Why Occupy?

David D Blessing
(Address to the Occupy Denver, Colorado, USA movement, October 2011) – Thank you for taking the time to hear my concerns. I like many of the people here gathered, am outraged by events of recent history involving the influence of private vested corporate interests over government policy. I feel sickened, ripped off, and abused. I am not so naïve as to believe that any politician can correct the problems at hand. I do not imagine that those who most profit from the situation as it is, their agents or employees will do anything more than make pseudo-reforms by rearranging or temporarily mitigating the problem. The vampire will never pull its own teeth out. It will merely change its coat.

The solution that I seek can only come from an awakened population that collectively abandons the old greedy, competitive, oppressive system to embrace a new style of collective civil management. The following list is what I believe must be done in Colorado to correct the disparities at the root of the problem:

1. Compel a change to state and federal law, so that foreclosure shall be prohibited in any and all cases where a foreclosing bank is unable to produce the original, complete, unaltered evidence of debt in court at the time of foreclosure; and prohibit foreclosure where the source of funding for the “loan” was the “borrowers” own note.
2. Compel a change to state and federal law so that usery, interest on debt, be limited to 8% per annum.
3. Create a publicly owned state bank that will provide loans to state citizens, and that will impose only sufficient fees and interest as will cover the cost of running such bank.
4. Create a state healthcare cooperative such as envisioned by Healthcare-for-All-Colorado Senate Bill 168-2011. www.HealthcareforAllColorado.org
5. End the disastrously failed war on drugs, a war which benefits only those who profit from it. Prohibition did not work in the 1930s as it is not working now.
6. Prohibit the United States of America federal Corporation from imposing or enforcing such federal laws as may be contrary to the laws of our state.
7. Review all criminal convictions for possession of personal-use marijuana (less than 1 ounce) and nearly such individuals from prison for time served.
8. Reduce all criminal convictions for possession of personal-use marijuana to misdemeanor status.
9. Prisons-for-Profit have made our criminal justice system disastrously biased and unfair. Return management of all prisons to the public sector.
10. Fund and improve our public school system as necessary to give our students sufficient vision, hope and education such that they will no longer seek solace on the cushion of drugs.
11. Create state and federal legislative acts under which the respective governmental bodies will enter into no new contracts, nor renew any existing contract with any person or entity that directly or indirectly profits from war.
12. Create amendments to state and federal constitutions under which those who accept any title of nobility from any foreign monarchy, state, or nation shall be prohibited from holding any public office.
13. Create state and federal legislative acts that will prohibit the respective governmental body from the participation in any new contract, or the renewal of any existing contract with any company or corporation that pays its highest-paid employee or sub-contractor more than 10 times the rate of pay of the lowest paid employee or sub-contractor.
14. Immediately withdraw United States troops from all offensive foreign military occupations.
15. Create an American foreign policy that offers education for the benefit of the people at home and abroad, rather than military aggression for the benefit of corporate profits.
16. As studies and practical experience show that human populations naturally decrease where education increases, global population reduction can be best achieved by increasing education standards in areas most affected by overpopulation.
17. Create state and federal regulations that will break and prohibit the monopolization of the broadcast and print media.
18. Create sufficient legislation that will limit the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the greedy who currently wield sufficient economic power to bribe extort or murder our political leaders with impunity; who monopolize the print and broadcast media, and who limit and control the information disseminated by such media.
19. We have the resources to guarantee the basic necessities of food clothing and shelter to all inhabitants of our country.
20. As there appears to be no credible peer reviewed scientific study that demonstrates that fluoride has any benefit for the teeth; and there are many studies including studies by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that clearly show that fluoride is detrimental to human health, including causation of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, fluoride must be removed from all water supplies.
21. In order to reduce pollution and reduce the general stress on our planetary ecosystem the people of America must also act upon their own personal initiative to:

  • Maximize the use of all resources including but not limited to participation in the recycling of all resources that can be recycled.
  • Curtail the superiority complex and end the personal desire to take advantage of others through predatory competition.
  • Work together with friends and business associates to create cooperative businesses collectively owned by yourselves.

Copyright The author 2011

3 thoughts on “Why Occupy?”

  1. Namaskar Priyadeva, i salute you for your participation in the OWS movement. I resonate with your statement and stand in solidarity with you and the movement.

  2. Although I find some of your points to be highly comendable, especially points #3,#5, #9 and #15, and I like the spirit behind most of the others, I find this to be more complicated than it needs to be. I think we need a moratorium on foreclosures, national public heath care, aggressive progressive taxation, up to 90% on wealth over $10 million and 50% on wealth over a million. Transaction tax of 1% on stock market activity, a relocation tax on companies moving to less expensive locations out of country of 5 years gross profits, plus covering retraining expenses for laid off employees. Simply legalize drug use with health tax on each of the items dependent on level of potential harm based on statistical anaylsis.
    Take the money out of elections by banning paid lobbyists from the capital, public funding of elections, with free access to airwaves for broadcasting debates, and limiting the election cycle to 3 months, 6 weeks for primaries, and 6 weeks for elections. Proportional voting, so that representation is based on percentage of vote not winner take all, in Congress, with minor parties allowed public funding if they can show 3% support from electorate by petition, previous elections, etc.
    But most of all we need to create a green economy and addressing that is essential. Mass transit, green jobs, retrofitting houses and offices, limiting automobile use in urban areas, investment in alternative energy.

  3. Unbriddled greed, supported by state legislatures. thats capitalism. This is a hard fight, to demolish t6his kind of system, but you people have already started the fight, you have already exposed the problem, and offered the solution. Hope victory will follow.

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