Oh, so, the Democrats have awakened. Now, it’s the “middle-class” that is in vogue because somehow the campaign to lift people out of poverty via a hike in the minimum wage was a drag on Democrats politically (stupid argument, but a different story). It’s time for tax cuts to be paid for a little by Wall Street.

The news:

Senior Democrats, dissatisfied with the party’s tepid prescriptions for combating income inequality, are drafting an “action plan” that calls for a massive transfer of wealth from the super-rich and Wall Street traders to the heart of the middle class.

The centerpiece of the proposal, set to be unveiled Monday by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), is a “paycheck bonus credit” that would shave $2,000 a year off the tax bills of couples earning less than $200,000. Other provisions would nearly triple the tax credit for child care and reward people who save at least $500 a year.

The windfall — about $1.2 trillion over a decade — would come directly from the pockets of Wall Street “high rollers” through a new fee on financial transactions, and from the top 1 percent of earners, who would lose billions of dollars in lucrative tax breaks.

I’ve written a lot about the FTT (including way back in 2008) so this is good news that it is on the table. Whether it becomes law is entirely a different story. However, it’s good to make the simple argument: traders benefit from government protections, not the least of which is a regulatory system that prevents, in theory, fraud and crazy speculation (ok, so that doesn’t always work out well). Plus, such a tax might also exercise some restraint, perhaps modest, on the wild and crazy big trades made on rumors and the thirst for a quick buck.

The main point, though, is shared responsibility. You live in this society and, so, you make a contribution. And that contribution is relatively modest and relatively painless.