Suggested Manifesto for the Occupy Movement: Progress in 4 Core Areas

These are my ideas, not official statements from the movement.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is sweeping the nation and the world. It is the best thing I've seen in my lifetime, perhaps and hopefully resulting in some significant changes and "getting our country back."

There have been various lists of demands that is going around, discussions about how to make progress, and debate on what is important and what is not. I make this suggestion to organize the issues into four major categories.

It is very important that we focus on not the symptoms of the disease, but the core causes. If we are able to fix a symptom, then things will be better for a while, but ultimately, the powerful will rebuild their power over time and change things back or worse. If, at the end of our occupation movement, we do not correct at least one of the core causes, the movement will have been largely a failure.

#1. Publicly Financed Elections

Getting money out of politics is the core disease we must fix. If we do not get this, all other corrections will be only temporary.

All elections should be financed using public money with no ties to any specific person or special interest. Wealthy candidates must not be able to buy elections; everyone must adhere to a cap.

Currently, the Supreme Court believes that "Money" equals "Speech," and that it is against first amendment rights to stop anyone from spending money on a candidate or proposition. Unfortunately, it seems now there is no other form of speech. Money has replaced honest debate and discussion. 94% of candidates who won spent more money than their opponents. Generally, no televised debates occur.

The political parties exist largely to launder money to avoid campaign finance restrictions. Campaign fundraising is commonly co-opted by corporate players to allow them to amass a war chest and distribute those monies to various candidates that will approve their government contracts. (For example the Duncan D. Hunter campaign was co-opted in this manner by Linden Blue, co-owner of General Atomics, in the 2008 election.)

Money as speech obviously gives the wealthy the ability to get their candidates into power, and thus to get their way. The Citizens United Supreme Court decision exacerbated this problem, now corporations are viewed as people, and they can spend unlimited sums to support any candidate or ballot measure.

If we do not fix this problem, almost any other correction we might make can be undone over time, and we will be in the same predicament down the road. What is required?

• Publicly financed elections. Corporations are not people, but if all elections are publicly financed, they would not have any way to affect them, and the Citizens United case would no longer be a threat.
• TV and other media must be required to carry debates and coverage of campaigns. Currently, as soon as you announce you are a candidate, you become taboo and are not covered, debates are rarely held and voters rely on 30-second attack ads and soundbites.
• Bring Politicians Home -- Representatives should work in their home districts at least 70% of the time and attend meetings in Washington or state capitals no more than 30% of the time, but participate in meetings by live stream and electronic voting. This forces lobbyists to travel to each district instead of just walking down the hall to visit their representative
• Clamp down on lobbyist activity.

#2 Financial Industry must be Closely Regulated, Taxed

This step won't work unless #1 also is solved. Even if you fix this for a while, it will slip back into corruption if the banks and financial industry continues to call the shots through massive campaign funding.

• Banks must not be gamblers. Banks must have tighter regulation and work for a flat, monotonic marketplace, (i.e. not the unstable market speculators prefer) exactly what gamblers do not want.
• Derivatives Market must be regulated. Consider outright ban on derivatives. No insurance for securities or moving risk around as was done with the derivatives market.
• Responsibility for coining money should NOT be delegated to the private banks.
• Authority of the Federal Reserve Bank must be drastically reduced (They secretly performed some 16 trillion in bailouts with no approval from anyone). Congress must be able to audit the Federal Reserve Bank, which is the only bank they can not audit at present.
• Govt should erase debt to Federal Reserve, which exists for no purpose other than to make bankers rich.
• Break up the big banks. Any corporate entity that is considered "Too big to fail" must be split up so they can fail and no bailouts will be considered.
• Impose a transaction fee on wall street trades of a fraction of a percent on each trade.
• Increase capital gains taxes, esp. on short-term trades.
• Treat gambling winnings on wall street as regular income and not as capital gains, unless each investment is held at least 30 days (or some similar period of time). The average short-term computer trader holds securities for an average of 11 seconds, which contributes to market instability.
• Government should provide a debit card with no fees whatsoever, to become electronic currency, and allow direct payment without VISA, M/C and other profiteers in the picture.
• Eliminate off-shore tax havens and require a minimum tax on corporations that do business in the U.S.

#3 Convert War Machine to Sustainable Energy Development

Currently, 60% of discretionary budget is spent on wars and the "military industrial complex." We have two wars ongoing which are providing little if any value, yet are costing us some $40 billion a week or more, and impacting the military forces in terms of fatalities, injuries, PTSD, etc. plus hundreds of bases world wide.

• Take the profit out of war. Military Industrial Complex companies that get war contracts must be nonprofit and strictly regulated. As a result, wars-for-profit will stop because they are unprofitable. Any company that receives more than 50% of its revenue from the government or from companies that receive revenue from the government must be nonprofit, not traded on wall street, and must not contribute to candidates, run campaigns, etc. (already the case if goal #1 is realized.)
• End the wars, including use of private mercenary contractors. (See nonprofit MIC, above)
• Invest heavily in renewable energy infrastructure to stop buying expensive foreign energy, put people to work, and save billions on power we currently buy from other places but could be generating for free. We have plenty to do, and it is just a matter of realizing that the govt can fund it by coining new money.
• Move away from the debt-based economy and toward value-based economy. All energy infrastructure projects add value, and should be paid without corresponding debt. Deprecate fractional reserve system.
• Conduct an independent investigation into 9/11 and follow evidence wherever it may lead to either substantiate the rationale for two wars or not.

#4 Social Justice

Social justice issues, if not corrected, will become a huge drain on our economy.

• Provide adequate safety net for seniors and unemployed who have fallen out of favor by the capitalistic system. Reverse attempts to gut both Social Security and Medicare.
• Government must work to create jobs by investing directly in infrastructure and public works projects.
• End capital punishment.
• Single-payer healthcare, nonprofit insurance (medicare for all), and outcome-based compensation for care providers.
• Free or low-cost Internet for everyone. Cities outfitted with WIFI in all public areas.
• Legalize cannabis products, place it in the open market, tax it, and allow vendors to settle differences in court rather than by using guns. Release prisoners who were guilty of prior "war on drugs" failed regulations.
• Break up media empires. Every point of view should have a venue.
• Reopen care facilities and eliminate homelessness.