"Below is a working proposed list of demands by Occupy Wall Street (OWS):"
Which groups have made these demands? If these are the real demands, it's no surprise to me that so many of these OWS professors have been attacked by cops.
I've only been half-heatedly following the developments of these protests, btw.
"LIST OF PROPOSED "DEMANDS FOR CONGRESS"CONGRESS PASS HR 1489 ("RETURN TO PRUDENT BANKING ACT"
H.R. 1489: Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2011 (GovTrack.us) ). THIS REINSTATES MANY PROVISIONS OF THE GLASS-STEAGALL ACT.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass–Steagall_Act --- Wiki entry summary: The repeal of provisions of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 by the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act in 1999 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. Most economists believe 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. Here's detail on repeal in 1999 and how it happened:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass–Steagall_Act#Repeal . Vote Here #1
This one is a bare minimum necessity if the economy is going to be saved. It only took about 15 years for the repeal of glass-stiegall before the economy started to fail.
This alone is diametrically opposed to the desires of lobbying groups / special interests.
USE CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY AND OVERSIGHT TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCIES FULLY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE THE WALL STREET CRIMINALS who clearly broke the law and helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in the following notable cases: (insert list of the most clear cut criminal actions). There is a pretty broad consensus that there is a clear group of people who got away with millions / billions illegally and haven't been brought to justice. Boy would this be long overdue and cathartic for millions of Americans. It would also be a shot across the bow for the financial industry. If you watch the solidly researched and awared winning documentary film "Inside Job" that was narrated by Matt Damon (pretty brave Matt!) and do other research, it wouldn't take long to develop the list. Vote Here #2
I'll have to watch that film, but im already familiar with much of what is discussed in it, I'm certain.
This is the one reasonable and functional demand that I was first thinking... But this demand should at least include a list of people (5-10) that need to resign, so that there is a clear victory and a demonstration of the power of the people. A promise of investigations is not enough, since that will be a white wash anyway, and will not see any real results, though the promise alone might get some people FEEL LIKE there was a victory though that would be cargo shallow.
CONGRESS ENACT LEGISLATION TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY BY REVERSING THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED SUPREME COURT DECISION which essentially said corporations can spend as much as they want on elections. The result is that corporations can pretty much buy elections. 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 legislation should also RE-ESTABLISH THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES IN THE U.S. SO THAT POLITICAL CANDIDATES ARE GIVEN EQUAL TIME FOR FREE AT REASONABLE INTERVALS IN DAILY PROGRAMMING DURING CAMPAIGN SEASON. The same should extend to other media. Vote Here #3
Ya, this demand is unreasonable, though worth mentioning. By unreasonable, I mean it's not going to happen, as much as I agree, it's not going to be allowed to change. Too many vested interest would block this.
CONGRESS PASS THE BUFFETT RULE ON FAIR TAXATION SO THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE & CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOP HOLES AND ENACT A PROHIBITION ON HIDING FUNDS OFF SHORE. No more GE paying zero or negative taxes. Pass the Buffet Rule on fair taxation so the rich pay their fair share. (If we have a really had a good negotiating position and have the place surrounded, we could actually dial up taxes on millionaires, billionaires and corporations even higher...back to what they once were in the 50's and 60's.Vote Here #4
BAD IDEA!!! Nobody like buffet would push for a "tax the rich" suggestion without considering that people like him would be exempt. Also, you're not going to tax corporations without having those corporations offsetting that cost.
CONGRESS COMPLETELY REVAMP THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION and staff it at all levels with proven professionals who get the job done protecting the integrity of the marketplace so citizens and investors are both protected. This agency needs a large staff and needs to be well-funded. It's currently has a joke of a budget and is run by Wall St. insiders who often leave for high ticket cushy jobs with the corporations they were just regulating. Hmmm. Vote Here #5
Yes, but the answer isn't necessarily more money, what it needs is more integrity (no vested interests), and more actual enforcement.
CONGRESS PASS SPECIFIC AND EFFECTIVE LAWS LIMITING THE INFLUENCE OF LOBBYISTS AND ELIMINATING THE PRACTICE OF LOBBYISTS WRITING LEGISLATION THAT ENDS UP ON THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS. Vote Here #6
Ya, that'd be nice... Not a realistic demand in the current atmosphere.
CONGRESS PASSING "Revolving Door Legislation" LEGISLATION ELIMINATING THE ABILITY OF FORMER GOVERNMENT REGULATORS GOING TO WORK FOR CORPORATIONS THAT THEY ONCE REGULATED. So, you don't get to work at the FDA for five years playing softball with Pfizer and then go to work for Pfizer making $195,000 a year. While they're at it, Congress should pass specific and effective laws to enforce strict judicial standards of conduct in matters concerning conflicts of interest. So long as judges are culled from the ranks of corporate attorneys the 1% will retain control. Vote Here #7
Also a good demand, but one that is not realistic of an objective.
ELIMINATE "PERSONHOOD" LEGAL STATUS FOR CORPORATIONS. The film "The Corporation" has a great section on how corporations won "personhood status".
THE CORPORATION [2/23] Birth - YouTube . Fast-forward to 2:20. It'll blow your mind. The 14th amendment was supposed to give equal rights to African Americans. It said you "can't deprive a person of life, liberty or property without due process of law". Corporation lawyers wanted corporations to have more power so they basically said "corporations are people." Amazingly, between 1890 and 1910 there were 307 cases brought before the court under the 14th amendment. 288 of these brought by corporations and only 19 by African Americans. 600,000 people were killed to get rights for people and then judges applied those rights to capital and property while stripping them from people. It's time to set this straight. Vote Here #8"
I know all about that... And yes, this one is crucial to regaining some sanity in the world, however, at this stage I would also have to call this demand as unrealistic.
Maybe if you had millions of people behind that message that were willing to deal with the repercussions that such a move would make.
A few others that I would make :
- a 1% sales tax on investments, with no exemptions, that can't be written off in any way, that would bring money out of wall street and back into government hands. (as little as I trust the government to use that money wisely)
- call out a small handful of corrupt federal reserve chairmen and "occupy" until that person resigns.
- end to foreclosures, no foreclosures / evictions for 5 years OR till the end of the crisis, whichever is LONGER.
- full debt forgiveness on student loans for those that are not employed in their area of study. There are far too many people that are sitting on a degree, paying off a student loan while working the till at a walmart.
Unfortunately much of that list is also a wish list...
