OCCUPY WALL STREET

[Cin]

The99PercentDeclaration

An OWS Working Group Committed to Elect a Non-Partisan National General Assembly




WHEREAS THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION PROVIDES:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
WE, THE NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in order to form a more perfect Union, by, for and of the PEOPLE, shall elect and convene a NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY beginning on July 4, 2012 in the City Of Philadelphia.

I. Election of Delegates:

The People, consisting of all United States citizens who have reached the age of 18, regardless of party affiliation and voter registration status, shall elect Two Delegates, one male and one female, by direct vote, from each of the existing 435 Congressional Districts to represent the People at the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY in Philadelphia. Said Assembly shall convene on July 4, 2012 in the city of Philadelphia.

The office of Delegate shall be open to all United States citizens who have reached the age of 18. Election Committees, elected by local General Assemblies from all over the United States, shall coordinate with the 99 Percent Declaration Working Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the99declaration/) to organize, coordinate and fund this national election by direct democratic voting. The Election Committees shall operate similarly to the original Committees of Correspondence during the first American Revolution.

II. Meeting of the National General Assembly and Deliberation:

At the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY, the 870 Delegates shall set forth, consider and vote upon a PETITION OF GRIEVANCES to be submitted to all members of Congress, The Supreme Court and President and each of the political candidates running in the nationwide Congressional and Presidential election in November 2012. The Delegates of the National General Assembly shall vote upon and implement their own agenda, propagate their own rules and elect or appoint committee members as the Delegates see fit to accomplish their goal of presenting a PETITION OF GRIEVANCES from the 99% of Americans before the 2012 elections.

III. Proposed Petition for the Redress of Grievances:

The PETITION OF GRIEVANCES shall be non-partisan and address the critical issues now confronting the People of the United States. The Delegates shall deliberate and vote upon proposals for the PETITION OF GRIEVANCES in consultation with the 99% similarly to the first two Continental Congresses.

Below is a suggested list of grievances respectfully submitted by the OWS Working Group on the 99% Declaration. The final version of the PETITION OF GRIEVANCES voted upon by the Delegates of the National General Assembly MAY or MAY NOT include the following suggested issues:

1. Implementing an immediate ban on all private contributions of money and gifts, to all politicians in federal office, from Individuals, Corporations, Political Action Committees, Super Political Action Committees, Lobbyists, Unions and all other private sources of money to be replaced by the fair and equal public financing of all federal political campaigns. We categorically REJECT the concept that money is equal to free speech because if that were so, then only the wealthiest would have a voice. These actions must be taken because it has become clear that politicians in the United States cannot regulate themselves and have become the exclusive representatives of corporations, unions and the very wealthy who spend vast sums of money on political campaigns to influence the candidates’ decisions and ensure their reelection year after year.

2. The immediate reversal, even if it requires a Constitutional Amendment, of the outrageous and anti-democratic holding in the "Citizens United" case by the Supreme Court, which equates the payment of money by corporations, wealthy individuals and unions to politicians with free speech. We, the People, demand that institutional bribery and corruption not be deemed protected speech.

3. Prohibiting all federal public officials and their immediate family members, whether elected or appointed, from EVER being employed by any corporation they regulate while in office and/or holding any stock or shares in any corporation they regulate while in office until a full 5 years after their term is completed.

4. A complete lifetime ban on accepting all gifts, services, money, directly or indirectly, to any elected or appointed federal officials or their immediate family members, from any person, corporation, union or other entity that the public official was charged to regulate while in office.

5. A complete reformation of the United States Tax Code to require ALL citizens to pay a fair share of a progressive, graduated income tax by eliminating loopholes, unfair tax breaks, exemptions and deductions, subsidies (e.g. oil, gas and farm) and ending all other methods of evading taxes. The current system of taxation favors the wealthiest Americans, many of whom, pay fewer taxes to the United States Treasury than citizens who earn much less and pay a much higher percentage of income in taxes to the United States Treasury. We, like Warren Buffet, find this income tax disparity to be fundamentally unjust.

6. Medicare for all American citizens or other single-payer healthcare system, adjusted by a means test (i.e. citizens who can afford it may opt-out and pay their own health insurance or opt-in and pay a means tested premium). The Medicaid program, fraught with corruption and fraud, will be eliminated except for the purpose of providing emergency room care to indigent non-citizens who will not be covered by the single-payer program.

7. New comprehensive regulations to give the Environmental Protection Agency expanded powers to shut down corporations, businesses or any entities that intentionally or recklessly damage the environment and/or criminally prosecute individuals who intentionally damage the environment. We also demand the immediate adoption of the most recent international protocols, including the "Washington Declaration" to cap carbon emissions and implement new and existing programs to transition away from fossil fuels to reusable or carbon neutral sources of power.

8. Adoption of an immediate plan to reduce the national debt to a sustainable percentage of GDP by 2020. Reduction of the national debt to be achieved by BOTH a cut in spending to corporations engaged in perpetual war for profit, the "healthcare" industry, the pharmaceutical industry and all other sectors that use the federal budget as their income stream AND a truly progressive income tax code that does not allow the wealthy and corporations to evade taxes through excessive deductions, subsidies and loopholes. We agree that spending cuts are necessary but those cuts must be made to facilitate what is best for the People of the United States of America, not multinational and domestic corporations.

9. Passage of a comprehensive job and job-training act like the American Jobs Act to employ our citizens in jobs that are available with specialized training and by putting People to work now by repairing America's crumbling infrastructure. We also recommend the establishment of an online international job exchange to match employers with skilled workers or employers willing to train workers in 21st century skills.

10. Student loan debt relief. Our young People and students are more than $830 billion in debt from education loans alone. Payment and interest on these debts should be deferred for periods of unemployment and the principal on these loans reduced using a corporate tax surcharge.

11. Immediate passage of the Dream Act and comprehensive immigration and border security reform including offering visas, lawful permanent resident status and citizenship to the world’s brightest People to stay and work in our industries and schools after they obtain their education and training in the United States.

12. Recalling all military personnel at all non-essential bases and refocusing national defense goals to address threats posed by the geopolitics of the 21st century, including terrorism and limiting the large scale deployment of military forces to instances where Congressional approval has been granted to counter the Military Industrial Complex's goal of perpetual war for profit.

13. Mandating new educational goals to train the American public to perform jobs in a 21st Century economy, particularly in the areas of technology and green energy, taking into consideration the redundancy caused by technology and the inexpensive cost of labor in China, India and other countries and paying our teachers a salary that is competitive with the private sector. Paying our teachers a competitive salary commensurate with the salaries of People in the private sector with similar skills.

14. Subject to the elimination of corporate tax loopholes and exploited exemptions and deductions stated above, offering tax incentives to businesses to remain in the United States and hire its citizens rather than outsource jobs and reconstruct the manufacturing capacity of the United States. In conjunction with a new jobs act, reinstitution of the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps and a similar emergency governmental agency tasked with creating new public works projects to provide jobs to the 46 million People living in poverty, the 9.1% unemployed and 10% underemployed.

15. Implementing of immediate legislation to encourage China and our other trading partners to end currency manipulation and reduce the trade deficit.

16. Immediate reenactment of the Glass-Steagall Act and increased regulation of Wall Street and the financial industry by the SEC, FINRA and the other financial regulators, and the commencement of a Justice Department criminal investigations into the Securities and Banking industries practices that led to the collapse of markets, $700 billion bail-out, and financial firm failures in 2007-2008.

17. Adoption of a plan similar to President Clinton’s proposal to end the mortgage crisis and instead of the Federal Reserve continuing to lower interest rates for loans to banks who are refusing to loan to small businesses and consumers, the Federal Reserve shall buy all underwater or foreclosed mortgages and refinance these debts at 1% or less to be managed by the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (and foreclosure task force described below) because 1% or less is the interest rate the Federal Reserve loans to the banks directly who hoard the cash rather than loan it to the People and small businesses.

18. An immediate one year freeze on all foreclosures to be reviewed by an independent foreclosure task force appointed by Congress and the Executive Branch to (in conjunction with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ) determine, on a case by case basis, whether foreclosure proceedings should continue based on the circumstances of each homeowner and propriety of the financial institution's conduct.

19. Subject to the above ban on all private money and gifts in politics, to enact additional campaign finance reform requiring free air time and public campaign finances to all candidates who obtain sufficient petition signatures and/or votes to participate in the primaries and/or electoral process, to shorten the campaign season and to allow voting on weekends and holidays.

20. An immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and a substantial increase in the amount of funding needed for veteran job placement and the treatment of the physical and emotional injuries sustained by veterans in these wars. Our veterans are committing suicide at an unprecedented rate and we must help now.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that IF the PETITION OF GRIEVANCES approved by the 870 Delegates of the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY in consultation with the PEOPLE, is not acted upon by Congress, the President, and Supreme Court, to the satisfaction of the Delegates of the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY, said Delegates shall organize a THIRD, COMPLETELY NON-PARTISAN, INDEPENDENT POLITICAL PARTY to run candidates for every available Congressional seat in the mid-term election of 2014 and again in 2016 until all vestiges of the existing corrupt corporatocracy have been removed by the ballot box.

★THE NINETY-NINE PERCENT★

Email us with your ideas for this declaration and petition at: The99Declaration@gmail.com or join this Working Group by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the99declaration/ and the Working Group Forum at http://the99delegation.forumotion.com/.

[Corkey]

I think that is the point frankly, wiggle room to have more ideas.

[Cin]

Originally Posted by Corkey

I think that is the point frankly, wiggle room to have more ideas.

Well, yes, certainly, more ideas anyway. And anyone is welcome to have them.

As a matter of fact they are asking us for them.

Email us with your ideas for this declaration and petition at: The99Declaration@gmail.com or join this Working Group by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the99declaration/ and the Working Group Forum at http://the99delegation.forumotion.com/.

[Kätzchen]

Thank you so much, Miss Tick and SmoothButch, for posting these artifacts (documents).

I would love to attend in Philadelphia next summer!
Hopefully I won't have to hitchhike my way to the event.

I think the instrument presented is ambitious also; but I think that with what time constraints and deadlines the members of the WGF were against, I think they did fairly well in putting this instrument together.

At the moment, I can see that maybe no. 7 might need the language tightened a bit or at least review other prior case law tested in the Supreme Court pertaining to how current law is (or has been) applied in the past. The reason I say this is because, do we have access to environmental law with rules and regulations that are useful or are the current rules and regs lacking specificity?

I have a current 2011 edition of Communication Law and I could check to see if there are examples of prior case law tested in the Environmental arena and see if, for myself or anyone else, if what we have existing on the books equals or comes near enough to the language drawn in no. 7.

That's the only flag that comes to my attention at this time in examining the current instrument that has been drawn by the WFG.

Thanks again, Miss Tick and SmoothButch!

[persiphone]

i think farm subsidies elimination should be limited to gmo crops. that's my only wrinkle with what they've got down. otherwise.....WOOT!

[atomiczombie]

Well one of my concerns is 20. I think that the vast majority of our troops need to be home from Iraq and Afghanistan. However, I am afraid of what might happen if we just pull EVERYONE out at the same time. We have made a huge mess there, so to up and leave it without things all put back together sets off alarms for me.

[atomiczombie]

This is an excellent documentary. I am just linking part 1 but you folks can find the other parts on youtube if you follow the links.

[citybutch]

You can get it on Netflix as well... really great documentary...

His father's anguish (and stubbornness) is stunning...

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

This is an excellent documentary. I am just linking part 1 but you folks can find the other parts on youtube if you follow the links.

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by citybutch

You can get it on Netflix as well... really great documentary...

His father's anguish (and stubbornness) is stunning...

he's never had to want for nothing. Also I see a thread of pure ignorance and selfishness. I'm sure its also conditioning.

I don't have a problem with wealthy families. I have a problem with how the government allows them to get away with shit. I have a problem with corruption. If you have that much money rather then funnel it away into bogus tax sheltering charities, allow it to be taxed and help offset some of our surmounting debit or provide tax relief for the 99% that are not quite so fortunate.

[persiphone]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

This is an excellent documentary. I am just linking part 1 but you folks can find the other parts on youtube if you follow the links.

i was up till the wee hours of the night watching this. then had to pull a 14 hour day right after. i just got home. i blame you :P however excellent flick. loved it

i think i was a little taken aback by how uncomfortable people with money are with talking about....money. i think money comes up all the time amongst my circles. we discuss it like we discuss sports, or weekend plans, or any other kind of idle chatter. we wanna know who's got what so we can figure out who's buying coffee on friday. or we bitch about the bills. or how little we get paid (if we even have a job). but these people act like having a conversation is akin to mentioning the name Valdemort in the Harry Potter series. it was almost laughable.

/ramble

[Ebon]

Originally Posted by persiphone

i think farm subsidies elimination should be limited to gmo crops. that's my only wrinkle with what they've got down. otherwise.....WOOT!

Absolutely, we need local real food. Not GMO crops and not veggies from 2000 miles away.

[persiphone]

Originally Posted by Ebon

Absolutely, we need local real food. Not GMO crops and not veggies from 2000 miles away.

food. a topic near and dear to my heart. there are many problems with this direction even though i completely agree with you. i truly wish it were that simple. a few tidbits....

~farmers make up 1% or less (oh the irony) of all occupations in America. the number is so small that the word "farmer" isn't even listed on the census anymore.

~corps have addicted the public to A.) hfcs and B.) absurdly low prices for food (which is part of a whole slew of other hidden agendas that could take days to hash out)

~not all places in America CAN be farmed to supply local cities in towns

~importing. need i say more?

~farming to feed cattle, pork, etc. lots of issues surrounding that.

i mean, it goes on and on and on. i won't even get into farming practices themselves cuz that could take another week right there. the main thing is that the food supply is so severely fucked up on so many levels that it could take decades to clean it up. literally. however, i think gmo's are a good start. incidentally, one of the reason we can't export our food supply is because the rest of the world doesn't want our gmo garbage contaminating their food supply. but we never hear about THAT in the news. getting rid of gmos could help us export crops, which, would mean farmers could actually make a living. and that's just the beginning. that topic is so deep it makes my head spin and keeps me up at night.

[atomiczombie]

[Cin]

Occupy Wall Street's $435,000 In Donations Could Last The Winter
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/1...n_1019352.html

[Ebon]

Originally Posted by persiphone

food. a topic near and dear to my heart. there are many problems with this direction even though i completely agree with you. i truly wish it were that simple. a few tidbits....

~farmers make up 1% or less (oh the irony) of all occupations in America. the number is so small that the word "farmer" isn't even listed on the census anymore.

~corps have addicted the public to A.) hfcs and B.) absurdly low prices for food (which is part of a whole slew of other hidden agendas that could take days to hash out)

~not all places in America CAN be farmed to supply local cities in towns

~importing. need i say more?

~farming to feed cattle, pork, etc. lots of issues surrounding that.

i mean, it goes on and on and on. i won't even get into farming practices themselves cuz that could take another week right there. the main thing is that the food supply is so severely fucked up on so many levels that it could take decades to clean it up. literally. however, i think gmo's are a good start. incidentally, one of the reason we can't export our food supply is because the rest of the world doesn't want our gmo garbage contaminating their food supply. but we never hear about THAT in the news. getting rid of gmos could help us export crops, which, would mean farmers could actually make a living. and that's just the beginning. that topic is so deep it makes my head spin and keeps me up at night.

Yeah I watched a couple of docos about it and read about a bunch of shit that Monsanto did (like trying to put a patent on the pig). I didn't even think about places not being able to be farmed on, that's a good point. However, it seems like there is a lot of land outside of cities that can be used. Also there are lots of people doing urban farming for the little neighborhoods that they live in, I know of 3 here in Austin, plus 2 more farmers markets. I know not everyone can afford it but I think that the government should pitch in to help make costs lower for everyone when comes to natural non gmo foods for us to eat.

[Cin]

Naomi Wolf: how I was arrested at Occupy Wall Street

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...?newsfeed=true

[persiphone]

Originally Posted by Ebon

Yeah I watched a couple of docos about it and read about a bunch of shit that Monsanto did (like trying to put a patent on the pig). I didn't even think about places not being able to be farmed on, that's a good point. However, it seems like there is a lot of land outside of cities that can be used. Also there are lots of people doing urban farming for the little neighborhoods that they live in, I know of 3 here in Austin, plus 2 more farmers markets. I know not everyone can afford it but I think that the government should pitch in to help make costs lower for everyone when comes to natural non gmo foods for us to eat.

i absolutely agree. but the subsidies end up propping up huge gmo monocultures while the average joe farmer gets squeezed out by the gmo creators. and farming ain't easy. it's hard, back breaking work, unless you are mechanized and even then it's not all that easy. to grow food for a populace with out harming the soils and the environment, one needs to have a deep understanding of soils and how they work, the microbiological life it needs to be sustainable, the nutrients/minerals and all of THEIR cycles not to mention have impeccable timing of seasonal pests and diseases to just maintain whatever it is your growing to get it to harvest. i mean, it's not glamorous lol! and it's not profitable, either. farmers are not making millions. in fact, a lot of the average joe farmers left are deeply in debt just to keep the show going. and THEN.....you have to convince that same populace that eating seasonally is the way to go. do you eat only what's in season? i never have, but i've been working on it for the past couple of years. it's really hard! cuz dangit i want a strawberry in january.

in the utopia in my head everyone cooperates and farms pop all over place and farms in places that can grow strawberries in january in America do and send them to places in America where they can't. until then, people will continue to buy strawberries from some foreign country that were picked green and gassed on the way here to make them red enough for grocery stores across America.

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by Ebon

Yeah I watched a couple of docos about it and read about a bunch of shit that Monsanto did (like trying to put a patent on the pig). I didn't even think about places not being able to be farmed on, that's a good point. However, it seems like there is a lot of land outside of cities that can be used. Also there are lots of people doing urban farming for the little neighborhoods that they live in, I know of 3 here in Austin, plus 2 more farmers markets. I know not everyone can afford it but I think that the government should pitch in to help make costs lower for everyone when comes to natural non gmo foods for us to eat.

There's lots of great documentaries that have facts


Deconstructing Supper - On a personal quest to understand our food choices, acclaimed chef John Bishop travels around the world exploring where genetically modified crops come from, whether they may be harmful and what alternative options currently exist. Through interviews with farmers, scientists and activists, this thought-provoking documentary offers substantial insight into the nuts and bolts of global food production.

The Future of Food - Before compiling your next grocery list, you might want to watch filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia's eye-opening documentary, which sheds light on a shadowy relationship between agriculture, big business and government. By examining the effects of biotechnology on the nation's smallest farmers, the film reveals the unappetizing truth about genetically modified foods: You could unknowingly be serving them for dinner.

Food Matters (one of my favs)- With a staggering number of Americans suffering from obesity and other food-related maladies, this film takes a timely and hard-hitting look at how the food we eat is helping or hurting our health, and what we can do to live (and eat) better. Nutritionists, naturopaths, scientists, doctors, medical journalists and more weigh in on everything from using food as medicine to the value of organic food and the safety of the food we consume.

Ingredients - Narrated by actress Bebe Neuwirth, this engaging documentary weighs the shortcomings of America's industrialized food system against a rising local-growth movement, whose proponents are shrinking the gap between farmland and dinner table. With chefs Alice Waters and Greg Higgins as guiding lights, growers, restaurateurs and consumers around the country, from Oregon to Harlem, New York, discuss their methods for bringing food production back home.

All of the above films are available on Netflix instant play. They are inspiring and they will also piss you off when you learn what big corporations and pharmaceutical companies are allowed to get away with. As you continue your research, that is any of this really matters to you, you'll see the hand our government has and how elections are really won or supported.

If you dare, watch them all and let's get a thread going on what we can do to help put an end to it. You wanna grow some food? I'll tell you how. In fact we have a thread on sustainability and growing. I can't think of the name right now but if you're interested hit me up.

[SoNotHer]

Originally Posted by Ebon

Absolutely, we need local real food. Not GMO crops and not veggies from 2000 miles away.

Yes, we could, should, and will, and I would encourage anyone to start a garden at home (even a pot with a basil plant is a start) and look into permaculture and food forests and "edible landscaping." "Food forests" are already being created in places like Philadelphia, and permaculture is growing in presence and understanding = permacultures which allowed one California family to create enough food for itself on 1/10th an acre and be able to sustain itself financially selling food to upscale restaurants.

Industrial agriculture is highly problematic. 1) It is dependent on the petro-chemical cycle of propping up lifeless, ruined soil with fertilizers (petroleum based) and maintaining wide swaths of monocultures (like corn and soy) with herbcides/insecticides. It is therefore highly dependent on oil and oil prices, and is a large contributor to C02 emissions. 2) It demands high water use and contaminates water. 3) It promotes heavy soil loss. 4) It creates an unnatural representation of nature that is ripe for all of these conditions.

Permaculture works with the prevailing natural system and embraces, supports and promotes biodiversity, guilds of companion plants working together, and, frankly, a rich, beautiful and sustainable paradise. It also promotes social justice, sharing and planetary care.

Here is a good beginning, but there are many other videos available on You Tube:

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by SoNotHer

Yes, we could, should, and will, and I would encourage anyone to start a garden at home (even a pot with a basil plant is a start) and look into permaculture and food forests and "edible landscaping." "Food forests" are already being created in places like Philadelphia, and permaculture is growing in presence and understanding = permacultures which allowed one California family to create enough food for itself on 1/10th an acre and be able to sustain itself financially selling food to upscale restaurants.

Industrial agriculture is highly problematic. 1) It is dependent on the petro-chemical cycle of propping up lifeless, ruined soil with fertilizers (petroleum based) and maintaining wide swaths of monocultures (like corn and soy) with herbcides/insecticides. It is therefore highly dependent on oil and oil prices, and is a large contributor to C02 emissions. 2) It demands high water use and contaminates water. 3) It promotes heavy soil loss. 4) It creates an unnatural representation of nature that is ripe for all of these conditions.

Permaculture works with the prevailing natural system and embraces, supports and promotes biodiversity, guilds of companion plants working together, and, frankly, a rich, beautiful and sustainable paradise. It also promotes social justice, sharing and planetary care.

Here is a good beginning, but there are many other videos available on You Tube:

Container gardening at home is a really good way to have some fresh, organically grown produce and keep costs minimal. I am amazed at the amount of veggies I have been able to kick out with this. And you can plant winter veggies in containers, too. No way could I do in ground gardening with my arthritis (unless I had raised beds). I do live where there is a 2 x/week local farmers market closeby and that helps a lot.

I do understand that for some, their work hours and commute time might make it very difficult to do this- or any gardening. Some people just don't like gardening. But buying in season is helpful and buying from stores that do bring in local produce. Very small changes can make a big difference.