By Linette Lopez
It's in the works. A massive Occupy Wall Street gathering with delegates from all over the country. And if these plans are carried out, Occupy Wall Street will be a major force to be reckoned with on Election Day 2012.
The date? July 4, 2012.
Put aside questions of whether or not the movement will survive that long. Imagine that they do, because they have no doubt.
If only our economy had that kind of confidence.
Discussions on how to proceed will begin tomorrow at a massive General Assembly at 7 PM. Here's how they describe what they're about to do:
....the election of delegates and holding of a national general assembly or convention on July 4, 2012 must be organized. No calls for violence. No calls for the violent overthrow of the government.
...Once organized and the delegates have been elected by direct ballot in all 435 districts. They must demand that our elected leaders take action. If they do not take action within one year of the demand, we will demand their mass resignations and that new elections be held so we can take back our democracy from the corporations and those who BUY power and influence with MONEY. Yes this includes unions and lobbyists.
The Citizens United case must be reversed...
More concrete, long-term measures can also be found on their website in a document called The Steps to Non-Violent Revolution and the Convening of a National General Assembly. There are ten of them, and the most amazing thing about them, is that they outline a democratic plan to decide on a platform of reforms supported by occupations across the entire country leading right up to the 2012 election.
Perhaps Occupy Wall Street only thought of doing this now, but I sincerely doubt it.
Basically, if this is carried out, Occupy Wall Street could shift the course of American politics at its highest levels.
Here are the steps:
1. The Occupy Wall Street movement, through the local general assembly, should elect an executive committee comprised of 11 people or some other odd number of people that is manageable for meetings. Ideally this committee should represent each city in the U.S. that is being occupied.
2. The executive committee will then attend to local issues such as obtaining permits, paying for public sanitation and dealing with the media. More important, the executive committee shall plan and organize the election of the 870 delegates to a National General Assembly between now and July 4, 2012.
3. As stated in the 99% declaration, each of the 435 congressional districts will form an election committee to prepare ballots and invite citizens in those districts to run as delegates to a National General Assembly in Philadelphia beginning on July 4, 2012 and convening until October 2012.
4. Each of the 435 congressional districts will elect one man and one woman to attend the National General Assembly. The vote will be by direct democratic ballot regardless of voter registration status as long as the voter has reached the age of 18 and is a US citizen. This is not a sexist provision. Women are dramatically under-represented in politics even though they comprise more than 50% of the U.S. population.
5. The executive committee will act as a central point to solve problems, raise money to pay for the expenses of the election of the National General Assembly and make sure all 870 delegates are elected prior to the meeting on July 4th.
6. The executive committee would also arrange a venue in Philadelphia to accommodate the delegates attending the National General Assembly where the declaration of values, petition of grievances and platform would be proposed, debated, voted on and approved. The delegates would also elect a chair from their own ranks to run the meetings of the congress and break any tie votes. We will also need the expertise of a gifted parliamentarian to keep the meetings moving smoothly and efficiently.
7. The final declaration, platform and petition of grievances, after being voted upon by the 870 delegates to the National General Assembly would be formally presented by the 870 delegates to all three branches of government and all candidates running for federal public office in November 2012. Thus, the delegates would meet from July 4, 2012 to sometime in early to late October 2012.
8. The delegates to the National General Assembly would then vote on a time period, presently suggested as one year, to give the newly elected government in November an opportunity to redress the petition of grievances. This is our right as a People under the First Amendment.
9. If the government fails to redress the petition of grievances and drastically change the path this country is on, the delegates will demand the resignation and recall of all members of congress, the president and even the Supreme Court and call for new elections by, of and for the PEOPLE with 99 days of the resignation demand.
10. There will NEVER be any call for violence by the delegates even if the government refuses to redress the grievances and new elections are called for by the delegates. Nor will any delegate agree to take any money, job promise, or gifts from corporations, unions or any other private source. Any money donated or raised by the executive committee may only be used for publicizing the vote, the National General Assembly, and for travel expenses and accommodation at the National General Assembly ONLY. All books and records will be published openly online so that everyone may see how much money is raised and how the money is spent each month. There will be no money allowed to "purchase" delegate votes as we have in the current government. No corporate "sponsorship".
Source: Business Insider
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Bank Transfer Day: The 5th of November
In a post last week on this blog Bank of America, I highlighted some of the Greed, Bailout activity, Fraud, and Fees engaged in by that bank. But let’s be clear: The Bank of America is certainly not alone. Citibank, J P Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and other multi-state, multi-national banking powerhouses have all been involved in foreclosure scandals, bailouts, speculative gambling on hedge funds, the destruction of the global economy, and the imposition of fees on working class depositors.
And last but not least, let us never forget that the bailouts they received from Washington politicians of both parties – bailouts that were given, supposedly, because they were “too big to fail” - were given in reality because 25% of the funds the federal government borrows for deficit spending comes from these financial institutions. And since the American public pays federal income taxes to pay the interest on these debts, this results in yet another transfer of wealth from Americans to Corporate Banks who receive that interest.
But there is a solution.
WHAT? A massive transfer by average Americans of their money out of the banks and into credit unions.
Why? Because you will get better rates and fewer fees; your community banker will learn your name and provide you with more personal service; you will be keeping money in your local community which increases economic development and creates local jobs; you will make your voice heard, that you will stand strong and no longer be used as a pawn in a banking system that has run amok. You will be investing in Main Street - not Wall Street, where deposits are used for risky investments and gambling at the expense of the global economy. Beginning in 2008, Wall Street’s corporate banks demanded a bailout of $700 billion…and while the size of these Wall Street “Banksters” threatens our economic system, their size has actually increased since we bailed them out. According to FDIC data, the largest 5 banks held only 13% of US deposits in 1994; today they hold 38%. If the government won’t step in and apply Antitrust statutes to the Banking Industry and break them up, then we can do it ourselves and end ”Too Big To Fail” once and for all.
WHEN: “Remember, remember the 5th of November” goes a British child’s rhyme, in connection with Guy Fawkes Day (the character ‘channeled’ in the recent film, “V for Vendetta.”) Together we can ensure that these banking institutions will ALWAYS remember the 5th of November!! If the 99% remove their funds from the major banking institutions and support local non-profit credit unions instead on or by this date, we will send a clear message that Americans will not support rapacious and unethical corporate business practices any more.
HOW?
1) Research your local credit union options. Find one here: USA Credit Unions
2) Then, open an account with the one that best suits your needs.
3) Cancel all automatic withdrawals & deposits from your old bank
4) Transfer your funds to the new account, keeping some cash available until your new checks and debit card come through
5) Follow your bank's procedures to close your account before November 5.
Start NOW, because between your debit card, credit cards, direct deposit of paychecks, and automatic bill pay, the banking world has you practically captive.
NERVOUS? A wonderful post recently appeared on Reddit's Occupy Wall Street Forum, and I reprint it here in its unedited entirety:
I know most of you plan to move your bank accounts on or before November 5 and I just wanted to share the experience my wife and I went thorough today. I expect you'll likely have the same experience.
My wife had a BofA account from when she was in college. We went in to our local branch to close out her account.
First off, they are already feeling the squeeze of people leaving. The rep asked us if we were leaving because of the fees. My wife said she was for that reason. The rep then decided to try and educate us on the fees. Don't listen to them. My wife stood to her guns that she wanted to just join a local credit union to support our local economy, etc.. That ended the rep's attempt to keep my wife a customer.
My wife had her account closed and she pulled out all her money. Total time, about 20 minutes at most.
My experience was a bit different as I was with Chase, and had a lot more money in my account.
I walked into my local branch and spoke with the branch manager about closing my account. So she helped me.
Once we say in her cubicle, she asked me why I was leaving. I told her I wanted to move to a local bank and help with our community by investing in it by being a customer. I could tell this conversation was going to be difficult.
It literally took me 30 minutes to close my account. But the branch manager was freaked out because of me closing my account, she was worried her district manager would ask why I was closing my account. I then told her this, "look this isn't anything against you or any of your tellers in this branch. I'm just not comfortable having my life savings wrapped up with Chase. I've read plenty of news articles about shady practices Chase has been in. I'm worried that Chase invests money in other states with bad loans. I'm not comfortable letting a for profit company take everything I saved and make bad choices. I dont want to contribute to the cause. I want to take my money, put it in my local credit union, and help them give borrowing capability to my community."
She looked like she was about to cry. I didn't say it in a dick tone mind you. I just felt that she would have to answer to her boss why someone pulled their entire savings out in one day, she had to know the truth.
At any rate, my wife and I opened our new credit union accounts and we're happy. I'm in my 30s and I remember as a kid, banks used to have a personal feel to them and our credit union has that. Everyone smiling, chocolate candy dish at the front desk, it just feels good.
So the point of this rant is I wanted to just give everyone a heads up about these things:
• remember, the teller, manager, branch manager are not the enemy. They're part of 99% too and they need to earn a living. Please don't take your frustration of fees and other problems out on them. I almost did until I stopped myself.
• when asked about why you're leaving, be honest. Not happy with the $5 fee? Let them know. Not happy they foreclosed on homes of friends? Let them know. As we draw out our funds, the district managers will know something is up and ask their branch managers. If the branch managers have our feedback to give, it could really affect changes in the future.
• stick to your guns. If they dangle a free toaster in front of you, ignore it. It'll make things easier if you pick out a bank ahead of time. It took us ten minutes to find the one we liked. We compared the two banks and decided the CU was way better and was worth an hour or two of our time. If you have an idea of how much better a new bank is, it'll be easier to get rid of the old one.
• don't feel guilty for leaving your bank. I did for a bit, but kept reminding myself that our CU was going to make life easier.
If you feel compelled to tell the CEO of your old bank after you leave, do it. You might feel better. Just don't write any nasty things. Be honest and tell them you left because of this list of reasons. Sorry I you couldn't stay with them, but you found a better bank because they don't have these list of reasons after bank.
Here is a list of the big four banks I could think of. These are the email addresses of the CEOs:
Chase - jamie.dimon@jpmchase.com
BofA - brian.t.moynihan@bankofamerica.com
Wells Fargo - John.G.Stumpf@wellsfargo.com
Citibank - Vikram.Pandit@citi.com
Finally: When closing your bank account, be courteous on your way out the door and don't take it out on the bank staff.
For more information:
Move Your Money Project
Facebook Bank Transfer Day Page
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