Forum Post: A starting list for Occupy demands
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 18, 2011, 2:23 p.m. EST by dmoney
(3)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I'm going to make this very easy for a lot of you, as the "demands" topic seems to go unanswered as a cause:
-Term limits for all federal-level political offices. -Federally funded campaigns and a ban on campaign contributions. -A Constitutional Amendment that makes federally-elected politicians bound by the same laws that apply to the rest of us: no lifetime pensions, no special healthcare, etc. and not be paid more than $50,000/yr for their part-time jobs as politicians. -A new law that prohibits members of Congress/Senate wealth ratio to be higher than the general US population (i.e. if only 2% of Americans are millionaires, then only 2% of Congress can have a net worth of $1M).
- A tax surcharge on CEO salaries and benefits if the net pay exceeds that of 20x the avg employees' salary.
- Remove control of the presidential debates from the two controlling parties. The League of Women Voters used to control it, which allowed for third parties to be included. Now the two parties control this farce.
- Call for journalists to remove political bias from their organizations (laughable, I know, but we can dream). And put pressure on all major new organizations to make sure the teleprompter-reading models actually put pressure on politicians when interviewing them, instead of accepting talking points.
- Demand third-party election coverage from news organizations.
- Close tax loopholes that favor the wealthy.
- Punish American-based corporations with harsh tax penalties for jobs they ship overseas and/or manufacture goods overseas. This includes the most anti-American corporation, WalMart..
Don't let ANY political party hitch their wagon to this movement! I have noticed some want to do just that! THEY, both DEMOCRAT and REPUBILCAN are to blame for this mess and allowing it to happen; INCLUDING OBAMA! They were not listening to us in the past, why now??? Vote them ALL out!!!! Too many middle and lower income people have already lost so much!!!
I agree. They are one in the same and both bow to the same forces on Wall Street and K Street. There's a reason they have silenced the voice of third parties. And they will a) discredit Occupy because it's a direct threat to their survival or b) try to jump on the bandwagon for their own gain. We need to upend both parties completely.
Can we put OWS in the Independant party? They're not too corrupt yet.
Here is another demand that should be completely uncontroversial.
Institute and maintain rock solid accounting standards
Over the last decade trillions have been lost due to improper accounting methods.
Examples:
Enron (goes without saying)
Pentagon ($2.3 trillion could not be accounted for according to Rumsfelt on 9-10-2001)
Foreclosure crisis (ownership of real estate cannot be established)
Without proper accounting there cannot be a proper investment climate, without which there cannot be job growth.
Yes, what is ultimately required in the mortgage industry is the removal of MERS. The mortgage electronic registration system. There have been some Supreme Court Challenges, but without success. This is ultimately the reason banks were able to turn mortgages into commodities, and then start selling on the secondary market as CDO's. In most cases, it circumnavigates most legislation in place on a state/ local level that requires the sale of the note to be registered. It is actually completely illegal practice. On the same token, nobody owns the actual mortgage note, but yet the borrower is completely liable when in default and if they cannot afford representation, will be foreclosed on illegally as well.
Each of these points need to be explored, to see their outcomes. ALL possible outcomes and effects need to be considered, both good and bad.
Make corporations who want to employ workers overseas pay heavy tarriffs to bring their goods back to the US! Also, make these bumbs pay their taxes!
Make corporations who want to employ workers overseas pay heavy tarriffs to bring their goods back to the US! Also, make these bumbs pay their taxes!
Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine (some say m is math). These are the subjects young Americans need to be studying to compete in the global economy.
Universal healthcare and education systems, banishment of the Federal Reserve Bank, establishment of clean renewable energy sources, laws requiring American companies to hire Americans and it's legal residents, establish a strong American manufacturing industry...
Here's some: End the wars, tax the rich, end the WTO, IMF, follow international law, get rid of the UN veto, green America, legalize hemp, break down the banks, regulate wall street, tax stock transfers, end capital flight, end corporate personhood, have a new Constitutional Convention.,,
See, that's the type of over-generalization we need to get away from.
What do you mean?
Reduction in student loans for college kids who are studying STEM related subjects.
Explain?
Restrictions on tax loopholes for the superwealthy. Warren Buffet complains that he is not being taxed enough but I don't think he is volunteering his money
corporations being unable to influence politics and no longer being treated as an individual person so that corporate big wigs can be held responsible for their actions. If that happens the rest will follow.
Yes, they need to be responsible for their actions. How could this be done? Making it so these "corporate big wigs" don't give politicians a reason to be corrupt in their favor? Keeping them from making campaign contributions?
The difficulty with this one, unfortunately, is that the Supreme Court is now just as corrupt as the other institutions. Otherwise, they would have struck down that ruling unanimously. Instead, they approved 5-4.