Madonna suggests “Sin Tax” on Excessive New York City Bank Fees

World-renowned entertainer Madonna – whose film “Filth and Wisdom” has just been released to strong reviews in movie theaters nationwide -- let loose this weekend with a plea to the City of New York to impose a “sin tax” on what she calls “extortionate” overdraft fees levied by local banks that she feels are unfairly gouging the pocketbooks of the city’s poorest and least-fortunate families.

Madonna apparently decided to take action after hearing a story that’s been making its way around the city about Loundia “Windy” Byrd, a worker at a New York City Rite-Aid making approximately $8 an hour, who was charged a $32 fee by the J.P. Morgan Chase Bank branch on Hudson Street for being overdrawn by one cent in her checking account.

“People being victimized in this way by JP Morgan Chase and other local banks have no one speaking up for them, so I thought I would take the opportunity to do so,” said Madonna. “As others have previously noted, that’s an amount equivalent to half a day’s pay for this woman.”

Madonna suggested that she might have to look into “moving some of her savings accounts” out of banks that charge such extortionate fees as a means of protest. She is currently one of the 50 wealthiest women in America.

“What I have strongly suggested in communications with Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Christine Quinn is a ‘sin tax’ on excessive bank fees similar to what is now in place on cigarettes,” says Madonna. “On all bank fees over $10 or $12, the banks should be charged a 50% tax rate on that revenue as an incentive for them to find alternative ways to make a profit that do not end up extorting their least-fortunate clients.”

Madonna said she had never been active on behalf of consumers prior to this, and found the idea “exciting.”

“Just as a high ‘sin tax’ can deter smokers from doing harm to their own health and the health of others, a ‘sin tax’ on extortionate bank overdraft fees, which commonly reach $32 and even $34 nowadays, can stop local banks from harming the economic health of New York residents and New York City communities.”

According to one report, overdraft fees from New York City alone – fees that were not even in existence five years ago – currently drain over $1 billion in spending power from the city’s low and middle income families.

City surtaxes on interstate commerce such as telephone and cellphone services have been common for many years.

“When I first came to New York, with just the clothes on my back and a dream that I might succeed, and I was working at Dunkin’ Donuts just to pay the rent, I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost half a day’s pay to a greedy bank,” the Material Girl stated. “Actually, it would never have been allowed to happen back then. Perhaps I would never have gotten where I am today, if it had come at the wrong time. It’s really about time we called a halt to what on the face of it seems almost a criminal activity on the part of these banks in charging such excessive fees to their most vulnerable clients.”

About Madonna (Wikipedia): Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958), known as Madonna, is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City for a career in modern dance. After performing as member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album in 1983, and then produced three consecutive number-one studio albums on the Billboard 200 in the 1980s and four more since year 2000.

Madonna is known for her works that explore religious symbolism and sexual themes which also drew criticism from the Vatican in the late 1980s.[2] In 1992, she founded an entertainment company, Maverick, which published a book of photographs (Sex). She also released a studio album (Erotica) and starred in a film (Body of Evidence) with erotic themes. These works generated negative publicity and coincided with a fall in commercial sales in the 1990s.[3] Madonna's career was revived in 1998, when the release of her album Ray of Light garnered critical acclaim.

Madonna has acted in 22 films. Although several failed critically and commercially,[4] she earned a Golden Globe Award for her role in the 1996 film Evita. Divorced from actor Sean Penn, in 1996 Madonna conceived a daughter, Lourdes Maria (also known as Lola) by personal trainer Carlos Leon before marrying film director Guy Ritchie in 2000. She and Ritchie have two sons, Rocco and David Banda, a Malawian boy they adopted in 2006, which caused media allegations they violated that country's adoption laws. Madonna and Ritchie have since filed for divorce in October 2008.

Madonna has been regarded as "one of the greatest pop acts of all time" and dubbed the "Queen of Pop" by various sources.[5][6][7] She is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female rock artist of the twentieth century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States with 63 million certified albums.[8][9] Guinness World Records list her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time and the top-earning female singer in the world with an estimated net worth of US$490 million, having sold over 200 million records worldwide.[10][11][12][13] On March 10, 2008, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[14]

Madonna was born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan. Her mother, Madonna Louise (née Fortin), was of French Canadian descent, and her father, Silvio "Tony" P. Ciccone, was a first-generation Italian American Chrysler/General Motors design engineer whose parents originated from Pacentro, Italy.[15][16] Madonna is the third of six children; her siblings are Martin, Anthony, Paula Mae, Christopher, and Melanie.[17]

Madonna's ballet teacher persuaded her to pursue a dance career, so she left the University of Michigan at the end of 1977 and moved to New York City.[20] Madonna had little money and for some time lived in squalor, working at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes.[21] Speaking of her move to New York, Madonna said, "It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab. I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done."[22] While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour,[23] Madonna became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club in New York.[24] In it, she sang and played drums and guitar before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray.[25] She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her local attention in New York dance clubs. Disc jockey and record producer Mark Kamins was impressed by her demo recordings, so he brought her to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.[26]

In 1982, Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records, a label belonging to Warner Bros. Records.[27] Her first release was "Everybody" on April 24, 1982.[28] Her debut album, Madonna was primarily produced by Reggie Lucas.

Madonna's look and manner of dress, performances and music videos, became influential among young girls and women. Defined by lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the Christian cross, and bleached hair, it became a female fashion trend in the 1980s.[29] Her follow up album, Like a Virgin, became her first number one album on the U.S. albums chart;[30] its commercial performance was buoyed by the success of its title track, "Like a Virgin", which reached number one in the U.S. with a six week stay at the top.[23] The album sold 12 million copies worldwide, eight of which in the U.S.[31] She performed the song at the first MTV Video Music Awards, wearing her then-trademark "Boy Toy" belt.[32] Like a Virgin is listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time.[33][34]

In 1985, Madonna entered mainstream films, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the film Vision Quest. Its soundtrack contained her second U.S. number-one single "Crazy for You".[35] Later that year, she appeared in Desperately Seeking Susan. The film introduced the song "Into the Groove", which became her first number-one single in the UK.[36] Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in the U.S. in 1985 titled The Virgin Tour, with the Beastie Boys.[37] In July that year, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of black and white nude photos of Madonna taken in the late 1970s. Madonna took legal action to try and block them from being published, but when that failed she became unapologetic and defiant. At the outdoor Live Aid charity concert at the height of the controversy, Madonna made a critical reference to the media and stated she would not take her jacket off because "they might hold it against me ten years from now".[38]

Madonna released her third album, True Blue, in 1986, prompting Rolling Stone to say that "it sounds as if it comes from the heart".[39] The album included the ballad "Live to Tell", which she wrote for the film At Close Range, starring her then-husband Sean Penn. True Blue produced five Top 5 singles on the Billboard charts: "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach", "Open Your Heart", "True Blue" and "La Isla Bonita".[40] In the same year, Madonna starred in the film Shanghai Surprise and made her theatrical debut in a production of David Rabe's Goose and Tom-Tom, both co-starring Sean Penn.[41]

In 1987, Madonna starred in Who's That Girl, and contributed four songs to its soundtrack; including the title track and the U.S. number-two single, "Causing a Commotion".[42] In the same year, she embarked on the Who's That Girl Tour. It marked her first conflict with the Vatican, as Pope John Paul II urged Italian fans not to attend her concerts.[43] Later that year, Madonna released a remix album of past hits, You Can Dance. In 1988, city officials in the town of Pacentro began to construct a 13-foot (4 m) statue of Madonna in a bustier.[44] The statue commemorates the fact that her ancestors had lived in Pacentro.[45] In 1988, Madonna starred as Karen in a play by David Mamet called Speed-the-Plow.[46]

In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. She debuted her new song, "Like a Prayer", in a Pepsi commercial and also made a music video for it. The video, which features many Catholic symbols such as stigmata and burning crosses, was condemned by the Vatican.[32] Since the commercial and music video were nearly identical, Pepsi was unable to convince the public that their commercial had nothing that could be deemed inappropriate. They revoked the commercial and cancelled their sponsorship contract with Madonna.[47]

Madonna's fourth album, Like a Prayer, released in 1989, was co-written and co-produced by Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray.[48] Rolling Stone hailed it as "...as close to art as pop music gets".[49] Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the U.S. album chart and sold seven million copies worldwide, with four million copies sold in the U.S. alone.[50] The album produced three Top 5-charting singles: the title track (her seventh number-one single in the U.S.), "Express Yourself" and "Cherish".[40]

In 1990, Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in a film adaptation of the comic book series Dick Tracy.[51] To accompany the launching of the film in May 1990, she released I'm Breathless that includes songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It features her eighth U.S. number-one single, "Vogue",[52] and her Academy Award-winning song "Sooner or Later".[53] The second single released from I'm Breathless was "Hanky Panky", which peaked in the U.S. at number nine.[54] In April 1990, Madonna began her Blond Ambition World Tour. Featuring religious and sexual themes, the tour drew controversy from her performance of "Like a Virgin" during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation.[55] The Pope again encouraged Italians not to attend to it.[56] A private association of Catholics, called Famiglia Domani, also boycotted the tour for featuring eroticism.[57] In response, Madonna said, "I am Italian American and proud of it" and the Church "completely frowns on sex... except for procreation."[58]

In November 1990, Madonna released her first greatest hits compilation album, The Immaculate Collection, which includes two new songs: "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me".[59] "Rescue Me" became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in the U.S. chart history at the time, entering at number 15 and peaking at number nine.[23] "Justify My Love" became a number-one dance hit in the U.S.[60] Its music video featured scenes of sadomasochism, bondage,[61] same-sex kissing and brief nudity.[62] It was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and banned from the station.[61] In 1991, Madonna starred in her first documentary film, Truth or Dare, which chronicles her Blond Ambition Tour, as well as her personal life. The following year, she appeared in the baseball film A League of Their Own with a portrayal of Italian American Mae Mordabito, and recorded the film's theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground".

In 1992, Madonna founded her own entertainment company, Maverick, consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and also music publishing, television, merchandising and book-publishing divisions. It was a joint venture with Time Warner as part of a $60 million recording and business deal. The deal gave her a 20% royalty, equal at the time to Michael Jackson's.[28] The first release from the venture was Madonna's first publication Sex, a book consisting of sexually provocative and explicit images photographed by Steven Meisel. It caused media controversy but sold 500,000 copies in the U.S.[63] At the same time she released her fifth studio album Erotica, featuring three sexual songs—"Erotica", "Where Life Begins", and "Did You Do It?". The album peaked at number two in the U.S., becoming one of her least successful records.[63][64] Its title track peaked at #3 in the U.S. Hot 100.[40] The album also produced five further singles; "Deeper and Deeper", "Bad Girl", "Fever", "Rain" and "Bye Bye Baby".[65]

During 1993, she starred in two films. First was the erotic thriller Body of Evidence. The film contained S&M and bondage and was poorly received by critics.[66][67] The second was the first production for Maverick Films, Dangerous Game. It was released straight-to-video in North America but received some good reviews for Madonna's performance. The New York Times described that "She submits impressively to the emotions raging furiously around her."[68] She expressed her disappointment regarding the final cut of the film, claiming that the director had cut many of her key scenes and completely changed the ending.[69] Madonna embarked on The Girlie Show World Tour at the end of 1993. It featured her dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix, surrounded by topless dancers.[70] The controversy continued in Puerto Rico when she rubbed its flag between her legs on stage, while Orthodox Jews protested against her first ever show in Israel.[71]

In the spring of 1994, Madonna released the single "I'll Remember" which she recorded for Alek Keshishian's film With Honors. That year, she also appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, using four-letter words and asking Letterman to smell her underwear.[72] That same year she began dating rap artist Tupac Shakur, who she wanted to have a child with. The two would continue to date throught that year into 1995 during his incarceration[73]. Later that year , she released her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories which was different from her outrageous moves from "Erotica".[3] It produced four singles— "Secret" (no. 3 on Hot 100), "Take a Bow" - which became the biggest hit of Madonna's career on the Billboard Hot 100,[citation needed] "Bedtime Story" and "Human Nature".

In November 1995, Madonna released Something to Remember, a collection of her ballads which featured her cover of the Marvin Gaye song "I Want You" and the top ten song "You'll See". In 1996, Madonna’s most critically successful film, Evita, was released.[74] She portrayed the main part of Eva Perón, a role first played by Elaine Paige in the West End.[75] The soundtrack album contained three of her singles, of which "You Must Love Me" won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song From a Motion Picture. Madonna also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.[76]

In 2000, Madonna starred in The Next Best Thing. She contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack, "Time Stood Still" and the international hit "American Pie", a cover version of the 1970s Don McLean single.[86] Madonna's eighth studio album, Music, was released in 2000 and debuted at #1 on the U.S. album charts.[87] It produced three successful singles in the U.S.; "Music", "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like for a Girl".[88] The latter having a video which depicts murders by car, was banned by MTV and VH1.[89]

In 2001, Madonna began her first world tour since 1993, the Drowned World Tour, visiting cities in North America and Europe. The tour was a success as one of the highest grossing of the year.[90] It grossed $75 million from 47 sold-out shows.[91] She also released her second greatest hits collection, GHV2 to coincide with the home video release of the tour.

In 2008, Madonna promoted her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy, with the Hard Candy Promo Tour. It was lauded by Rolling Stone as an "impressive taste of her upcoming tour."[142] The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, where Madonna achieved ten number one albums.[143] Hard Candy sold 100,000 copies in the United States upon its first day of release.[144] It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with over 280,000 copies sold.[145] The album received mostly positive reviews worldwide,[146] though some critics panned it as "an attempt to harness the urban market".[147] Its lead single "4 Minutes" reached number 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the U.S. Radio & Records Pop Chart.[40][148] An international tour to promote the album, the Sticky & Sweet Tour, began on August 23, 2008.[149]