Where Does Occupy Wall Street Go From Here? ...a proposal from Michael Moore

[Mira]

Where Does Occupy Wall Street Go From Here? ...a proposal from Michael Moore

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

Friends,

This past weekend I participated in a four-hour meeting of Occupy Wall Street activists whose job it is to come up with the vision and goals of the movement. It was attended by 40+ people and the discussion was both inspiring and invigorating. Here is what we ended up proposing as the movement's "vision statement" to the General Assembly of Occupy Wall Street:

We Envision: <1> a truly free, democratic, and just society; <2> where we, the people, come together and solve our problems by consensus; <3> where people are encouraged to take personal and collective responsibility and participate in decision making; <4> where we learn to live in harmony and embrace principles of toleration and respect for diversity and the differing views of others; <5> where we secure the civil and human rights of all from violation by tyrannical forces and unjust governments; <6> where political and economic institutions work to benefit all, not just the privileged few; <7> where we provide full and free education to everyone, not merely to get jobs but to grow and flourish as human beings; <8> where we value human needs over monetary gain, to ensure decent standards of living without which effective democracy is impossible; <9> where we work together to protect the global environment to ensure that future generations will have safe and clean air, water and food supplies, and will be able to enjoy the beauty and bounty of nature that past generations have enjoyed.

The next step will be to develop a specific list of goals and demands. As one of the millions of people who are participating in the Occupy Wall Street movement, I would like to respectfully offer my suggestions of what we can all get behind now to wrestle the control of our country out of the hands of the 1% and place it squarely with the 99% majority.

Here is what I will propose to the General Assembly of Occupy Wall Street:


10 Things We Want
A Proposal for Occupy Wall Street
Submitted by Michael Moore

1. Eradicate the Bush tax cuts for the rich and institute new taxes on the wealthiest Americans and on corporations, including a tax on all trading on Wall Street (where they currently pay 0%).

2. Assess a penalty tax on any corporation that moves American jobs to other countries when that company is already making profits in America. Our jobs are the most important national treasure and they cannot be removed from the country simply because someone wants to make more money.

3. Require that all Americans pay the same Social Security tax on all of their earnings (normally, the middle class pays about 6% of their income to Social Security; someone making $1 million a year pays about 0.6% (or 90% less than the average person). This law would simply make the rich pay what everyone else pays.

4. Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act, placing serious regulations on how business is conducted by Wall Street and the banks.

5. Investigate the Crash of 2008, and bring to justice those who committed any crimes.

6. Reorder our nation's spending priorities (including the ending of all foreign wars and their cost of over $2 billion a week). This will re-open libraries, reinstate band and art and civics classes in our schools, fix our roads and bridges and infrastructure, wire the entire country for 21st century internet, and support scientific research that improves our lives.

7. Join the rest of the free world and create a single-payer, free and universal health care system that covers all Americans all of the time.

8. Immediately reduce carbon emissions that are destroying the planet and discover ways to live without the oil that will be depleted and gone by the end of this century.

9. Require corporations with more than 10,000 employees to restructure their board of directors so that 50% of its members are elected by the company’s workers. We can never have a real democracy as long as most people have no say in what happens at the place they spend most of their time: their job. (For any U.S. businesspeople freaking out at this idea because you think workers can't run a successful company: Germany has a law like this and it has helped to make Germany the world’s leading manufacturing exporter.)

10. We, the people, must pass three constitutional amendments that will go a long way toward fixing the core problems we now have. These include:

a) A constitutional amendment that fixes our broken electoral system by 1) completely removing campaign contributions from the political process; 2) requiring all elections to be publicly financed; 3) moving election day to the weekend to increase voter turnout; 4) making all Americans registered voters at the moment of their birth; 5) banning computerized voting and requiring that all elections take place on paper ballots.

b) A constitutional amendment declaring that corporations are not people and do not have the constitutional rights of citizens. This amendment should also state that the interests of the general public and society must always come before the interests of corporations.

c) A constitutional amendment that will act as a "second bill of rights" as proposed by President Frankin D. Roosevelt: that every American has a human right to employment, to health care, to a free and full education, to breathe clean air, drink clean water and eat safe food, and to be cared for with dignity and respect in their old age.

Let me know what you think. Occupy Wall Street enjoys the support of millions. It is a movement that cannot be stopped. Become part of it by sharing your thoughts with me or online (at OccupyWallSt.org). Get involved in (or start!) your own local Occupy movement. Make some noise. You don't have to pitch a tent in lower Manhattan to be an Occupier. You are one just by saying you are. This movement has no singular leader or spokesperson; every participant is a leader in their neighborhood, their school, their place of work. Each of you is a spokesperson to those whom you encounter. There are no dues to pay, no permission to seek in order to create an action.

We are but ten weeks old, yet we have already changed the national conversation. This is our moment, the one we've been hoping for, waiting for. If it's going to happen it has to happen now. Don't sit this one out. This is the real deal. This is it.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Yours,
Michael Moore
[e-mail]
@MMFlint
MichaelMoore.com

[ellisonz]

1. Thank you Michael Moore...

[BanTheGOP]

77. Great ideals, Michael. I actually came up with the SAME LIST YEARS AGO

I came up with the same list three years ago.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/BanTheGOP/39

Of course, the ONLY way we can do it is to eliminate the republican party. If there are republicans, there is NOT going to be ANY CHANGE to this mess caused by them.

[valerief]

2. What a fabulous list! nt

[markmyword]

23. Michael Moore for President!

Thank you Michael for your list, which I think is terrific.

Great idea, that we have those three amendments added to our
Constitution.
We need PAPER BALLOTS that allow a PAPER TRAIL. Electronic
ballots only allow for the Republicans to STEAL OUR ELECTIONS.

That's a great list to start with,but let's not forget that we
need to PROSECUTE BUSH, CHENEY, RUMSFELD, RICE, GONZALES, YOO,
AND EVERYONE ELSE who was in the Bush Administration that got
us into this ILLEGAL WAR and TORTURED people.

The money that BUSH wasted (and now Obama)on contractors,like
Halliburton, and Blackwater could have given EVERY student a
FREE college education, supported SOCICAL SECURITY,and
MEDICARE for years and years,improved our schools, BUILT OUR
INFRASTRUCTURE and kept MILLIONS of people employed.
 
There isn't any reason for America to go  to war ever again,
that's why we have the UN to WORK our differences out.

Thank you Michael for speaking out for us 99%.

[freshwest]

65. Too late to Rec, but recommend and will share the list! Thanks for posting it.

[Autumn]

3. Everything he said is just what needs to be

done to fix our problems. Why are politicians too stupid to understand that? Never mind I know the answer to that. K/R

[AntiFascist]

4. Goal #9 sounds fascinating...

I didn't know that Germany had a law in place like this. I can just hear the right wing screaming "socialism!" at the top of their lungs. Too bad. Libertarianism on the part of the 1% is oppressing all of the rest us. Ultimately, it could become 99.9%. They can scream all they want.

[Lucky Luciano]

62. It is already the 99.9%. nt

[Fantastic Anarchist]

72. There have been bases for such systems in the past.

Going back to Josiah Warren in the US (actually even further), and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (in France) who developed Mutualism after the Mutuellistes of Lyon who took over their workplaces. Participatory Economics (PARECON) is based on Mutualism - which is libertarian socialism, or anarchism, if you will. Karl Marx was an early admirer of Proudhon, and even "lifted" his scientific socialism from him before turning on him due to ambition.

Proudhon wrote "The Philosophy of Poverty" while Marx, in his straw man sarcasm of Proudhon wrote "The Poverty of Philosophy."

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. Looks like a great list of demands

:thumbsup:

[SalviaBlue]

6. This sounds real good.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Oh wait...more non demands?

I can hear the chirps now.

[sam11111]

8. tax data: Moore's point 1.

(graph is from Wikipedia, on page linked here about 90% of the way down)
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States

The Top Tax Rate - ( its history )

[Zorra]

9. Michael totally gets it. Fingers rolling skyward. nt

[EFerrari]

24. He really does. nt

[sam11111]

10. co ops(point 9)...should apply to ANY size business and employees shd be 60%

Not just 50%.

Votes wd remain simple majority.
-----------------
-----------------
Now change gears a bit--
Following is not related to the above paragraph--

About OWS statement using the word "consensus":

I prefer simple majority rule. Consensus rule crushes minority speech - "if I speak out they will frown because I will hold up the meeting". So minority views are muzzled by that.

[chervilant]

45. Actually,

consensus decision-making is a labor-intensive, arduous process. When fully realized, it is the most egalitarian and fruitful means of achieving results. Consensus decision-making empowers each group member to speak and share their ideas. Decisions made in such a manner have the support (and participation) of every member of the group.

If you've had an experience such as you've described, then you were not participating in consensus decision-making.

[sam11111]

11. SS: his last point ... SS income should equal average US family income- 50K.. financed by the tax

graph I posted up a ways on this thread.

Now Moore's election ideas...pls add

-Hand counted
-at precinct level
-"many eyes watching" that count..including foreign observers if foreigners wish to

-a Board runs elections, never one guy from ONE party (usu a Sec of State these days)
-"cash-free-campaigns" is the catchy phrase for one of his points

In all I have six election points(he listed paper ballots ... Which I also wd add to my list)

---I would call OWS "the 99 party" and have it endorse folks.

[Courtesy Flush]

12. #2 is slippery

All they have to do is fail to make a profit, at least on paper, and ship all the jobs overseas.

Any new venture that starts out in the red (as new ventures will do) will be pressured to get jobs out of the country before they start turning a profit.

[Enthusiast]

39. It might need to be tweaked.

Just a hair.

[Beavker]

64. What about something that would

basically tax anything that comes in from a boat at 100%.

If you want to avoid that, build a plan here, pay American worker and US Taxes. I'm guessing that beats paying 100% tax (tariff) to get your Ipad off the docks...

Toyota builds the Prius here, no? My Z3 was built in NC. That may not completely take care of the foreign tax dodge, but it is a start.

Yeah, it will piss off the Wal-mart shoppers, but we're going to all be slaves pretty soon anyway unless we do something.

Just a thought.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

13. Most of those are sensible; 4 and 7 are blinders; 2 and 10c are daft.

1: Yes, of course.

2: No. Speaking as a non-American, I can assure you that there is nothing immoral about employing non-Americans, any more than there's anything immoral about employing Americans (do you think that companies that employ Americans but make profits in other countries should be penalised?). In a clash of interests between poor Americans and rich Americans, one should usually side with the former; in a clash of interests between poor Americans and poor people in other countries there's no such "presumption of rightness" on one side.

3: I don't know enough about this to comment, but it sounds like a good idea on the face of it.

4: Yes, this is one of the two I agree with most strongly - I've heard an awful lot of people who appear to be right about other things blame the recent economic meltdown on the repeal of Glass-Steagal.

5: Yes, of course. But I don't expect there to be many - the crash was caused by regulations being removed, not by regulations being broken; it was the fault of government and the electorate, not individual bankers.

6: Yes, of course.

7: Yes, of course. America spends far more on healthcare than Europe, for worse results. Take a look at the NHS, and learn.

8: Yes, of course, in theory, although I suspect easier said than done.

9: No, this looks to me like a bad idea. Employees interests are represented by unions; boards are there to represent the interests of shareholders. I think this would be a lot like requiring every union to have 50% of its members appointed by the shareholders.

10a1&2: Certainly something like this would be a good idea; this may go too far.

10a3: Seems sensible.

10a4: I think this is shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, and goes too far, albeit in a sensible direction. Every election needs to leave a paper trail so it can be checked, but there's no reason not to count votes by computer. Press a button on the screen, get a receipt, check it says what it should, drop it in a box, and only bother counting what's in the box if there's a controversy.

10b: No, I like being able to sue corporations, than you very much. And the idea that "the interests of corporations" are not a vital part of "the interests of society" is just silly.

10c: God no. An amendment saying you have a right to employment is like an amendment saying you have a right not to get cancer. Keep constitutional amendments for nitty-gritty literal stuff, and save high-minded waffle for speeches.

[onpatrol98]

27. Speaking as an American

2: No. Speaking as a non-American, I can assure you that there is nothing immoral about employing non-Americans, any more than there's anything immoral about employing Americans (do you think that companies that employ Americans but make profits in other countries should be penalised?). In a clash of interests between poor Americans and rich Americans, one should usually side with the former; in a clash of interests between poor Americans and poor people in other countries there's no such "presumption of rightness" on one side.

Speaking as an American, there is something wrong about companies receiving tax incentives, moving companies from cities where they've been 50 years and currently enjoying tax breaks, moving overseas to enjoy 1) slave labor wages; 2) loose to no regulations; 3) horrid worker conditions and inhumane working environments when the country they're currently in has 10% unemployment.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

37. Why do you think those countries have such poor working conditions?

There are a variety of reasons, but one large one is that because there's not much work, and so workers have to take jobs at appalling terms because if they don't someone else will. The more jobs there are in the country, the stronger the position of those seeking them and the more they'll be paid.

By trying to artificially strangle third-world economies to protect your own, you're not just boosting unemployment there, you're forcing down wages and working conditions.

You're also forcing *up* the prices that people in America have to pay for things, but that's a different argument.

[onpatrol98]

83. Strangle another countries economy?

Am I attempting to strangle a third world country's economy if I want a company already in America to stay in America. Or, is another country strangling mine if they manipulate their currency, and keep their labor force wages artificially low by forcing their workers to work longer hours for less pay, poor worker conditions, etc. I simply disagree with you on that point.

I also do not "force" product prices to increase by expecting companies who benefit from our tax dollars to actually remain in the country that provides them. In fact, I have yet to see one company that moved overseas to "reduce" their prices in order to pass along the cost savings and help me enjoy lower prices.

If we pay our people more, they will be able to afford higher priced products. They're not interested in saving me money. They're interested in squeezing out a bigger profit margin on the backs of American tax policies and the American people.

[Enthusiast]

40. K&R!

Right on!

[freshwest]

66. +1,000

[Romulox]

55. So...do you HONESTLY think that OWS is about people's support for neoliberal economics

and race to the bottom corporatism/globalism? :eyes:

And your right to sue a corporation hasn't a thing to do with "corporate personhood". :silly: :hi:

[Donald Ian Rankin]

95. No, I don't but I think that the impulse to screw the rest of the world to protect America

is one of the things the American left is wrong about.

[hootinholler]

14. The devil's in the details...

I would prefer a reward system rather than a punitive one in taxing corporations, otherwise they will just move expansion abroad and keep profitable factories here. I would rather have a high tax rate with breaks for jobs created here.

In general I agree with the goals, though and it's a terrific start.

[cyberpj]

15. Michael asked us to let HIM know what we think. I hope posters with comments go there too. But

personally, I think if it doesn't fit on a bumper sticker Fox and it's Foxettes won't even consider it.

Saying that, I'm very glad it had so much thought and effort behind it and it required one to read it in order to actually discuss it.

Good job!

[Zorra]

16. kick

[woo me with science]

17. Okay, I teared up.

That is twice in the past two days. First it was Michael Chorost's words:

"The police officer is Congress. Our banks. Our clerics... The students are us... If I had to sum up the attitude of America's governing classes in one word, I would say: contempt.

We are seeing the beginning of a worldwide movement to fight for dignity and intelligent, collective governance.

And now this. Thank you for posting it.

We can talk about the details of the demands...but right now I am just so overwhelmed and joyful that this conversation is finally happening. We have been taught for so long that the way we do things is the only way to do things. To hear voices speaking out so powerfully for a society that values human lives and dignity above profit...

I love you, OWS. We are the 99 percent.


.

[russspeakeasy]

32. Thank you for saying it better than I could.

"dignity above profit".

[Enthusiast]

41. Me too.

[bertman]

18. HUGE REC. nt

[mick063]

20. Capitalism: A love Story.

is highly recommended viewing.

This video was my original inspiration of all things #occupy. After watching it, I knew I would be part of this movement as I knew it would enevitably happen. I was simply waiting for it to happen.


I fully endorse Michael Moore's vision, message, and leadership. I only speak for myself.

[bertman]

46. Agree, mick063. Also, "Inside Job". If seeing that doesn't piss people off to the point

of getting off their asses, nothing will.

[chervilant]

47. Well, now,

you've voiced a position that I've shared for a long time. I knew the economic train wreck occurred during St. Ronnie's reign of terror. For most of my life, I've watched the wrecked engine of our economy screeching toward its inevitable end. And, I've dreamed of witnessing our essential revolution for decades now.

I have to confess that I was teetering on the edge of bitter misanthropy these last five years--angrily and impotently watching a democratic administration continue the hedonistic obeisance to the vile Corporate Megalomaniacs who've usurped our media, our politics and our global economy.

I confess that I almost made the same mistake these vile Corporate Megalomaniacs have made: I had concluded that the last sixty years of co-opted public education had strangled our citizens' critical thinking skills beyond redemption. I thought that the vast majority of us had become complacent little automatons, completely devoted to wanton consumerism.

I am so very thankful that I was wrong.

#Occupy is the brave first step on our species' journey to recovery. I hope that those of us who cannot be there (poor health, no money, no transportation) will pick up the gauntlet in whatever way we can. As an educator, I practice Satyagraha at every opportunity, and my students are hearing about #Occupy, about radical income inequity, about Satyagraha, and about BEING the change we hope to see in this world.

[glinda]

19. Rec'ed with hopes of more environmental/species stuffs added.

[blackspade]

21. Works for me!

[Douglas Carpenter]

22. that is a pretty good list!!

[BigBearJohn]

25. Wish I could rec this a million times

[stuffmatters]

26. Moore's list is great ; he asked for suggestions so

I would just add a few measures that speak to the corporate
victimization of the public and exploitation of public
resources.

11.  Economic justice for homeowners and student debtors. 
Rewrite all mortgages at fixed 
4% for thirty years, lower mortgages to no more than 100% of
current market value.  For student loans, lower interest rate
to the same amount banks pay at the Fed discount window.  
Allow all mortgage, student debt and credit card debt to be
discharged in bankruptcy.

12.  Stop the privatization of public, taxpayer owned
property, essential services, resources
and utilities (i.e. "our commons"). From prisons to
"urban districts", no one has a right to sell,
privately control or profit what belongs to everybody.  

13. Legalize hemp; regulate and tax pot like alcohol and
cigarettes.  Treat drug addiction as a health issue not as a
crime.
 
  

[Pacifist Patriot]

50. I like your additions!

ETA: I'm also inclined to put something in there about higher education, but I'm not quite sure how to phrase it. At any rate, having to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for college is wrong.

[mick063]

I like your adds, I'll add one.

Properly fund and equip the Internal Revenue Service to investigate and enforce the new tax laws that we are going to slap at those greedy 1%.

[mick063]

86. I like you adds, I'll add one.

Properly fund and equip the Internal Revenue Service to investigate and enforce the new tax laws we are going to slap at those greedy 1%.

[Auggie]

28. I'd be thrilled to see any three of those become reality. K&R

[Kaleko]

29. Impressive.

[Shanti Mama]

30. decision by consensus can be tough

I LOVE this, but have participated in consensus-based groups. It's very tough. I think this could be a little tighter, with alternatives.

[JNelson6563]

31. I hope he doesn't horn in on the empty leadership position.

I can think of no better way to get many Americans to just close their minds to OWS then to put MM up as front man. And he seems to be associating more and more........this movement's leadership role just might be big enough to accomodate his ego.

I sure hope there aren't too many OWS folks that are starstruck.

Julie

[in_cog_ni_to]

33. "this movement's leadership role just might be big enough to accomodate his ego." That's not nice.

He said this is what he's 'presenting' to the GA. The GA and all the Occupiers make the decisions. Not Michael Moore. Michael Moore is a freakin' TREASURE and you don't want him to give any input on issues he's been fighting his entire life? I've never really thought Michael Moore was an egomaniac. Ever. Caring, concerned for citizens, concerned about our dwindling rights, concerned about Corporations taking our jobs overseas, and concerned about illegal wars, but never an egomaniac. :(

[JNelson6563]

34. Take a deep breath!

Never said I don't want him to have any input, not at all! His input should be welcomed, of course. He is ignorant of many things but the things he is actually informed on, he can be great at getting points across regarding such things.

Oh and, as an aside, MM lives in my neck of the woods. Take a good, up-close-and-personal look and you too might feel the same. We liberals here in this red zone appreciate what good he has done for the cause but he has caused us to wince many times, up there at the podium, speaking in person. One tip, if you're going to an event where MM's going to speak and no one thought to mention time constraints to him, make sure you have food, drink and an empty bladder--this man loves the sound of his own voice!

Thanks for my morning dose of near hysterical knee jerk reactionary DU. My day is now complete. Oy.

Julie

[Enthusiast]

43. "My day is now complete."

So glad we could help.

[mimi85]

73. Occupy doesn't need more firebaggers

My respect for MM is fading fast. He's already behind the curve. Oh, and how are those book sales, Michael?

[Luminous Animal]

75. What proposals have you hashed out with your fellow citizens to bring to your local GA?

By the way, I don't know if you know this but Mike is fat.

[Luminous Animal]

74. Really? You wince? Horrors. And it is established fact that MM will stop you from going to pee

while he is speaking.

And eating, too. He absolutely will call you out if you get up to drink, eat, or pee.

He's got labor thugs to enforce complete compliance.

[JNelson6563]

89. Actually it's about being polite, even to those who are not.

As in not getting up and doing stuff while someone is speaking. You know, manners.

And believe me, the way all my "union thug" buddies have rolled their eyes at one point or another during his endless speeches here, I rather think they would side with me on this and maybe take him out, or at least wrestle the mic away after a couple hours of speechifyin'.

Julie

[Myrina]

36. Agreed.

n/t

[chervilant]

48. Gosh, Julie...

I scrolled back up to reread this OP, just to see if I missed even a hint of Mr. Moore attempting to "horn in on the empty leadership position." I note that he stated that he "participated" in a meeting and that the participants of the meeting "ended up proposing" a vision statement.

hmm...

Doesn't sound like he's 'horning in' on any leadership position, so I'd bet #Occupy is safe from his alleged massive ego.

[Romulox]

58. Agree. Tends to correspond neatly with his "Book Tour 2011", too.

How is Moore not part of the 1% again? :shrug:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/book-tour/here-comes-trouble/

[Luminous Animal]

69. Yes. He and his publisher predicted in advance the OWS movement thus rolling out

the publishing and the tour and just the right moment!

Glenn Greenwald did the same thing!

Crazy, man. Crazy.

[Romulox]

80. Um, perhaps the concept of "opportunism" is new to you. It's not new to Mikey. nt

[Zorra]

85. "But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'."

"Nope, nope.."
;)
http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/jokes/monty-python-four-yorkshiremen.html

[chervilant]

92. hmm...

Perhaps it's better to be silent, and be thought a fool, than to blog, and remove all doubt...

[Scuba]

35. Terrific. Now let's work to make it happen!

[Scuba]

87. Kick for greater vis. n/t

[Enthusiast]

38. Kicked and recommended!

I support Michael's proposals. Now that would be a great country!

[LWolf]

42. This one's a winner. nt

[lonestarnot]

44. K & R!

[CJCRANE]

49. K...

& R!

[ooglymoogly]

51. Kr...I'm with you MM. nt

[Pacifist Patriot]

52. It's a compelling list, especially with the three additional suggestions mentioned above.

I see some areas that, of course, require tweaking to close potential loopholes. I also see a lot of areas where political dialogue will be needed to reach a consensus in terms of how these goals are achieved. I'm up for it!

[Hutzpa]

53. Education is missing on that list

free education and lower tuition fees should also be added.

The tea baggers need to have an education to understand what is being done to
their country their fellow teapublicans.

[DirkGently]

54. Great list.

[Martin Eden]

56. "we secure the civil and human rights of all from violation by tyrannical forces and unjust govt's"

gotta flesh that one out a bit, as it can be construed as support for military intervention like "Operation Iraqi Freedom"

[Luminous Animal]

70. I agree.

[kctim]

57. Yep

When tens of millions won't vote for your beliefs, create a list to rile up a few thousand of those who already support you.

[Romulox]

59. If leadership is ceded right back to the "well meaning" 1%, what is OWS even about?

:shrug:

[Luminous Animal]

71. Leadership hasn't and it won't be. Do people not read? Mike is attending and participating

in NYC General Assemblies. That information is right there in the fucking OP. He has no more influence than any other GA attendee. That is what OWS is about.

[Romulox]

79. It's silly to claim that Moore doesn't generate more publicity than "any other GA attendee".

Potty mouth notwithstanding, your argument is weak. :shrug: :hi:

[Luminous Animal]

84. Publicity means squat in the GA. Your ignorance is embarrassing.

[davekriss]

60. Kick and highly recommend!

I am 1000% in agreement. About f'ing time !!

[nineteen50]

61. Something must be done to bring access and balance to the courts.

[defendandprotect]

63. +1 -- Supreme Court, Drug War, Prison system -- !! Completely corrupt systems -- !!!

[Prometheus Bound]

67. 10 (a) 1. That's the key.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

68. Especially Number 9

Workplace democracy is critical.

[annabanana]

76. Sounds good dto me. . kick. . .n/t

[moondust]

78. Good starting points.

The country probably needs a new and improved Constitution built upon the old one and including things like this. Maybe in the next life...

[LuckyTheDog]

81. Here is a list I have been circulating

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o0Cayb61w6fbVFTRx3ujF04ZSLHiD1fQqAa8E9AbZ34/edit?hl=en_US#


Eight Things America Should Do Now

There are a lot of things we need to do if we are going to turn the U.S. around. Members of the 99 Percent Movement will have different views about long-term goals. But the following might provide a near-term legislative agenda most members could agree with.
1. Reinstate Glass-Steagall Act, which created a healthy separation of commercial and investment banks. The repeal of Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 made possible some of the worst abuses that caused the banking crisis of 2008. Clearly, repeal was a failure and we need to go back to what works.
2. Pass a real jobs bill. The proposed American Jobs Act contains a lot of good ideas, but is insufficient. Congress should pass a bill that spends even more on infrastructure, devotes more money to education and includes direct hiring modeled after the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Projects Administration.
3. Commit to letting the Bush tax cuts expire. The tax rates of the 1990s worked well and produced federal surpluses. The Bush tax cuts didn’t. We should re-impose those tax rates – first, on the wealthy and, over time, on everybody else.
4. Get the big money out of politics. There are a lot of ways in which this could be done. One of the best ways would be to create a system for public financing of campaign. But less-dramatic, intermediate steps move us in the right direction, they should be supported.
5. Overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. This will require a constitutional amendment declaring that the Constitution of the United States protects the rights of natural persons only. The rights of corporations should be limited to those outlined in statutes passed by Congress and state legislatures.
6. Review all trade agreements and renegotiate the bad ones. Free trade can be a good thing, if it is thoughtfully set up with the interests of American workers in mind. Too often, it isn’t. But trade agreements that pit American workers against low-wage foreign labor in a race to the bottom need to be altered or eliminated.
7. Rebuild America. Future generations need this one to leave them with a strong national infrastructure. If we are going to do that, we need to get started with all deliberate speed.
8. Protect health care reform and build upon what has been passed. The Affordable Care Act is far from perfect, but scrapping it is a recipe for decades more of inaction. Let’s instead concentrate on making it better over time, establishing access to good health care as a right for all Americans.

[Kashka-Kat]

82. Goals great. The vision thing - not so much. I'm almost 60 - "truly free," what does that

mean? Pure consensus simply does not work on larger groups say above 5 people. Otherwise you need some sort of modified version - such as going to vote if no consensus is possible. And believe me it can be corrupted, abused and manipulated by the power-hungry as much as any other system. I respect that a lot of youthful energy has gone into this whole thing but hope the wisdom of elders will be honored too!!! When talking about governance I myself would like to see some recommitment to the founding principles of our democratic system (a la Thom Hartmann's extensive writings) rather than these vague circa 1970 buzz words like "truly free" and "consensus."

Michael you are such a good writer, the specificity of the goals is good. Items stated succinctly, convincingly. Just need to apply the same type of specificity to the goals, It needs to be BELIEVABLE. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mother earth]

88. Kicking in agreement & a return to the democracy we once

were.

[Mosaic]

90. No I won't have a happy genocide day

But I do agree with some of the ideas. On the other hand don't try to co-opt us into irrelevance because if you try, you will fail.

[certainot]

91. 15 of 16 2010 NCAA basketball universities endorse limbaugh/1% by broadcasting on its stations-

and all OWS objectives above are harder because the left lets universities endorse RW radio.

talk radio is the samson hair of the modern republican party. it has turned the party of lincoln into the party of limbaugh and made the difference the last 20 years, right under the 'left's' noses because there is no readable record. all OWS points harder while 1% radio ignored. all the OWS objectives you outline are made harder because there is NO organized opposition to the right wing radio monopoly.

legislation to fix the problem will be too slow or impossible. cit united requires that the 1%s best weapon can no longer be allowed to kick internet ass.

we allow our universities to contradict their own mission statements and require their students who don't have TVs or high speed to listen to RW radio stations for their uni sports..

those stations rely on those associations and they need to stop. if unis were challenged by their communities about the global warming denial, racism, sexism, lies, etc. many of those stations would have to consider losing local sponsors and going out of business or balancing programming or going to sports or music.

without their radio monopoly for that coordinated repetition to 50 mil a week they are toothless to intimidate pols and media and keep the GOP in lock step. and they'll lose their ability to create their own teabagger reality.

[NancyBordier]

93. A Systems-Changing Solution for the OWS Movement?

These are great ideas for translating OWS grievances into a legislative agenda.

My focus is on circumventing the obstacles that have been erected to prevent voters like OWS members from using the political system to elect lawmakers who will enact their constituents' agendas.

Readers might be interested in an article on this subject that I co-authored with fellow political scientist, Joseph M. Firestone, Ph.D.

It is entitled, A System-Changing Solution for the OWS Movement?.

Feedback and input are most welcome here and at [e-mail].

[Zorra]

94. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[NancyBordier]

97. Thanks!

It feels great to be joining such a lively group. . . so many topics . . . so dear to my heart.

Thanks so much for the warm welcome!

[Zorra]

96. kick