Now that I'm living vicariously with those close enough to Wall St. to Occupy it I want to provide them with a list of coherent demands. In the spirit of Letterman, without the wit, I propose the following list of reforms.
Top Ten Demands of the 99%
1) Amend the Constitution to clearly and unequivocally state that only HUMAN BEINGS are People.
2) Raise the top marginal tax rate to 50% of all income, wages and unearned income, over $3 million per year.
3) Institute a Financial Transaction Tax to discourage speculation and high-frequency trading schemes.
4) Limit financial institutions to 1% of national wealth.
5) Enforce Sherman Anti-Trust laws; limit the size of any corporation in a critical market (e.g., food, water, power, housing, healthcare) to 1% of the national market size.
6) Consolidate Medicare and all Federal employees healthcare, including: Congress, Retirees, Veterans, etc., into a single Medicare system; allow any US citizen to buy into that system at cost.
7) Institute a Freedom Tax on all fossil fuels based on their carbon/btu content; target a $0.25 tax per gallon of gas immediately, with scheduled doubling for the next 3 years.
8) Allow the cap on SSI taxes to float against ALL income not just wages; the tax rate should be adjusted every five years to meet projected program expenses + 5%, no more.
9) End the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, Pipelinistan, etc. immediately.
10) Eliminate US Government deposit insurance for private banking institutions. Replace it with deposit insurance for chartered State banks (e.g., Bank of ND) only.
These do not make the cut -
- Eliminate the EPA: Who needs clean air and water anyway?
- Eliminate the Dept. of Transportation: Who cares if we have national roads, railroads and waterways?
- Eliminate the Dept. of the Interior: Who cares if we have national parks or land use management?
- Eliminate the Dept. of Education: Who cares if our nation is filled with ignorance?
- Eliminate the FAA: Who cares if our pilots are trained or our planes are safe?
- Eliminate the FDA & USDA: Who cares if our food and drugs are safe?
- Eliminate the SEC, FBI and Secret Service: The free-market will police itself.
- Eliminate local zoning and building codes: The free-market will police itself.
- Eliminate all laws and regulations: The free-market will police itself.
p.s. I may have won my football pool for the second straight week. Time to play the ponies!
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