Forum Post: Can anyone give me one good reason why getting money out of politics/ campaign finance reform should not be the singular demand/main focus of OWS?
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 18, 2011, 9:07 a.m. EST by misterioso
(86)
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Seriously guys come on, cant we all agree that this is at the root of all the problems? We are never going to accomplish anything unless we clearly state what the root cause of the problems are and what needs to be done about it. We need to tell them what to do. We know what needs to be done, no positive change will ever occur unless we get money out of the electoral process ......a separation of business and state. Every day that goes by where we dont articulate this position we allow the opposition to discredit us with their lies and mischaracterizations. Here is a simple message nobody in right mind who supports democracy can argue against.......restore democracy, abolish plutocracy
We mush explain that we are not mad at rich people because they are rich, we are mad because they bought our government and now we the people want it back. Overturning citizens united would be a good first step
I ABSOLUTELY support getting the money out. See my proposal at http://occupywallst.org/forum/we-the-people-in-order-to-a-proposal/ . Also watch the PBS video at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/law-professor-lawrence-lessig
Getting the money out of politics is not the root of ALL problems, however. We the People ALSO need to become good consumers who "vote" appropriately with our dollars. As it stands, we "vote" for the cheapest product in all cases, borrow money to buy foreign goods, and then complain the bankers are rich and we have no jobs. We also count the "tax savings" we get when shopping on-line to be a "benefit" without regard for the the needs of our local communities or the "brick-and-mortar" jobs we continue to lose. We need to "vote" according to total SOCIAL cost, not sticker price alone. See http://occupywallst.org/forum/the-power-of-the-people/ .
unitedrepublic.org, please join and be apart
We are each citizens who can also act independently of OWS, such as Molly Katchpole who started the petition for ending the debit card fees. Why not start a petition to overturn Citizens United? Get lots of people to sign it, send it up to the congress? Who knows it could catch fire and go somewhere? I would sign it right now.
this is the root problem that brought us to the problems we have. the one thing i dont understand is y no one has made this statement. what was the last poor president. i think if a poor man was given the chance to repersent the country then things would change. we are in a time when an imbalance is here. if it doesnt change the tipping point will point to revolution.
not sure about poor but I would stop working and bring my family wherever needed to promote the presidency of a Wynona Laduke or John Trudell or...
I want the richest person possible in charge of the country, BUT by rich I mean with a connection to the land and healthy modern education NOT MONEY
Could.Not.Agree.More! It boggles my mind to see OWS let this opportunity for great change pass them by. All of the legitimate complaints are all tied to the root of the problem. The outside money in politics.
OWS is beginning to run the risk of losing support for their lack of coherent message. Its time for phase 2. Its time for OWS to evolve. And the way to do it is to take the most import issue that is the root of ALL issues and make that become OWS's core message.
Im so glad you made this thread. Keep spreading it around. I've been doing the same as i've been saying the same thing for a while. We all know what must be done to take this to the next level. OWS, lets do it.
one focal point will diminish the credibility of the movment BUT getting individuals for the 2012 elections that are out of the box is crucial to my faith...I wanna know who OWS supports for office and I would love to see raised money go to this, if of course it meets the thoughts behind the declaration.
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/
Im not at all convinced that if this is the one focal point it will diminish the credibility of the movement, as I see it, it will only make the movement more credible, especially because it forces the opposition to defend the indefensible. Can you explain your reasoning there? As for supporting particular candidates, I think that will only work If we have a clear policy agenda that the candidates much pledge support for if they want the movement to back them. Its important to determine exactly what the principles and the policies are before getting involved in the electoral process. For instance a candidate would have to oppose citizens united or support the reinstatement of glass steagall in order to get support. I would say they would need to reject all corporate campaign contributions and individual contributions above a certain amount.
ONE Problem One solution is misleading at the root of the words. Diversity will grab the masses, something can appeal to everyone...a movment for a shift in the American consciousness is one that must offer a broad base of information and action b/c as Americans living with their freedom, we much all be appealed to not expected to jump on the bandwagon that has been deemed the most relevant
The answer is not to further destroy free speech while on a snipe hunt. As long as the govt is as powerful as it is it will be corrupt & people will want to manipulate it. Basically, what I'm saying is that there is no solution to this problem, you can't make a bad institution run well. Abolish the govt & let free markets flourish.
I can't figure it out either. We all have personal axes to grind based on our circumstances but fixing the most obvious and glaring issues that are wrong with the system and those which exasperated our problems should be the primary goal.
I feel for students and the high cost of tuition, the cost of living is becoming too high for the average citizen, wars in general, wars on drugs, the prison machine, taxes, the environment etc... they are all important issues but at the core of the matter is legalized corruption through lobbying, campaign finance, corporate personhood and lack of regulatory oversight in the banking industry.
we live in a non functioning democracy
It's on the list
Comprehensive Campaign Finance and Election Reform
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/
nice list...what happens when you get where you want?
I am also wondering if there should be specifics about food laws and/or corporation monoculturization and the like?
a gentleman once told me that in the School of Latin Americas, where he was trained for Vietnam combat to fight for us as an Nicaraguan refugee that the number one thing our government taught him that the number one way to control a peoples is to control their food.
Long Life, Honey in the Heart
Any large population center is 3 days or less from riots. This from a US military study (NSA). If my memory is correct this study was done in the 60's.
I am sure there are many other things that would be covered, such as food laws (safety) etc, it's just that these are the core issues at this time.
http://unitedrepublic.org/2011/kc-star-let-them-eat-crud/
Yeah, pitiful. But that's politics and the business of politics...
they are beautiful...our support is yours...
from the heart of the land
unitedrepublic.org...
I am starting to see OWS as the beginning and creation of the movement or series of movements creating the necessary tension to have a chance to initiate any change. I would imagine each cities GA will be pushin sooo much on the ground level, like education in Oakland?/ so forth and so on?
Actions beyond this is coming via technological or electronic network of the larger masses (the above url for example) with a gameplan coming from each individual reform necessity...
Why not just one? There is no one root...everything here is super important BUT only because all the atrocities combined need to mobilize the masses to wisen up and demand change...no big red button issue...the syndrome is from bottom up and top down. If i had to pick one cause of the problem to fix it would be the 99%...The tools are out there, it just isnt a fair design for the lets say upper middle class down.
how can u have a root cause of problems?
Alternate : “For any public company, only real person shareholders, selected by a pure lottery of shares owned, may nominate directors.” Control is returned to the people, not Wall Street nor Congress.
Today, CEO's nominate cronies as directors who give out out-sized salaries, bonuses and take risks with our money. If two candidates were nominated by real people for each director slot there would be board quality, caution with our own money and much less need for government oversight and influence. An achievable OWS articulated goal?
It's one of the many roots of our problems. many many many roots
The most important roots if you ask me
I agree 100%
Campaign Finance Reform is a major issue. There is no denying that at all. However getting rid of campaign finance reform is not going to happen with the current dbags in office. There is only one thing that OWS should be focusing on. This problem has been warned about since the beginning of our country.
Please watch this video to find out who the real enemy is so we can focus on getting rid of the REAL problem. Take 30 minutes out of your day to educate yourself so we can all join hands in singularity to take our country back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZPWH5TlbloU
After we get rid of the central bank (fed reserve) then we can worry about giving states their rights back. This way if you do not like the laws in one state you can move to one where you do like the laws. That is what freedom is all about and what the founding fathers intended for this country of ours. Ron Lawl is your only answer. Please take notice and lets get rid of the real problem in America.
Ron Lawl as you call him is not the subject of this post. What does Ron Lawl think about the Citizens United ruling?
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