Forum Post: Professionally Revised Doctrine

Below is a professionally written doctrine for our movement. please take the time to read, inform yourself, and distribute to as many people as possible.

Demands for the OccupyWallStreet Movement PREFACE Until the conditions stated below are met, our movement will only intensify. It has already proven to be a lasting and powerfully uniting force that is growing constantly. We will engage in purely nonviolent protest, and we will continue to protest nonviolently until our demands are fulfilled. As our popularity grows, so does our power. With this power we will make our demands loud and clear, we will voice them with a thunderous roar that has already proved more powerful than any government or corporate power in countless Middle Eastern countries. We are the true voice of liberty, and we will not be silenced until we strip the corporate culture of its power, and return it to its rightful owners, the citizens of the United States of America. I. REVERSE THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED SUPREME COURT DECISION A. This decision stated that corporations can spend as much as they want on election campaigns and no disclosure is required whatsoever. Corporations should be highly limited in ability to contribute to political campaigns no matter what the election and no matter what the form of media. This is in order to ensure that the politicians that are elected loyal to the people and not to their corporate buyers. II. RE-INSTATE THE GLASS-STEAGALL ACT A. The repeal of provisions of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 by the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act effectively removed the separation that previously existed between investment banking which issued securities and commercial banks which accepted deposits. The deregulation also removed conflict of interest prohibitions between investment bankers serving as officers of commercial banks. This repeal directly contributed to the severity of the Financial crisis of 2007–2011 by allowing Wall Street investment banking firms to gamble with their depositors' money that was held in commercial banks owned or created by the investment firms. III. PASS THE BUFFETT RULE ON FAIR TAXATION A. This act would ensure that all American citizens making over one million dollars pay a fair portion of their income to the federal government. This act does not call for a higher tax rate for the ultrarich as one would logically assume, but rather for a tax rate equivalent to that of the middle class, an extremely reasonable request.
IV. COMPLETELY REVAMP THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION A. This commission must be completely rebuilt to ensure the protection of the American people. It is currently a broken institution that merely perpetuates the corporate domination over the middle class. The new commission must be powerful and well funded, and regulated consistently. V. RE-ESTABLISH THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES A. There must be an established order in which presidential candidates debate and campaign on mainstream media. Currently these institutions pick and choose which candidate to give air time, based on their financial interests. These interests directly conflict with the interests of the people, and in order to ensure that voters are given an unbiased, equal view of each candidate; drastic mass-media reforms must be enacted. VI. INVESTIGATE, ARREST AND TRY THE WALL STREET CRIMINALS A. These corporate moguls clearly broke the law and helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in many notable cases. There is a broad consensus that there is a clear group of people who committed financial crimes and have not been brought to justice. A vigorous and intensive investigation must be conducted to prevent future acts of rampant foul play. VII. INTENSE REGULATION OF THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY A. The wars that our country is engaged in are not wars in the interest of the American people, or for the good of any group of people. These wars are fought for corporate profit, and until reforms are put in place, we will continue to sacrifice our beloved troops to benefit a select few war profiteers. Legislation MUST be put in place to ensure that no institution whatsoever profits from the making of war.