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Guys, I've just had many discussions with people about the situation in its entirety and put in a lot of research. And I've come to a strong realization.
We need to demand a the equivalent of a class action lawsuit against the government and corporations to forgive many of our debts and pay us in damages. Specifically, we need to ask for retributions based WHEREVER COLLUSIONS between politics and coporations ARE FOUND. It is the most solid stance we got for 4 reasons.
1. The banks are allowed to rip us off, but the government cannot legally do this.
2. This will have EXTREMELY substantial effects on EVERYONE in the 99 percent.
3. We are basing this on evidence, and so it is solid.
4. Almost every issue in America goes back to money in politics including war, education, clean energy. We solve this, and we will solve IT ALL! Cronyism is the WORD! From there, we can reform much of our politics and make the changes we want.
Again, we need to draw firm evidence of collusions between the government and corporations...
Here are some starting points for organized, professional committees to look into the following and write a formal report and build a case (we may need to get volunteers or hire):
1. The Federal Reserve - Have investigators look into the legality of the bill signed in 1913, evidence of politicians knowing and intending the Federal Reserve to benefit the bankers and elite as well as themselves. Look for insider trading by the Federal Reserve board members, etc.
http://www.healthfreedom.info/Federal_Reserve_Fraud.htm
2. AIPAC - Israeli lobbying and illegal campaign funds. This and many other corporations are hiring our representatives! Although it is a lot of evidence to shift through, we need to go back and track these funds.
3. War in Iraq - documents showing Bush went to war for oil control. We need to get our money back from this illegal war.
http://mediamatters.org/research/200603280013
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/secret-memos-expose-link-b...
Thank you and bless you guys!
David Chen
PS.. I haven't been back in a while, so I'm not exactly sure if what I'm talking about is where you guys are at.
Know Thy Enemy
Submitted by MrItboyinLA on
While I agree with the general gist of each of your complaints, these actions are destined for failure, and, like many suggestions on here, would serve to deflate the truly tranformative possibilities of the movement.
1. To argue the legality of a century-old piece of legislation would be a waste of time. If we had a functioning democracy, and the people decided that the Federal Reserve was not an instution that we wanted, it would be simple to enact a new bill to disband it. We didn't worry about the legality of Prohibition even though it was enshrined in an amendment to the constitution! We simply passed the Eighteenth Amendment and decalared the previous amendment null and void.
We're dealing with problems that are institutionally systemic to the ways our society functions. For crying out loud, we just found out about ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council), and that orginization has been writing half the legislation in the country for the last 40 years! As far as bankers and financiers involved in insider trading, it would be an easier task to locate the handful who do not engage in the practice.
2. AIPAC, in the scheme of things, is small potatoes and one of the foundations of the 99% movement is complete election financing reform--getting private money completely out of the election process. Personally, I believe that alone would eventually force all special interests out, replaced by true representatives of their constituencies.
3. The demand to "get our money back" would only fuel the opposition's argument that the movement is made up of ne'er-do-wells who just want a free ride. We'd all be rich if we could get a refund for the illegitimate or wasteful squandering of the money our government gets from our hard work. More attainable would be to sustain constant pressure on those we elect to spend our tax money according to the desire of the constituencies.
Now, having said all that, please understand that I'm on your (our) side. But if this movement has any teeth at all, the surest way to obsolescence is to fight them at their own game. The essential and revolutionary quality of this movement is exemplified in the refusal to have traditional leaders, demands and structure. If we truly think the system is corrupt at its core (and I believe it is), these baby steps into direct democracy are the right direction. We simply have to maintain our autonomy from the powers-, instituions-, and structures-that-be for real changes to take place.
If we play by the rules, we will lose, and the last gasps of the American experiment in participatory self-government will be extinguished forever. The right things are happening. For far too long, the US population has been among the most de-politicized in the industrial world. That's why the elite have been able to do the damage they've done and exert the control they do--we've been successfully distracted with our gadgets, our internal superficial conflicts, our all-consuming consumerism, and Superbowls and other mindless spectacles. But, finally, the masses seem to be waking up.
The real goal right now should be to figure out the steps needed to ensure the longevity of what's happening. This civic involvment can't be a temporary thing...we have to change how we view our role in our society and the world.
Let's keep going! Excelsior!
Awesome Reply! THis is great!
Submitted by david on
You know what. I actually completely agree with you, and I love it when people take me to the next level by being more informed than I. If I am understanding you correctly, we cannot legally battle this because the problem is so vast, and they pretty much own the legal system. It would complex, confusing to the masses, and happen over the elite's dead bodies right?
I suggested it because I felt it would give us something to solid to stand on while we build our masses, our energy, and work on our culture/attitudes/role in the world. Then maybe with a critical mass of people, we could push through with legal battles. But yeah.. pretty damn confusing and hard. I agree that a much more direct democracy has to happen. It has to be a transformation of people.
My concern has been that we are on the precipice of something awful and that we don't HAVE TIME! I see double digit inflations over the next few years. I see global slavery possible. I think this is a correct figure in that each of us americans owes 200,000 USD on average! I don't want to be alarmist, but this sounds like some near-apocalyptic shit.
So I agree with you that we need to just hold this together for now. But I don't see putting slow pressure on working. And I don't really see my ideas working in light of your knowledge. I have two hopes.
One, people will wake up as you say due to how harrowing things are and the new age culture of consciousness that has been boiling up. Two, I have built a global online system that can unite humanity for a more direct democracy(a smartocracy in fact, not a mobocracy), and I'd be honored if someone like you who is blunt and intelligent would look at it. I've put 4 years into it and had it checked out by sociologists and social media experts. Seems plausible and legit to them.
My name is David Chen. May I ask yours? My email is at toitle054@hotmail.com If you hit me up, I will send you an intro.
Ps. What do you think are the most important factors in holding us together for the long term?
We are the Revolution!
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Submitted by david on
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We are the Revolution!
Concrete Demands
Submitted by viva_humanity on
I believe that two simple demands, positively put forth by the people in unison, if instituted, will get us started on the road to a functioning political system.
- Take the money out of politics by repealing Citizen's United and ending private funding of elections. All elections must be publicly funded.
- The rate of income taxation on the upper 1% of the income bracket in the US must be raised back to 91% just as it was when Eisenhower was President. This will insure that nobody is able to hoard capital which can be used to help the people.
However, we can't stop there, because political action is only one part of the problem. The real problems in our society are technical and require the expertise of people who are not only sympathetic with the movement but able to provide it with the direction it needs. This movement should be a starting point to transforming our society, with or without the participation of elected officials.
That means that experts in agriculture and food production and procurement within this movement must connect with each other to find ways to develop sustainable systems, like urban aquaponics for example, in order to empower people to offset the artificial scarcity of food that has been created by this system. Electrical engineers, civil engineers and mechanical engineers should come together and discuss salient issues such as power production and transportation to name a few. Anyone with an expertise or an interest in solving these technical problems should connect. In this movement, nobody is subservient to anyone else and we can all contribute what we want to contribute, and I am confident that we will do so to the extent that we know that what we give can make a difference.
The effort should involve engagement with elected officials through protest, demonstration and voting, but at the same time this movement should also pave the way for a new society, which is a sustainable and suitable alternative to the nightmare that has been created for us. This is a direct democracy, we don't need money from the banks or consent from our politicians to build the future. All we need is to work with each other in unison with a common goal.
To effect this, at the start, I propose we introduce forums to discuss the technical issues of material scarcity, health care and sanitation that the occupy movement and the poor in Los Angeles and the world over face, and how we can solve them, without money from the bank but with the expertise of minds and hands dedicated to change. Communities which can shift their source of material dependence from corporate industry to local will cut off the elite from their source of funding and power.
With regard to the political aspect, the greatest thing we can do is reach out to our fellow people in our communities to awaken them to the fact that our system is broken. I am not personally interested in beseeching the government or the corporations. All of those institutions are helpless before the masses. We need to keep demonstrating, keep placing facts before our fellows, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year if need be. We need to not let this discussion die.
I believe that addressing these two aspects of the problems we face are a good start.
Hi, please email me.
Submitted by david on
" Electrical engineers, civil engineers and mechanical engineers should come together and discuss salient issues such as power production and transportation to name a few"
What you are saying resonates with a plan I've created for world change that may help this movement. I would love to brainstorm with you and generate more solid ideas. I've been working on this project for 4 years, had it checked out by sociologists/social media experts, and it is fiscally sponsored by a nonprofit. I'm not trying to spam this website or anything. My name is David Chen, and I have participated to some degree since day 3 of its inception. I know Daniel and Nick of Web Tech. It's just that what you guys are saying really excites me and I hope we may try to create something great together.. just maybe.
David Chen
toitle054@hotmail.com
Please contact me!
www.symosphere.com
We are the Revolution!
It reminds me of the venus project
Submitted by david on
Have you heard of the Venus Project by Jacque Fresco? What you are saying sounds like futuristic societal management and resource-based economics.
We are the Revolution!
What we Need is a Program
Submitted by Err1c0 on
There is a fresh and wonderful feeling of healthy outright indignation in all of the 99ers' protests.
But we need to go beyond that and formulate a program that will CONDENSE in a short list not only our grievances, but the way to go about addressing them.
The priority of topics in the list is itself quite important, and I am sure others will be able to do a better job. My list is:
-Abolish the Federal Reserve, and disclose its proceedings, with full legal accountability for any trespasses.
-Bail out the people, not the Banks: Condonation of single homeowner and student loans.
- Progressive and LOOPHOLE-PROOF tax code; you earn more, you pay more.
- End Corporate Personhood
- Every American soldier back to US soil; end to all undeclared wars
- Purchase Power Parity Tariffs to protect American Jobs. Bring factories back home. FDR-style public works and infrastructure projects to get people to work.
- Eliminate corporate funding for politicians. Federally mandated equal media airtime for every candidate.
Great!
Submitted by david on
I think we are sort of coalescing into the same sort of themes of ending legalized corruption. Of course these are still many demands that can't really be simplified into a singular goal. We are actually trying to reform the entire socio-political infrastructure. And the public is not yet ready to hear it. After some thought, perhaps the other person is right. We really need to just hold together and stay true. The truth will always shine in the end. The double digit inflation era may help that revealing sooner than later actually.
We are the Revolution!
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