Forum Post: *Concrete* Demands-- post them!
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 22, 2011, 12:35 p.m. EST by jlow83
(0)
from St Paul, MN
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
This is by no means an exhaustive list but for a start, we should:
--demand that Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission be overturned (the ruling that last year removed limits on corporate campaign contributions, effectively recognizing corporations as private citizens).
--demand reform political redistricting, aka 'gerrymandering' (this effectively fosters electing severely polarized candidates, producing much of the political gridlock we see today).
I will concede that each of these should also have be perfectly quantifiable outcomes (we should set specific dollar limits on campaign finance as well as spell out exactly what kind of reform we want to see in redistricting rules), but this is beyond my ken. Some expertise would go a long way.
have you read the suggested list in the 99% Declaration? It's not so much what's on the list because it will likely be ignored. It's The Resolve at the end that's key.
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/
i do agree. there should be a concise set of goals associated with this movement that can be agreed upon by the vast majority of participants. it gives cohesion and would help to quiet the media dogs from barking as much about how this is a shiftless, mindless movement.
i do agree with the Cit United v FEC wholeheartedly. i think campaign finance reform should be at the heart of these demands. you can easily trace nearly all gov't woes back to the fact that politics are on a pay-for result basis.
if we were able to cut donations (even from individuals) completely out of the campaign process, i believe you would see an immediate shift in politicians motivations from supporting whoever their contributor of the month might be to supporting the people who actually vote for them.
get the financial influence out of washington and you will begin to actually get rid of the cancer killing the country rather than treating all the symptoms related to it.
Everyone agrees, but that's just the beginning. I strongly would advise the government to appoint a supercommittee of economists and FOLLOW THEIR ADVISE. Also, fucking find a way to stabilize the economy WITHOUT requiring us to buy shit we don't want.
[Removed]