Forum Post: An attempt at unifying our direction
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 14, 2011, 2:37 a.m. EST by MikeK
(0)
from St Louis, MO
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
The media is reporting that the 99% movement lacks unified goals, and there is some merit to this. Furthermore, there are special interests such as unions that may seek to railroad this movement if we cannot clarify what we stand for.
I have tried to break down a few of the most critical arguments we, the 99%, seem to have into this very basic post, so we can maybe start some discussion of unifying our direction and goals. I hope we can start a discussion, add to, subtract from, and edit these basic points and maybe get some unification:
1) Corporations are currently entitled to rights and liberties given to citizens of this country, without having the responsibilities or restrictions placed on citizens. Corporations are not people and should not have the rights of people (ie first amendment rights, etc)
2) Because we can buy politicians and buy "justice" in our country, those who have money can basically create or circumvent the law (celebrities do 5 days in jail for something we would spend years in prison for, lobbyists buy off congress to get corporations what they want, etc). This is unacceptable, and both practices need to be abolished (lobbying and buying justice)
3) Government supervision of mega corporations is too light. The financial crisis we are in now could have been prevented had objective supervision been adequate.
4) If we are to have a capitalistic system, corporate bailouts, corporate subsidies and such cannot ever be allowed to happen. These work against maintaining a free market economy, and give preferential treatment to specific companies by the government. They also create a public financial burden to preserve companies that in capitalism, must fail and be replaced by something better in time.
What else, people? Let's get some clarity and unity here so don't fail due to being railroaded, trivialized or scattering into factions or splinters.
5) green jobs for a greener planet. Create laws and funding to make alternative energy cheap and more efficient somthe lowest dominator can take advantage. this helps the economy on many different levels which will rebound back into the system.
One galvanized message should be the stance of Occupy Wall Street. It plain and simple. When everyone realizes that human behavior drives economics that we have a lot more power than you think.
The message is simple. We will start boycotting EVERY company who is showing enormous profits and not re-investing those profits into creating jobs. We will boycott EVERY bank who is not lending money for mortgages and job expansion.
And instead of just saying it, we do it and hold to our guns, we literally can take down these greedy 1% who think they have us by the balls.
Remember, there are a lot more of us in numbers then there are of them.
When WE THE PEOPLE stand up and take a stance and start boycotting these companies and banks, THEY WILL LISTEN!
REMEMBER... Action speaks louder than words!
Get this message out, and act on it and WE TAKE control once and for all!
SPREAD THIS MESSAGE AROUND AND TAKE A STANCE!
This is the first reasonable list of demands I've seen. I joined this site to debate with people because as a New Yorker I was annoyed by what I viewed as total chaos, but here we have the beginnings of a set of realistic demands that most Americans can agree with.
Kudos, dude!
The freedom to assemble does not have a curfew.
There is merit in being unfocused.
I don't think I see the merit in not having a cause. A mass gathering without a cause is really just a picnic isn't it?
Picnics aren't so bad. As long as there's not a lot of ants running around crawling all over your stuff.
Sometimes, but unfortunately so many people are using that to dismiss us. :/
Well then dismiss them. ;}
I like these. by putting an to buying off congress all the other issues people are raising these past few weeks will have a far better hearing.
I think the end of lobbying with money is the simple clear message with greatest impact.
Get the money out of politics.
Corporations are not people, don't give them the same rights.
The media should serve the citizens, boycott it until it does.
What do you think? We need somthing simple that's very repeatable and easy to communicate to everyone.
It's a good start.