to privacy that other citizens enjoy. When you chose to make your life public, when you choose to represent the tax paying American citizens, you have a responsibility. Transparency in your business endeavors and in your personal life in multiple arenas IS the work of gaining the trust of the people you are leading.

We stand together today demanding that work be done. We stand here declaring that we care about creating fair systems of taxation that support our communities, especially those with the greatest need.

Kulanu na’avod l’taken et ha’olam ha’zeh

Let us work together to repair this world.
Through truth.
Through transparency.
Through a fair system for all.