Forum Post: This Is It, People--What you've been waiting for!
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 5, 2011, 10:51 p.m. EST by RedBaaron
(54)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
If you have not heard yet, Representative Ted Deutsch is proposing an amendment to the constitution that will end corporate personhood. This would be an enormous victory for OWS and Americans of all stripes, and--unlike many of the issues discussed in OWS circles---has the real potential to gain non-partisan support. Do not waste your moment here! Even if it's not the be-all-end-all solution to all of our country's problems, do not let this bill go down without a fight!
We need to send a message loud and clear to our representatives: You WILL pass this bill or we WILL see you thrown out of office! No if's, and's or butt'! If you don't support the bill there's going the be hell to pay! We will end your career next election!
Furthermore, we need to put pressure on all the representatives PRIOR to the vote, and get guarantees that this bill will pass. Get the word out to the representatives in your district; demand that they take a stand on this. If they don't come out in support of it, they are not worth supporting!
the NEED act http://www.citicommons.com/contributors/richard-gates/congratulationstooccupywallstreetforhelpingtotransformourfuture already addresses this. the bill you speak of is a half step being proposed in order to stop any further clamping down on corruption. ignore this bill and support the NEED act.
Give me one good reason why any or all of us can't support or be against more than one bill. Please.
if ever you have two bills with similar language, only one will pass. many bills have a counter presented by the opposing party. sometimes they work out the language in the most popular of the two, sometimes they merge. but it is never the case that two bill with the same intent both pass. if you support a watered down version of a bill and it becomes law, it is unlikely you will ever see it fixed inside your lifetime.
The point I was making is that sometimes it pays to support both with an explanation of the part you most appreciate.
Letters and emails aren't often read by your representative, but they are read by someone and a tally is taken and points noted...even if it doesn't seem that way most of the time.
I disagree; they are two completely different beasts. The NEED act provides a way the for the government to fund a public works program in the vein of Roosevelt's, and for the individuals to rid themselves of debt peonage by borrowing directly from the Federal Reserve. They're great ideas, and ones I've often been supportive of myself. They also have a snowball's chance in hell of surviving in the current congress.
The OCCUPY amendment does none of these things; it simply clarifies that corporations are NOT people; cannot make campaign donations; and they or their shareholders can be regulated by congress. This is something we've heard politicians of nearly every stripe say over and over again, and something OWSers have often said: We need to get the corporate money out of politics! Special interest groups (in particular, Political Action Committees) have no business padding the pockets of politicians. It subverts the democratic process, because then those politicians become beholden to those campaign donors.
Two different beasts. One attempts to make representative government representative again by removing the influence of corporations; the other attempts to expand the role of government into the private sector by providing direct loans and a public works program. Both may be good ideas, but only one has a real chance of making it through congress. And in the long term, getting the moneyed influence out of politics will open up many more opportunities for the people to reassert themselves.
Do not let this bill go down without a fight, OWS'ers, or you have no one but yourself to blame for your voice being drowned out!
do you have a link to it or a PDF?
You can find more on this resolution:
The discussion on the Forum Post, provides insight into some of the weaknesses of this bill.
Sure. The bill is at http://teddeutch.house.gov/UploadedFiles/OCCUPIED_Amendment_Information.pdf If there is time before the vote, I also will be putting up a website to confirm and track each Congressperson's support or non-support of the bill.
thx dude. i'll get this up on the commons in the morning.
welcome