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Forum Post: A Manifesto for a New Order in America

Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 2, 2011, 10:59 p.m. EST by snidelywhiplash (8)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

A Manifesto for a New Order in America

Our founding fathers sought to create a nation based on a new ideal where all men are created equal, where freedom prevails, where men and women are rewarded with prosperity through hard work, and where compassion would prevail to ensure that those who cannot care for themselves are cared for by the more fortunate.

Over two hundred years later, the general populace still yearns for a system that distributes the rewards of work equitably and provides for the well-being of the entire nation, not just an elite few. Many times throughout the history of man, free-market capitalism has been brought to the precipice, not by its own structural failure, but by the greed and avarice of the enriched and powerful few. Once weakened, free-market capitalist systems are most often ended by violent revolution by dictators that have used the vacuum of power to wrest control and impose their own oppressive system that rewards a new group of elite and powerful. We seek to break that cycle of blind free-market capitalism and controlled dictatorship, both of which lead to the oppression of the general populace and the concentration of the wealth of the nation in the hands of an elite and powerful few. We seek to return this great nation to the ideals upon which it was founded: personal freedom and prosperity for all. We intend to return this great nation to the people that it was intended to serve. We intend to return this nation to the ideal upon which it was founded: for the people, by the people, of the people. The powerful elite have destroyed capitalism by corrupting its foundations.

The foundation of free-market capitalism is the concept of risk and reward. True free-market capitalism excels because it rewards personal risk with personal reward. The greater the personal risk one takes, the greater the personal reward should be. This is the foundation of capitalism. When a powerful elite corrupts the system to personally reap the rewards of success while transferring the risk of failure to others, the very foundation of free-market capitalism has been destroyed. The result is no longer a free-market capitalist system.

The powerful elite have destroyed democracy by corrupting its foundations. In a democratic society, the general populace has the power through greater numbers to change the system so that the wealth of a nation is always rewarded and distributed equitably. In a corrupted society, power concentrates in an enriched few. The enriched use their riches to further protect, isolate and entrench themselves by corrupting the political system to their favor, denying the general populace their right to advocate for a better system that provides for the well-being of the nation overall.

The great accumulation of wealth of the past 40 years has not been distributed equally among the citizenry. Over the past 40 years the total national wealth has increased from $4 trillion to $55 trillion. Nearly all of that wealth accumulation has been concentrated among less than 1% of the citizenry. In the same time period that the American economy has grown by 160% and the Cost of Living has increased by 47%, the average wage of the working individual has only increased 30%. To be clear, while the top 1% have enjoyed tremendous wealth accumulation, the average American worker is less well-off than they were 40 years ago.

A political system that decade after decade protects the rights of the few while denying the rights of the many has been terminally corrupted and needs to be reborn. An economic system that decade after decade concentrates the wealth in the hands of an elite few by denying economic benefit to a hard working populace has been terminally corrupted and needs to be reborn.

Therefore we make the following proclamations that seek to bring equity to the distribution of the wealth of the nation among the general populace while continuing the ideals of a free society and a system of reward based on hard work and proper societal ethics that our founding fathers envisioned upon the creation of this great nation.

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7 Comments


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[-] 1 points by GeorgeMichaelBluth (402) from Arlington, VA 13 years ago

Great post

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[-] 1 points by snidelywhiplash (8) 13 years ago
  1. The foundation of our financial system has been shaken to the core many times over the past decade and still hangs at the precipice because financial institutions risked capital other than their own on highly leveraged and dangerous bets and investments. Publicly traded financial institutions use the anonymous capital of powerless shareholders backed by the taxpayers to take risks while rewarding themselves with the profits. Therefore we proclaim that any capital put at risk by a financial institution in the pursuit of market profits should be restricted to the capital of those individuals who have directly given permission to have their capital used in such a manner. The individuals that take such risk must pledge their personal assets and accept unlimited liability for the risks taken to generate market and trading profits.
  2. The foundation of our financial system has also been shaken to the core by the creation of financial instruments that were poorly understood and employed leverage that was immeasurable. Therefore we proclaim that no financial institution shall create or market a financial instrument that is based on other underlying instruments that already deploy some form of leverage unless that leverage and all of its counterparties are known.
  3. Corporations or financial institutions that are too big to fail become numb to their own risk taking. Therefore we proclaim that a corporation or financial institution that fails must be processed through the bankruptcy courts. If it is deemed in the best interest of the general populace of the United States to use the assets of the government to recover a failed entity, its equity owners and bond holders must be forced to deliver the ownership of their investments to the general populace as compensation.
  4. A corporate Board of Directors has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of all shareholders. A CEO is hired by the Board to manage the company to maximize profit. When a CEO is also the Chairman of the Board, management oversight is corrupted and an inherent conflict of interest exists. Therefore we proclaim that all members of a Board of Directors must be separate from management and free from conflict. Board members that violate their fiduciary duty should have a portion of their personal assets at risk which is not protected by fiduciary insurance or other means of corporate protection.
  5. The foundation of capitalism is that personal reward must be in line with personal risk. Small business owners that start a small business mortgage their homes or other assets to raise the capital; if that business fails they risk the loss of their homes or other assets through foreclosure. This should also be the case for large corporate executives. Therefore we proclaim that all compensation programs that enrich publicly traded corporate executives by granting equity compensation must carry personal risk of loss commensurate with the potential gain. Excessive equity compensation that carries no risk of loss is a windfall profit and must be taxed as such.
  6. While the exact causes and extent of man’s affect on the natural environment continues to be assessed and evaluated, the responsibility of society to preserve the earth’s eco systems that support and sustain life is not up for debate. Therefore we proclaim that acts of man and industry that are known to cause long-term harm or permanently destroy important ecological systems must be prohibited and stopped. These proclamations implemented in their entirety will restore this great nation to the ideals intended by our Founding Fathers. They will reverse decades of iterative changes that have slowly corrupted our governmental systems and the Constitution that they were founded on. They will restore stability, equity and confidence in our political and financial systems. They will protect our diversity, our elderly, our personal freedoms, and the ecological systems that we rely on to sustain our way of life. They will return the United States to its status as the beacon of hope for the rest of the world.
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[-] 1 points by snidelywhiplash (8) 13 years ago
  1. Both private and public institutions have a role in creating and delivering services to the general populace. Certain public services are expressly called for in the Constitution such as the common defense of the nation and the judicial system. Most products and services are offered through the entrepreneurial spirit of America which deploys capital and creates products and services which are exchanged for something of equal value, usually currency. But there are certain services that while not specifically called for in the constitution are necessary to sustain the general health and well being of the general populace, but have no profit motive nor is there price elasticity to allow for a profit motive to appear based on the normal supply & demand curve. When these confluences appear, it is the responsibility of government to step in and provide these services in a responsible and cost-effective manner. Our roads, police and fire services are examples of services provided by the government. The failure of private enterprise to provide for the wellness of our entire populace mandates that health care is one of these. A first world civil society does not have dirt roads, nor does it force its members to choose between food and medicine, nor does it force an early or painful death upon its citizens due to lack of financial resources. Therefore we proclaim that access to professional healthcare is a right of all citizens, not a privilege enjoyed by the few. The government has the obligation to make healthcare professionals and nutritional programs available to all citizens.
  2. A first world country is one where the fortunate take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. The citizenry of the United States must demand a minimum standard of living so that the disabled, children of the disabled, and the elderly do not live in abject poverty. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are safety nets that ensure a minimum standard of living and access to affordable health care for these citizens. Without these institutions over 35% of our citizens would be living and dying in the streets and the United States would cease to be a first-world country. The financial institutions that lobby for the opportunity to manage the Social Security Trust Fund are the same financial institutions that have wrought financial havoc on this nation over the past few years with poor investment judgment and promises not kept. Therefore we proclaim that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid must be fully funded by the taxpayers and the accumulated assets should never be privatized or invested in at-risk investments other than those back by the faith and credit of the United States.
  3. Our founding fathers created Congress as an institution “of the people”. Congress has corrupted the original ideals of our founding fathers by exempting themselves from many of the very laws that they have imposed on the general populace, unjustly enriching themselves with income for life and free health care for life, the same benefits that they have denied the general populace. Therefore we proclaim that Congress must be prohibited from passing any law that exempts Congressional members from any law, unless such exemption is specifically granted by the Constitution itself. And we proclaim that Congress shall not be entitled to unjust riches through excess compensation, pension or other financial benefits other than what is granted to the general populace.
  4. Congress has passed numerous tax and financial Acts which were poorly understood and therefore have had a negative and sometime disastrous impact on the economic well being of the general populace. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 caused the Savings & Loan Crisis of 1988 by lessening the tax benefits of owning income property, forcing too many homes to be put on the market at the same time, which depressed prices and causing the lending banks to fail. The Bankruptcy Protection Act of 2005 precipitated the financial meltdown of 2008 by making it more difficult to declare bankruptcy which only encouraged banks to lower the required credit worthiness of the borrowers. The repeal of the Glass Steagall Act of 1932, which for 70 years prevented a failure of the banking system, led to the failure of the banking system in less than a decade. Therefore we proclaim that Congress shall pass no law or act that impacts the financial system without a gradual implementation of that law to allow the financial and economic systems to absorb the impact over time, and that Congress shall immediately reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act.
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[-] 1 points by snidelywhiplash (8) 13 years ago
  1. The main goal of a political system is to create a society that is equitable and free from advantage and disadvantage. Every man and woman should have one vote. By granting corporations and other pooled organizations such as labor unions the right to advocate in the political process, the Supreme Court has given certain individuals two votes: one as an individual, and one as a member of a pooled group. Therefore we proclaim that only registered voters should be able to influence the political process through direct or indirect contributions to the political process.
  2. All members of society and pooled organizations such as corporations and labor unions have a right of free speech and the right to advocate for their positions in the public domain. Political voices need a healthy opposition to ensure a fair and complete debate. But the accumulation of wealth and assets of a corporation or labor union, when used to directly influence and corrupt the political process, provide accumulated advantage that has no counterbalance by the people. Congress has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the general populace and to ensure it is from financial influence and personal gain. Therefore we proclaim that no member of Congress shall accept any financial benefit from anyone other than a registered voter of the United States. Any member of Congress that has allowed their vote to be influenced by personal financial gain by a corporation or labor union shall be convicted of treason.
  3. The rapid economic growth and resulting wealth accumulation over the past 40 years in the United States has only been possible because of the stability and national infrastructure that the United States government has provided. The federal government is a democratic institution and is supported by the entire citizenry, by all taxpayers. It is only justified that the citizens who have captured the 99% of the wealth accumulation should also pay a proportional share of the taxes to support the governmental institutions that provide the stability and national infrastructure to support that wealth accumulation. Therefore we proclaim the tax burden of the United States should be born proportionately to the profits and other financial benefits that are generated; by those who accumulate those profits and financial benefits; and the tax system should be reformed accordingly.
  4. The greatest strength of the United States is the diversity of its population and cultures. We are a better and stronger nation when we give voice to the diversity of ideas and solutions that flows from the diversity of our peoples and cultures. That cultural diversity has naturally settled in geographic concentrations represented by our States and communities. Therefore we proclaim that Congress shall not pass any law that attempts to homogenize the American culture or restricts our diversity of cultures from flourishing.
  5. Elected representatives are most responsive and accountable when they live and work among those that they represent. Our founding fathers created the Federal government with specific responsibilities, all others were to remain with state and local government. The federal government has violated the intent of the founding fathers by taking control of functions that were never intended at the federal level and has proven itself incapable of self-restraint. Only the States have the power to intervene and reclaim the rights they were provided in the Constitution. Therefore we proclaim that the States should take control of the functions of government not specifically prescribed and assigned within the Constitution to the federal government as was originally intended by the founding fathers.
  6. Our founding fathers envisioned a society where all productive and law-abiding citizens could enjoy freedom of personal lifestyle and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution and Bill of Rights do not prescribe a strict set of rules upon which citizens must adhere to; instead it prescribes a strict set of rights given to the people that must never be restricted. These documents protect the minority from the majority. The right of free speech, the right to practice one’s own religion, the right of selfprotection, and the right to be free from capricious, self-serving and excessive laws are examples. Therefore we proclaim that no governmental institution shall pass a law that directs certain financial or other tangible benefit to one individual that is not equally conveyed on all individuals. Individuals should be protected against discrimination from affects of birth such as gender, age and race; from personal choices such as vocation, avocation, family status and sexual preference; and from affects of circumstance such as disability, health, income or net worth.
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[-] 0 points by Jimboiam (812) 13 years ago

So after all that, what exactly are you proposing? Libertarian free markets, or marxist redistribution, utopian everyone is the same garbage?

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[-] 1 points by badface73 (1) 13 years ago

@Jimbo: well what are YOU proposing? Any intelligent solution this problem or are you having too good of a time just watching chaos every day.?

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[-] 0 points by Jimboiam (812) 13 years ago

I have proposed multiple courses of actions on here. The first is to move the protests to Washington and surround the White House and the Capital, and demand that all 537 people resign in favor of new elections, along with all department heads and cabinet members. Secondly rather than continuing on this path without a set course of demands, develop constitutional amendments to be voted in in each state and force special elections that will severely limit campaign finances. We need to break the back of the relationship between Wall Street and Washington and require Washington to be representative of the people. That is the only thing that is going to work. All this insane talk about bringing down the government and making a new one and new constitution isn't going to get support. And third. Make a relationship between OWS and the Tea Party (non GOP) for the sole purpose of ending the corruption in Washington. That is achievable and the OWS could get much more support.

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