Globaltopia stands behind the Occupy Movement. A civil global society requires fairness. What the Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy protesters are calling for is an end to corporate influence over politics, an end to corrupt and irresponsible bank practices, fair (higher) taxation for the ultra-wealthy, a revamping of the Securities and Exchange Commission, re-establishing the public airwaves, bringing Wall Street criminals to justice and more intensive regulation of war profiteers.
The Occupy Movement looks like America. The participants in the movement are diverse, reflecting the beautiful patchwork quilt that is our country. Every age group, political group, race, color, belief system, educational level, fashion and lifestyle choice is represented. The movement is all-inclusive. Some of the people who are going to oppose us are afraid. They should be, for they already know that we are the 99 percent, a super-majority. They will attempt to label us as a fringe group. But we know that 99 percent of the population cannot possibly be a fringe group. They will try to demonize us. They will say we don't look like them. They will say that we don't represent the values of the average American. They will infiltrate us and carry out actions that cast a negative light on our movement. Political parties will attempt to buy our votes while feigning support. Some will try to convince the general public that we don't know why we're protesting and that we have no clear goals. They will try to paint us as ignorant and inarticulate. They will try to convince people that we hate America. We will prove them wrong on all counts. We are taking back the power.
We will not allow them to disparage us. We will assemble peacefully in protest of a system that largely rewards the ultra-wealthy, Wall Street and giant corporations. We will demand fairness. We will succeed by educating ourselves; we whom they are attempting to indoctrinate with misinformation campaigns and ad hominems. We will show everyone that a true patriot stands up for what is right, even when it isn't yet popular in the mainstream. Interestingly, in a recent Fox News Survey, people were asked: "Do Occupy Wall Street protesters represent your views about the nation's economic problems?" About 170,000 people voted. 67.26 percent said yes..."these folks are right about corporate greed and what's happening to the little guy." Only 29.33 percent said no. 2.61 percent said maybe. The remainder were undecided. And this was a Fox News Survey. America is ready for the Occupy Movement.
We are the 99%. Who are the 1%?
In terms of income, the wealthiest 1percent of Americans earn more income than the bottom 50 percent. This is a staggering figure. American households right at the 99th percentile (that is, the cut-off for the top 1 percent) will earn about $506,553 in cash income this year, according to a Tax Policy Center analysis. The income curve is extremely steep at the high end, meaning that people just a few tenths of a percentile point above that make much, much more. A family at the 99.5th percentile, for example, makes $815,868; its neighbor at the 99.9th percentile makes more than double that amount, at $2,075,574 a year.
In terms of accumulated wealth, or net worth (which is a much better indicator of, well, wealth), the richest 400 Americans own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans, which is about half of the entire US population (the current US population being about 311 million people). This is an even more staggering figure. According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by the Economic Policy Institute the top 1 percent of Americans by net worth hold about one third of all American wealth. The average net worth for the 99th percentile in net worth was $19,167,600 as of 2007, based on this research. The average net worth of the next 9 percent of Americans was $2,371,500. That means, of course, that the bottom 99 percent of Americans includes many, many millionaires. This figure also does not include money hidden in tax havens like the Bahamas, Panama or Switzerland, just to name a few. This also does not include undocumented income or wealth derived from the US black market, estimated at $620.63 billion/year, according to Havoscope. Once these are factored in, the inequality becomes even greater. No one knows the exact figure but it is likely that the top 1 percent wealthiest individuals in America control over half the wealth of our entire country. We have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major advanced country on earth.
We Are #1! We are fortunate to live in a wonderful country, but we could be doing much better: Our national deficit is currently $14.72 trillion, by far the largest on earth. This is approximately 97 percent of our Gross Domestic Product. We have, by far, the largest military budget on earth. In some recent years, the cost of our military and the wars was more than twice as much as the military budgets of every other country on earth combined; Not to mention the most important part, the destruction and horrific loss of life of our precious soldiers as well as innocent civilians. We rank #1 in per capita CO2 pollution from fossil fuels. We rank #1 in obesity, with 30.6 percent of our population considered overweight or obese. Per capita, we have more of our citizens incarcerated in prisons than in any other country on earth. Americans spend more on health care than in any other industrialized nation. Since we spend more on health care, we are the healthiest country, right? Wrong. We are # 37. 46 million Americans are currently living below the poverty line. 25 million+ are unemployed or underemployed. We rank 23rd in the Satisfaction with Life Index, 82nd in the Global Peace Index and 114th on the Happy Planet Index. We have about 250 nuclear reactors in the country. Only 10.05 percent of the electricity we generate is from renewable resources. In contrast, Costa Rica, which ranks #1 on the Happy Planet Index, generates 93.15 percent of their electricity through renewables. We can do better. The economic insecurity of American families is greater now than at any time in recorded history, according to a report by the Rockefeller Foundation. One in every five Americans has experienced a decline of 25 percent or more in available household income in the past Cheney/Bush/Obama decade. In 1985, 12.2 percent of Americans experienced an economic loss sufficient to render them economically insecure. During the recession of the early 2000s, the insecurity rose to 17 percent; today it is 25 percent. After-tax income rose by only 21 percent for the middle fifth of American households but increased by 112 percent for the richest 10 percent of households, and by 256 percent for the top 1 percent. DOCTRINE OF BELIEFS AND DEMANDS (Reprinted from Occupy Wall Street) PREFACE REVERSE THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED SUPREME COURT DECISION
Until the conditions stated below are met, our movement will only intensify. It has already proven to be a lasting and powerfully uniting force that is growing constantly. We will engage in purely nonviolent protest, and we will continue to protest nonviolently until our demands are fulfilled. As our popularity grows, so does our power. With this power we will make our demands loud and clear, we will voice them with a thunderous roar that has already proven more powerful than any government or corporate power in countless Middle Eastern countries. We are the true voice of liberty, and we will not be silenced until we strip the corporate culture of its power and return it to its rightful owners, the citizens of the United States of America.
This decision stated that corporations can spend as much as they want on election campaigns and no disclosure is required whatsoever. Corporations should be highly limited in their ability to contribute to political campaigns no matter what the election and no matter what the form of media. This is to ensure that the politicians that are elected are loyal to the people and not to their corporate buyers.
RE-INSTATE THE GLASS-STEAGALL ACT
The repeal of provisions of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 by the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act effectively removed the separation that previously existed between investment banking, which issued securities, and commercial banks, which accepted deposits. The deregulation also removed conflict of interest prohibitions between investment bankers serving as officers of commercial banks. This repeal directly contributed to the severity of the Financial crisis of 2007–2011 by allowing Wall Street investment banking firms to gamble with any depositors' money that was held in commercial banks owned or created by the investment firms.
PASS THE BUFFETT RULE ON FAIR TAXATION
This act would ensure that all American citizens making over one million dollars pay a fair portion of their income to the federal government.
COMPLETELY REVAMP THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
This commission must be completely rebuilt to ensure the protection of the American people. It is currently a broken institution that merely perpetuates the corporate domination over the middle class. The new commission must be powerful, well funded, and regulated consistently.
RE-ESTABLISH THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES
There must be an established order in which presidential candidates debate and campaign on mainstream media. Currently these institutions pick and choose which candidate to give air time to based on their financial interests. These interests directly conflict with the interests of the people. In order to ensure that voters are given an unbiased, equal view of each candidate, drastic mass-media reforms must be enacted.
INVESTIGATE, ARREST AND TRY THE WALL STREET CRIMINALS
These corporate moguls clearly broke the law and helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in many notable cases. There is a broad consensus that there is a clear group of people who committed financial crimes and have not been brought to justice. A vigorous and intensive investigation must be conducted to prevent future acts of rampant foul play.
INTENSE REGULATION OF THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY
The wars that our country is engaged in are not wars in the interest of the American people, or for the good of any group of people. These wars are fought for corporate profit, and until reforms are put in place, we will continue to sacrifice our beloved troops to benefit a select few war profiteers. Legislation MUST be put in place to ensure that no institution whatsoever profits from the making of war.