a slogan

I think the 99% / Occupy movement is a very interesting phenomenon, regardless of whether you think they're nuts or not (it's worth heading out to read actual accounts from people within the movement, people who have visited the Occupation, and also just plain old avoid the mainstream media altogether who are run by some of the people the Occupy movement are protesting).

But I think the slogan stuff is not working. 99% is pretty good, and it's cool to read a lot of the placards, mostly because I'm a storyteller and I'm super interested in peoples' stories.

So in church the other day I came up with  a new one:

Separation of Business and State.

Here's the short version of the manifesto:

Only private citizens may make donations to politicians, not to exceed, say, 10,000 bucks. No business shall provide any money to the government beyond taxes. Period. End of story. All donations shall be through private citizens and made public, listed online and in state records. No anonymous donations allowed. All donation accounting for campaigns shall be publicly reviewed.

Plus, any other ideas are welcome.

6 comments:

Kenn in Colorado said...

OK, I'm in.

PJD said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2h8ujX6T0A&noredirect=1

(sorry, couldn't resist)

Anyway, your statement makes way too much sense for anyone in Washington to consider it, even for a moment. Besides, even with this kind of rule, how long do you think it would take the party-in-power (either side) to create a mechanism like the 527 groups?

The wonderful thing about the 99 Percent concept is that, I think at its core, it is trying to overcome sound byte rhetoric. It is trying to express deeply felt frustration at the growing divide between those with wealth and those without, between those with power and those without, between those with a voice and those without. The problem is that the people with money, power, and a voice tend not to be the type of people who share.

Anonymous said...

Love it. It's a great idea, and a very good start.
After that I really want term limits on congress and senate, no one should be able to serve for life. 2 terms, and then you're back to work. No ongoing pay - get a job.
I also don't think presidents should continue to get pay after they leave office. The job is done, they can make millions giving speeches and writing books, or... get a job.
But this, this is a great place to start.

ssas said...

Hahaha Mitt seems like such a tool!

I know corporations are people, lots and lots of people who are often assholes. I swear it's like something slimes them when they walk in the door. Sigh.

I'm biased though. I've never had a good experience working in business. N.E.V.E.R. (Except with my small publisher) and I'm always a little suspicious of people who work in big corps. It's kind of how I'm made for some reason. Even though I know I benefit from them and that I shouldn't stereotype people. Sigh. I suck.

PJD said...

You do know I work for Wells Fargo, right?

I have had a great experience at this company. With over a quarter million employees, there are bound to be some (probably quite a few) people whose ethical compass is not calibrated as well as I would like. But by and large, the people I've met who work here, from the C-suite to the teller lines, are very real, very nice, and very involved in their communities. When I came to Wells Fargo on a one-month contract back in 2001, I figured I'd be done after a month and go back to startups. But the more time I spent with people who had been here 25, 30, even 40 years, the more I grew to respect the company and the people that make it up.

Again, I can't possibly be naive enough to think there are zero unethical selfish money-grubbers within the walls, but by and large I think the people here genuinely are trying to help customers, not fleece them.

ssas said...

I do know that. And I don't have a great deal of experience in large companies. More as a customer. I was in customer service for a long time and one thing working there and I hear a lot as a customer, is when some employee is really helping a customer out, the refrain is: "I'm not supposed to do this, but I'll make an exception."

Meaning that some suit at the home office wrote a policy that's good for profits and not the customer. THAT has happened more times than I can count. Sigh.

And when I hear people talk about their work it's much more about infighting and how their job sucks than how much they like it.

I believe in smaller companies and invested employees very strongly. But then a small company I worked for I felt the owners weren't very smart or ethical either. So there's no balance.

Maybe we really were meant to all be working on the farm growing our own food. Sometimes I wonder.