ran 4.3 miles
In case you were wondering what all the Occupy protestors have been demonstrating in the streets, in a concentrated form, here you go. Straight out of www.occupywallst.com here are “The Top 10 Things OWS Should Be Doing”.
1. Put pressure on the justice department to actually have an investigation into the fraud that caused the financial crisis and required us to bailout the banks and financial institutions. Then, make sure they know it will never happen again.
2. Find every individual in every bank who gamed the system and made 'liar loans' for people who had no business buying a home, and if the evidence is sufficient, file charges against them for fraud. Anyone who would think about doing that again would think twice. If there is no punishment no one will have the incentive to stop doing it.
3. Make an amendment to Dodd-Frank that says no bonuses will be allowed to the executive officers of any corporation within 7 years of filing for government bankruptcy protection.
4. Freeze all student loans until unemployment is less than 6% for at least 3 quarters in a row. If it goes above 7%, freeze it again. (All student loan debt could have been paid off if we had gotten out of Iraq just 5 months sooner.
5. Put the tax rates back to the way it was when Ronald Reagan took office. It seems like conservatives would get behind that. It would make the top rate 70% of everything over (about) $370,000 a year.
6. Make banks and financial institutions show a completely transparent and real-time minute by minute spread sheet, accessible by anyone, that shows the institution's balance sheets, cash on hand, debt they are carrying, how many loans they are holding and have sold and the value of all that debt. (Analysts would easily be able to tell if an institution was going down a path that would show the possibility of failure and fraud.)
7. Get all the money out of politics. I mean, ALL the money. All campaigns would be financed 100% by the American people. No one would be allowed to accept any donations from anyone, or even use their own money. In this way the people would own the politicians instead of whatever corporation or special interest group can shovel into their coffers.
8. When you work for the people you will accept no money or favors from any lobbyist or special interest, or anyone, for that matter. If we pay you $170,000 a year that better be the only number on your IRS tax form. You are there to SERVE the people, not line your pockets with dirty cash.
9. Raise the minimum wage. Any American who is willing to work 40 hours a week should be able to put a roof over his head, pay some basic utilities, and buy some health groceries. It should be enough that we will eliminate the 'working poor'. If you have a full-time job you will be ok.
10. Let's solve at least one problem, homelessness. I propose we start a national lottery program where ALL of the profits go to getting all homeless people off the streets and help them get the treatment and housing they need.
They make some valid points but they also grasp at nonsense. I favor numbers three, seven, and ten.
(3) The bonuses these executives are given (tax dollars from the bailout) for doing nothing more than creating a mess by taking advantage of others and then being saved by federal tax dollars are inexcusable. Seven years without a bonus is a modest punishment for sabotaging and manipulating an entire nation for one’s own gain.
(7) This one sounds perfectly logical, which is usually a reliable sign that it would never work in Washington. Way too much common sense here. Politicians elected by the people and not by corporations and special interests?
(10) I like this one. But I fear it would be way too much money going through way too many hands before a mere fraction of what was intended for the homeless ever even reached them.
Today in New Hampshire Obama, after being heckled by OWS protestors, calmed them down and finally acknowledged the Occupy protest movement by saying “You are the reason I ran for office.” That’s sort of a definitive statement. Not “one of the” reasons but “the” reason. Thanks a lot, Mr. President. I am quite a few hundred thousand dollars short of being a millionaire yet I have an even greater distance and disagreement with the Occupy Wall Street movement. And I am far from alone. This B.O. quote is just one more of many reasons that I did not vote for him in 2008 and I will not be voting for him in 2012.
723.9 miles to go.
Here is what happened one year ago on Day85.
In case you were wondering what all the Occupy protestors have been demonstrating in the streets, in a concentrated form, here you go. Straight out of www.occupywallst.com here are “The Top 10 Things OWS Should Be Doing”.
1. Put pressure on the justice department to actually have an investigation into the fraud that caused the financial crisis and required us to bailout the banks and financial institutions. Then, make sure they know it will never happen again.
2. Find every individual in every bank who gamed the system and made 'liar loans' for people who had no business buying a home, and if the evidence is sufficient, file charges against them for fraud. Anyone who would think about doing that again would think twice. If there is no punishment no one will have the incentive to stop doing it.
3. Make an amendment to Dodd-Frank that says no bonuses will be allowed to the executive officers of any corporation within 7 years of filing for government bankruptcy protection.
4. Freeze all student loans until unemployment is less than 6% for at least 3 quarters in a row. If it goes above 7%, freeze it again. (All student loan debt could have been paid off if we had gotten out of Iraq just 5 months sooner.
5. Put the tax rates back to the way it was when Ronald Reagan took office. It seems like conservatives would get behind that. It would make the top rate 70% of everything over (about) $370,000 a year.
6. Make banks and financial institutions show a completely transparent and real-time minute by minute spread sheet, accessible by anyone, that shows the institution's balance sheets, cash on hand, debt they are carrying, how many loans they are holding and have sold and the value of all that debt. (Analysts would easily be able to tell if an institution was going down a path that would show the possibility of failure and fraud.)
7. Get all the money out of politics. I mean, ALL the money. All campaigns would be financed 100% by the American people. No one would be allowed to accept any donations from anyone, or even use their own money. In this way the people would own the politicians instead of whatever corporation or special interest group can shovel into their coffers.
8. When you work for the people you will accept no money or favors from any lobbyist or special interest, or anyone, for that matter. If we pay you $170,000 a year that better be the only number on your IRS tax form. You are there to SERVE the people, not line your pockets with dirty cash.
9. Raise the minimum wage. Any American who is willing to work 40 hours a week should be able to put a roof over his head, pay some basic utilities, and buy some health groceries. It should be enough that we will eliminate the 'working poor'. If you have a full-time job you will be ok.
10. Let's solve at least one problem, homelessness. I propose we start a national lottery program where ALL of the profits go to getting all homeless people off the streets and help them get the treatment and housing they need.
They make some valid points but they also grasp at nonsense. I favor numbers three, seven, and ten.
(3) The bonuses these executives are given (tax dollars from the bailout) for doing nothing more than creating a mess by taking advantage of others and then being saved by federal tax dollars are inexcusable. Seven years without a bonus is a modest punishment for sabotaging and manipulating an entire nation for one’s own gain.
(7) This one sounds perfectly logical, which is usually a reliable sign that it would never work in Washington. Way too much common sense here. Politicians elected by the people and not by corporations and special interests?
(10) I like this one. But I fear it would be way too much money going through way too many hands before a mere fraction of what was intended for the homeless ever even reached them.
Today in New Hampshire Obama, after being heckled by OWS protestors, calmed them down and finally acknowledged the Occupy protest movement by saying “You are the reason I ran for office.” That’s sort of a definitive statement. Not “one of the” reasons but “the” reason. Thanks a lot, Mr. President. I am quite a few hundred thousand dollars short of being a millionaire yet I have an even greater distance and disagreement with the Occupy Wall Street movement. And I am far from alone. This B.O. quote is just one more of many reasons that I did not vote for him in 2008 and I will not be voting for him in 2012.
723.9 miles to go.
Here is what happened one year ago on Day85.
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