Occupy Wall Street Protester Brian Wood On NPR Calls For The Overthrow Of The Government

[MTARegional Bus]

both Groups have same Goals Unfortunately they have there bad apples that make them look bad.

[engineerboy6561]

both Groups have same Goals Unfortunately they have there bad apples that make them look bad.

 

Er, I'm sorry but OWS and the current incarnation of the Tea Party don't have the same goals. The original Tea Party movement started out remarkably similar to OWS, but it somehow got hijacked by the Republican Party and corporate backers until it became a mouthpiece for the rightmost wing of the Republican Party. Just see this: http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=169769 (I believe that SubwayGuy posted this earlier). So yes, the original Tea Party had the same goals as OWS, but the current version (which most people associate the moniker with) is diametrically opposed to what OWS stands for.

[engineerboy6561]

both Groups have same Goals Unfortunately they have there bad apples that make them look bad.

 

Er, I'm sorry but OWS and the current incarnation of the Tea Party don't have the same goals. The original Tea Party movement started out remarkably similar to OWS, but it somehow got hijacked by the Republican Party and corporate backers until it became a mouthpiece for the rightmost wing of the Republican Party. Just see this: http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=169769 (I believe that SubwayGuy posted this earlier). So yes, the original Tea Party had the same goals as OWS, but the current version (which most people associate the moniker with) is diametrically opposed to what OWS stands for.

[lilbluefoxie]

Er, I'm sorry but OWS and the current incarnation of the Tea Party don't have the same goals. The original Tea Party movement started out remarkably similar to OWS, but it somehow got hijacked by the Republican Party and corporate backers until it became a mouthpiece for the rightmost wing of the Republican Party. Just see this: http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=169769 (I believe that SubwayGuy posted this earlier). So yes, the original Tea Party had the same goals as OWS, but the current version (which most people associate the moniker with) is diametrically opposed to what OWS stands for.

 

do you think its possible that OWS will eventually be hijacked by left-wing interests in the same way that the tea party is represented mostly by the conservative wing of the republican party?

[lilbluefoxie]

Er, I'm sorry but OWS and the current incarnation of the Tea Party don't have the same goals. The original Tea Party movement started out remarkably similar to OWS, but it somehow got hijacked by the Republican Party and corporate backers until it became a mouthpiece for the rightmost wing of the Republican Party. Just see this: http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=169769 (I believe that SubwayGuy posted this earlier). So yes, the original Tea Party had the same goals as OWS, but the current version (which most people associate the moniker with) is diametrically opposed to what OWS stands for.

 

do you think its possible that OWS will eventually be hijacked by left-wing interests in the same way that the tea party is represented mostly by the conservative wing of the republican party?

[SubwayGuy]

do you think its possible that OWS will eventually be hijacked by left-wing interests in the same way that the tea party is represented mostly by the conservative wing of the republican party?

 

Unfortunately yes. Which is why every time I see pictures of people with signs about the environment at OWS, I cringe and scream "STICK TO THE TOPIC" at the computer screen.

 

The banksters who profited from the crisis need to be punished to the maximum financial extent of the law (since that's what matters to them). Take every piece of property they own from them and sell it all on the cheap, using the proceeds to pay down national debt.

 

Leave them penniless and then remove their eligibility from social programs. Bar them from working in banking/investments.

 

Then let them fend for themselves. No need to put them in jail that way. Continue to garnish 20% of their wages (if they even make it to find another job) until they've paid back 2x what they've stolen.

[SubwayGuy]

do you think its possible that OWS will eventually be hijacked by left-wing interests in the same way that the tea party is represented mostly by the conservative wing of the republican party?

 

Unfortunately yes. Which is why every time I see pictures of people with signs about the environment at OWS, I cringe and scream "STICK TO THE TOPIC" at the computer screen.

 

The banksters who profited from the crisis need to be punished to the maximum financial extent of the law (since that's what matters to them). Take every piece of property they own from them and sell it all on the cheap, using the proceeds to pay down national debt.

 

Leave them penniless and then remove their eligibility from social programs. Bar them from working in banking/investments.

 

Then let them fend for themselves. No need to put them in jail that way. Continue to garnish 20% of their wages (if they even make it to find another job) until they've paid back 2x what they've stolen.

[lilbluefoxie]

well then we are back to where we started, just further divided if both parties keep going futher to each respective ends.

 

if OWS is to survive and stay relevant, they need to as you say stay on message and focus on becoming more bipartisan.

 

The other thing that concerns me is what are they gunna do come wintertime? will mother nature succeed in disbanding them where the NYPD could not? Especially if we get another blizzard like last winter.

[lilbluefoxie]

well then we are back to where we started, just further divided if both parties keep going futher to each respective ends.

 

if OWS is to survive and stay relevant, they need to as you say stay on message and focus on becoming more bipartisan.

 

The other thing that concerns me is what are they gunna do come wintertime? will mother nature succeed in disbanding them where the NYPD could not? Especially if we get another blizzard like last winter.

[SoSpectacular]

If they're truly dedicated to the cause they will brave it

[SoSpectacular]

If they're truly dedicated to the cause they will brave it

[engineerboy6561]

do you think its possible that OWS will eventually be hijacked by left-wing interests in the same way that the tea party is represented mostly by the conservative wing of the republican party?

 

I sure as hell hope not... Although I would say that the danger isn't so much hijacking by left-wing interests (as the complaints you're hearing from OWS are the same complaints that responsible Democrats have been making for the past decade and a half) but rather fragmentation into a thousand splinter interests. Both the beauty and the danger of a true grass-roots movement is that it is incredibly diverse and spontaneous. The upside of this is that it is an expression of genuinely aware popular opinion and generally wants what's best for the country. The downside of this is that because it is leaderless (at least for now) and diverse, it may well splinter off into different groups with different aims and the consensus may collapse. I agree with SubwayGuy: Economy (banksters and all) now, environment later. Even better would be an actual platform addressing these issues:

 

I-Addressing current and past Wall Street misbehavior:

Civil suits by DOJ against all the main investment banks, criminal investigations against any and all higher-ups at these banks.

Penalties to include confiscation of all assets, physical and otherwise.

 

II-Preventing further Wall Street misbehavior:

Restoration of Depression-era bank legislation beginning with Glass-Steagall.

Breaking up of all financial conglomerates; each division becomes an independent company with a new CEO, directors, etc.

Compensation limits on financial higher-ups, including the end of golden parachutes

Federal regulation of the derivatives market, either ban CDOs outright or subject them to special scrutiny

Expand fraud legislation to include conflicts of interest; no more short-selling someone whom you're financing or advising, no more staple financing or similar practices

Full disclosure of asset portfolios to federal regulators, regulators to retain independent analysts to rate portfolio elements and assign value to overall portfolio

Leveraging regulations; the ratio of exotic assets (including but not limited to CDOs) to hard cash capped at 5 to 1

Redesignate PACs, political organizations, etc. as for-profit corproations and regulate them as such

Eliminate the 501© designation and redesignate its current members to for-profit institutions

 

III-Tax reform

Uncap the FICA; all income subject to Social Security and Medicare taxation, not just the first $106,000.

New income tax brackets starting at $250,000 annual income, $500,000 annual income, and $1,000,000 annual income, taxed at 45%, 55%, and 65% respectively.

Restore the estate tax for all estates/trust funds/portfolios over $1 million in value and set it to 70%

Set tariffs on all imported goods in order to give companies an impetus to begin manufacturing in America.

 

IV-Mortgage relief:

Funds obtained through procedures outlined in Section I against financial conglomerates used to take all struggling mortgages out of the hands of the banks.

Fannie and Freddie unwound and replaced by a new government loan/mortgage agency with entirely new staff

The new agency takes struggling mortgages and refinances them in such a manner that homeowners can reasonably expect to pay the balances on time.

In cases where that is clearly not possible (i.e. both adults in household unemployed), the agency forgives the mortgage.

 

V-Student loan relief:

Same process for student loans as for mortgages

In order to attract talent to the federal government, set up a sponsorship program: high-performing students in qualifying programs of study will have their education paid for by Uncle Sam in return for five years' service in the government agency corresponding to their area of study (i.e. economics and finance majors would do their time in the Fed or in financial regulatory agencies)

 

VI-Unemployment relief:

Use the funds garnered through tax reform as per Section III to begin actual projects that put people to work

No disbursement of the money to states, all relief-eligible projects to be initiated and overseen at the federal level

All parts for infrastructure projects to be obtained in America (i.e. a bridge replacement would only purchase steel manufactured in a plant in America)

Project staff (excluding federal overseers) to be exclusively hired from the unemployed (where it is possible to find unemployed people with the necessary qualifications), all the way from the construction worker to the project manager.

 

VII-Campaign finance reform:

Ban all campaign contributions by corporations, for-profit or otherwise.

Ban group contributions in general.

Cap donations by individuals at $500 per candidate.

Personal and family wealth disallowed: you may "donate" up to $500 to yourself and each family member over 18 may donate up to $500 to you, but other than that nothing.

Cap total donations at $100 million.

Provide a base public fund from tax dollars to each candidate to work from.

 

VIII-Lobbying reform:

Create an open forum setting in which all interest groups and/or citizens may express their views.

All open forum sessions to be taped, and both tapes and transcripts to be made publicly available on paper and on the Internet within 24 hours of such a session.

Forbid access to politicians by interest groups and their representatives outside the open forum.

Forbid any and all gifts from interest group representatives to politicians.

Forbid regulators from working at corporations in the field they were responsible for overseeing for twenty years from end of time in office.

Forbid any politician from taking private-sector lobbying or consulting employment for five years from the end of their term.

Apply the same rules to lobbyists wishing to enter politics (five year cooldown period, twenty if you want to oversee the same field your company worked in).

 

My advice to OWS would be to start with this, and stay behind some form of these eight things, and then branch off after they have been obtained.

[engineerboy6561]

do you think its possible that OWS will eventually be hijacked by left-wing interests in the same way that the tea party is represented mostly by the conservative wing of the republican party?

 

I sure as hell hope not... Although I would say that the danger isn't so much hijacking by left-wing interests (as the complaints you're hearing from OWS are the same complaints that responsible Democrats have been making for the past decade and a half) but rather fragmentation into a thousand splinter interests. Both the beauty and the danger of a true grass-roots movement is that it is incredibly diverse and spontaneous. The upside of this is that it is an expression of genuinely aware popular opinion and generally wants what's best for the country. The downside of this is that because it is leaderless (at least for now) and diverse, it may well splinter off into different groups with different aims and the consensus may collapse. I agree with SubwayGuy: Economy (banksters and all) now, environment later. Even better would be an actual platform addressing these issues:

 

I-Addressing current and past Wall Street misbehavior:

Civil suits by DOJ against all the main investment banks, criminal investigations against any and all higher-ups at these banks.

Penalties to include confiscation of all assets, physical and otherwise.

 

II-Preventing further Wall Street misbehavior:

Restoration of Depression-era bank legislation beginning with Glass-Steagall.

Breaking up of all financial conglomerates; each division becomes an independent company with a new CEO, directors, etc.

Compensation limits on financial higher-ups, including the end of golden parachutes

Federal regulation of the derivatives market, either ban CDOs outright or subject them to special scrutiny

Expand fraud legislation to include conflicts of interest; no more short-selling someone whom you're financing or advising, no more staple financing or similar practices

Full disclosure of asset portfolios to federal regulators, regulators to retain independent analysts to rate portfolio elements and assign value to overall portfolio

Leveraging regulations; the ratio of exotic assets (including but not limited to CDOs) to hard cash capped at 5 to 1

Redesignate PACs, political organizations, etc. as for-profit corproations and regulate them as such

Eliminate the 501© designation and redesignate its current members to for-profit institutions

 

III-Tax reform

Uncap the FICA; all income subject to Social Security and Medicare taxation, not just the first $106,000.

New income tax brackets starting at $250,000 annual income, $500,000 annual income, and $1,000,000 annual income, taxed at 45%, 55%, and 65% respectively.

Restore the estate tax for all estates/trust funds/portfolios over $1 million in value and set it to 70%

Set tariffs on all imported goods in order to give companies an impetus to begin manufacturing in America.

 

IV-Mortgage relief:

Funds obtained through procedures outlined in Section I against financial conglomerates used to take all struggling mortgages out of the hands of the banks.

Fannie and Freddie unwound and replaced by a new government loan/mortgage agency with entirely new staff

The new agency takes struggling mortgages and refinances them in such a manner that homeowners can reasonably expect to pay the balances on time.

In cases where that is clearly not possible (i.e. both adults in household unemployed), the agency forgives the mortgage.

 

V-Student loan relief:

Same process for student loans as for mortgages

In order to attract talent to the federal government, set up a sponsorship program: high-performing students in qualifying programs of study will have their education paid for by Uncle Sam in return for five years' service in the government agency corresponding to their area of study (i.e. economics and finance majors would do their time in the Fed or in financial regulatory agencies)

 

VI-Unemployment relief:

Use the funds garnered through tax reform as per Section III to begin actual projects that put people to work

No disbursement of the money to states, all relief-eligible projects to be initiated and overseen at the federal level

All parts for infrastructure projects to be obtained in America (i.e. a bridge replacement would only purchase steel manufactured in a plant in America)

Project staff (excluding federal overseers) to be exclusively hired from the unemployed (where it is possible to find unemployed people with the necessary qualifications), all the way from the construction worker to the project manager.

 

VII-Campaign finance reform:

Ban all campaign contributions by corporations, for-profit or otherwise.

Ban group contributions in general.

Cap donations by individuals at $500 per candidate.

Personal and family wealth disallowed: you may "donate" up to $500 to yourself and each family member over 18 may donate up to $500 to you, but other than that nothing.

Cap total donations at $100 million.

Provide a base public fund from tax dollars to each candidate to work from.

 

VIII-Lobbying reform:

Create an open forum setting in which all interest groups and/or citizens may express their views.

All open forum sessions to be taped, and both tapes and transcripts to be made publicly available on paper and on the Internet within 24 hours of such a session.

Forbid access to politicians by interest groups and their representatives outside the open forum.

Forbid any and all gifts from interest group representatives to politicians.

Forbid regulators from working at corporations in the field they were responsible for overseeing for twenty years from end of time in office.

Forbid any politician from taking private-sector lobbying or consulting employment for five years from the end of their term.

Apply the same rules to lobbyists wishing to enter politics (five year cooldown period, twenty if you want to oversee the same field your company worked in).

 

My advice to OWS would be to start with this, and stay behind some form of these eight things, and then branch off after they have been obtained.

[SubwayGuy]

engineerboy, this is a good start. I'll add my comments in red.

 

 

I-Addressing current and past Wall Street misbehavior:

Civil suits by DOJ against all the main investment banks, criminal investigations against any and all higher-ups at these banks.

Penalties to include confiscation of some to all assets of guilty individuals, physical and otherwise. Penalties to firms to include fines that exceed the amounts illegally gained by 25%. All proceeds from the investigation are used to first, fund further investigation, and second for the refinancing of qualifying "bad loans" via government arbitration discussed below. Any excess used to reduce national debt.

 

II-Preventing further Wall Street misbehavior:

Restoration of Depression-era bank legislation beginning with Glass-Steagall.

Breaking up of all financial conglomerates; each division becomes an independent company with a new CEO, directors, etc.

Compensation rules overhaul, including the end of golden parachutes as well as the end of stock option compensation. Company stock (not options) may be given as compensation with the stipulation that it cannot be sold until the executive resigns, or is terminated from the company, at which point the proceeds will be taxed as a lump sum cash income effective the year of sale. No securities instrument other than company stock may be given as compensation.

Federal regulation of the derivatives market, subject them to special scrutiny

Financial transactions tax of 0.1% on all daily trading volume in excess of 1,000 shares.

Expand fraud legislation to include conflicts of interest; no more short-selling someone whom you're financing or advising, no more staple financing or similar practices

Full disclosure of asset portfolios to federal regulators and shareholders (note: this is not giving out insider information because shareholders receive financial statements 3-4 months after the date the information is true), regulators to receive compensation on behalf of ratings agencies up front and remit to the rating agency after rating services have been provided. Rating agencies for companies are randomly assigned each year.

Leveraging regulations; the ratio of exotic assets (including but not limited to CDOs) to hard cash capped at 5 to 1

Redesignate PACs, political organizations, etc. as for-profit corproations and regulate them as such

Eliminate the 501© designation and redesignate its current members to for-profit institutions

 

III-Tax reform

Uncap the FICA; all income subject to Social Security and Medicare taxation, not just the first $106,000.

Lower corporate tax rates to 5% of all taxable income for all corporations with taxable income under $1 million dollars (indexed for inflation). Lower corporate tax rates to 10% of all taxable income in excess of 1 million dollars + $50,000 for all corporations with taxable income between 1 and 10 million dollars. Lower corporate tax rates to 15% of all taxable income in excess of 10 million dollars + $950,000 for all corporations with taxable income between 10 million and 1 billion dollars. Lower corporate tax rates to 25% of all taxable income in excess of 1 billion dollars + $149,450,000

Eliminate many corporate tax deductions and credits to reduce the tax preparation expense for corporations. The portion of wages or salary to individual employees in excess of $250,000 annually (indexed for inflation) is not tax deductible to the corporation. In the case of stock (non-option) compensation to employees, the value to the corporation is determined at the date of issue, and treated as cash for the purpose of determining the corporation's ability to partially or fully deduct the pay for tax purposes. Basically the goal is to give tax advantages to hire American workers, and tax disadvantages to overpaying executives. This also creates a huge incentive for the executive to keep the stock price going up, since he's going to get taxed on what it's worth when he can sell upon leaving the company, but the company is going to pay taxes based on what it's worth now. So if the stock price goes down BOTH the corporation and the executive lose - the executive gets less pay, which is taxed when he cashes out, and the corporation pays taxes on money that the executive never received because the share price went down.

New income tax brackets starting at $250,000 annual income, $500,000 annual income, $1,000,000 annual income, and $10,000,000 annual income, taxed with a similar "staircase" structure as the corporate example above. Everyone pays 10% on the first $20,000 ($40,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 15% on dollars $20,001 to $45,000 ($40,001 to $90,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 25% on dollars $45,001 to $70,000 ($90,001 to $140,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 35% on dollars $70,001 to $125,000 ($140,001 to $250,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 50% on dollars $125,001 to $250,000 ($250,001 to $500,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 60% on dollars $250,001 to $500,000 ($500,001 to $1,000,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 70% on dollars $500,000 to $1,000,000 ($1,000,001 to $2,000,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 75% on dollars $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 ($2,000,0001 to $4,000,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 80% on all dollars in excess of $10,000,000. All of these numbers indexed for inflation. Alternative Minimum Tax is eliminated. Example: Alex Rodriguez made $32,000,000 this season. Suppose, after deductions and credits, his taxable income worked out to $27,850,000. His total tax liability under my system would be $22,516,250. Oh my gosh that's so much! But he'll still be taking home more than $5 million dollars! This is a great example because it proves how inefficient it would be for companies to pay executives at the expense of other workers. Basically this is a mandate - companies and executives, create jobs or the government will tax those rich you overpay, and use that money to create jobs. Government can be as big or as small, as companies allow. To show how this would benefit most people, a person making $68,000 a year would pay $11,500 in taxes, keeping the rest to spend on stimulating the economy (which most people at that income level do).

Capital Gains are treated as ordinary income for all businesses and individuals. The only exceptions are contributions to a qualifying IRA or Roth IRA retirement, which do not exceed the prescribed limits. These amounts would now be allowed to be invested in a new "Merged IRA" where they are neither taxed upon investment nor upon withdrawal from the IRA, with the stipulation that the individual must be at least 57 years old to withdraw funds, and must never exceed the contribution limits.

Restore the estate tax for all estates/trust funds/portfolios over $2 million in value (indexed for inflation) and set it to 75%

Set tariffs on some imported goods (those harming America with their trade practices). In addition, foreign wages and wages paid to foreign nationals become non US tax deductible. The costs of investment in foreign property, plant, and equipment by US companies is certainly not US tax deductible, but moreover is subject to an additional corporate "foreign PP&E" tax surcharge of 2% of the estimated real estate value of the foreign land and property holdings each year (since you can't have foreign labor without foreign offices/factories).

 

IV-Mortgage relief:

Funds obtained through procedures outlined in Section I against financial conglomerates used to take qualifying struggling mortgages out of the hands of the banks by means of homeowners applying for federal amnesty of a portion of their loans. To demonstrate this, the homeowners must demonstrate a history of paying their loans currently up until the economic crisis and its aftermath. If amnesty is granted, one half the loan will be forgiven from the consumer with no adverse effect to their credit score (save what it was before), and the bank will receive payment of half the loan from the federal government at the rate of 65 cents on the dollar. The homeowner must make the remaining payments without further opportunity to refinance.

Fannie and Freddie unwound and replaced by 100 new small loan/mortgage agencies with entirely new staff - 2 for each state.

The new agencies takes some struggling mortgages that do not qualify for the above and refinances them in such a manner that homeowners can reasonably expect to pay the balances on time.

In cases where that is clearly not possible (i.e. both adults in household unemployed), the agency does nothing to assist the bank that made the bad loan. The agency demonstrates proper discretion, unlike Fannie and Freddie, with all future endeavors.

 

V-Student loan relief:

Student loans are no longer exempt from forgiveness, or reduction in value, through bankruptcy, save for those owed to the federal government.

Student's college GPA and difficulty of major taken into consideration during bankruptcy proceedings.

Students who obtain a GPA higher than 3.000 in college receive a 5% "discount" on the principal of their federal student loan upon successful graduation with an undergraduate degree.

 

VI-Unemployment relief:

Will come as a byproduct of the tax reforms discussed earlier. Funding will be increased for infrastructure and maintenance at the federal level, and some money disbursed to states - which will then have to use it for those purposes. The money cannot be used for new projects by the states, only for its intended purpose, without a special approval from the federal government and a state voter referendum in favor of the proposed new construction.

 

VII-Campaign finance reform:

Ban all campaign contributions by corporations, for-profit or otherwise.

Ban group contributions in general.

Cap donations by individuals at $5000 per candidate.

Personal and family wealth disallowed: you may "donate" up to $10000 to yourself and each family member over 18 may donate up to $5000 to you, but other than that nothing.

Candidates do not get to keep what they do not spend - the money, after the election, is turned over to the municipality for which the election is held. The money cannot be spent unless the municipality has a net surplus (not a budgetary surplus for the year - an actual, overall surplus!)

Corporations cannot advertise on television in any way that is seen as seeking to influence the outcome of an election.

 

VIII-Lobbying reform:

Forbid lobbying by any organization. Individuals may speak or write to elected officials, but anyone affiliated with an interest group or PAC is forbidden to meet with any elected official save for monthly "interest groups" meetings that are aired nationally, and to which domestic and foreign press access is granted.

Forbid access to politicians by interest groups and their representatives outside the interest group meetings.

Forbid any and all gifts and/or free meals from interest group representatives to politicians, or vice versa.

Forbid regulators from working at corporations in the field they were responsible for overseeing for twenty years from end of time in office.

Forbid regulators from voting on measures that impact industries they were employed in within the past 10 years (ie they must "abstain"), or from voting on issues that affect special interest groups they previously were a representative or member of.

Forbid any politician from taking private-sector lobbying employment for life. Private consulting employment only OK after 8 years.

Term limits for all elected officials - maximum = 2 terms, then the individual must take a break from politics at the previous level (ie a 2 term mayor can run for president because city -> federal, but a 2 term senator cannot run for president because federal -> federal). All officials get a partial term "break" that allows them to finish a term, (ie a senator beginning his second term may run for president, but cannot remain president after completion of his first presidential term). After reaching the term limit, the politician must take 4 years off from the level of government in which the limit was reached. After 4 years off, they may run. No elected official may serve in the same role for more than 2 TOTAL terms at any level of government.

 

IX-Tort reform:

All civil suits can be deemed "frivolous" by a judge. In the event a suit is deemed frivolous, the plaintiff must pay 3x the legal fees of the defendant: 2x legal fees goes to the defendant for "grief and aggravation", 1x legal fees goes to the municipality in which the case was heard for wasting its time. In addition, the lawyer filing the suit is charged a $1,000 fine, and is given a strike on his record. If three "frivolous" lawsuits are filed by the same lawyer within any 24 month period, the lawyer is disbarred and prohibited from practicing law again until completion of a recertification course which the lawyer must pay for personally. Should the lawyer be disbarred a second time for frivolous lawsuits, the lawyer is prohibited from practicing law for life.

Appeals can be deemed "frivolous" by a judge in the same manner. The same rules apply for appeals as for suits.

 

That's my idea of a good start.

[SubwayGuy]

engineerboy, this is a good start. I'll add my comments in red.

 

 

I-Addressing current and past Wall Street misbehavior:

Civil suits by DOJ against all the main investment banks, criminal investigations against any and all higher-ups at these banks.

Penalties to include confiscation of some to all assets of guilty individuals, physical and otherwise. Penalties to firms to include fines that exceed the amounts illegally gained by 25%. All proceeds from the investigation are used to first, fund further investigation, and second for the refinancing of qualifying "bad loans" via government arbitration discussed below. Any excess used to reduce national debt.

 

II-Preventing further Wall Street misbehavior:

Restoration of Depression-era bank legislation beginning with Glass-Steagall.

Breaking up of all financial conglomerates; each division becomes an independent company with a new CEO, directors, etc.

Compensation rules overhaul, including the end of golden parachutes as well as the end of stock option compensation. Company stock (not options) may be given as compensation with the stipulation that it cannot be sold until the executive resigns, or is terminated from the company, at which point the proceeds will be taxed as a lump sum cash income effective the year of sale. No securities instrument other than company stock may be given as compensation.

Federal regulation of the derivatives market, subject them to special scrutiny

Financial transactions tax of 0.1% on all daily trading volume in excess of 1,000 shares.

Expand fraud legislation to include conflicts of interest; no more short-selling someone whom you're financing or advising, no more staple financing or similar practices

Full disclosure of asset portfolios to federal regulators and shareholders (note: this is not giving out insider information because shareholders receive financial statements 3-4 months after the date the information is true), regulators to receive compensation on behalf of ratings agencies up front and remit to the rating agency after rating services have been provided. Rating agencies for companies are randomly assigned each year.

Leveraging regulations; the ratio of exotic assets (including but not limited to CDOs) to hard cash capped at 5 to 1

Redesignate PACs, political organizations, etc. as for-profit corproations and regulate them as such

Eliminate the 501© designation and redesignate its current members to for-profit institutions

 

III-Tax reform

Uncap the FICA; all income subject to Social Security and Medicare taxation, not just the first $106,000.

Lower corporate tax rates to 5% of all taxable income for all corporations with taxable income under $1 million dollars (indexed for inflation). Lower corporate tax rates to 10% of all taxable income in excess of 1 million dollars + $50,000 for all corporations with taxable income between 1 and 10 million dollars. Lower corporate tax rates to 15% of all taxable income in excess of 10 million dollars + $950,000 for all corporations with taxable income between 10 million and 1 billion dollars. Lower corporate tax rates to 25% of all taxable income in excess of 1 billion dollars + $149,450,000

Eliminate many corporate tax deductions and credits to reduce the tax preparation expense for corporations. The portion of wages or salary to individual employees in excess of $250,000 annually (indexed for inflation) is not tax deductible to the corporation. In the case of stock (non-option) compensation to employees, the value to the corporation is determined at the date of issue, and treated as cash for the purpose of determining the corporation's ability to partially or fully deduct the pay for tax purposes. Basically the goal is to give tax advantages to hire American workers, and tax disadvantages to overpaying executives. This also creates a huge incentive for the executive to keep the stock price going up, since he's going to get taxed on what it's worth when he can sell upon leaving the company, but the company is going to pay taxes based on what it's worth now. So if the stock price goes down BOTH the corporation and the executive lose - the executive gets less pay, which is taxed when he cashes out, and the corporation pays taxes on money that the executive never received because the share price went down.

New income tax brackets starting at $250,000 annual income, $500,000 annual income, $1,000,000 annual income, and $10,000,000 annual income, taxed with a similar "staircase" structure as the corporate example above. Everyone pays 10% on the first $20,000 ($40,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 15% on dollars $20,001 to $45,000 ($40,001 to $90,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 25% on dollars $45,001 to $70,000 ($90,001 to $140,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 35% on dollars $70,001 to $125,000 ($140,001 to $250,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 50% on dollars $125,001 to $250,000 ($250,001 to $500,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 60% on dollars $250,001 to $500,000 ($500,001 to $1,000,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 70% on dollars $500,000 to $1,000,000 ($1,000,001 to $2,000,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 75% on dollars $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 ($2,000,0001 to $4,000,000 filing joint). Everyone pays 80% on all dollars in excess of $10,000,000. All of these numbers indexed for inflation. Alternative Minimum Tax is eliminated. Example: Alex Rodriguez made $32,000,000 this season. Suppose, after deductions and credits, his taxable income worked out to $27,850,000. His total tax liability under my system would be $22,516,250. Oh my gosh that's so much! But he'll still be taking home more than $5 million dollars! This is a great example because it proves how inefficient it would be for companies to pay executives at the expense of other workers. Basically this is a mandate - companies and executives, create jobs or the government will tax those rich you overpay, and use that money to create jobs. Government can be as big or as small, as companies allow. To show how this would benefit most people, a person making $68,000 a year would pay $11,500 in taxes, keeping the rest to spend on stimulating the economy (which most people at that income level do).

Capital Gains are treated as ordinary income for all businesses and individuals. The only exceptions are contributions to a qualifying IRA or Roth IRA retirement, which do not exceed the prescribed limits. These amounts would now be allowed to be invested in a new "Merged IRA" where they are neither taxed upon investment nor upon withdrawal from the IRA, with the stipulation that the individual must be at least 57 years old to withdraw funds, and must never exceed the contribution limits.

Restore the estate tax for all estates/trust funds/portfolios over $2 million in value (indexed for inflation) and set it to 75%

Set tariffs on some imported goods (those harming America with their trade practices). In addition, foreign wages and wages paid to foreign nationals become non US tax deductible. The costs of investment in foreign property, plant, and equipment by US companies is certainly not US tax deductible, but moreover is subject to an additional corporate "foreign PP&E" tax surcharge of 2% of the estimated real estate value of the foreign land and property holdings each year (since you can't have foreign labor without foreign offices/factories).

 

IV-Mortgage relief:

Funds obtained through procedures outlined in Section I against financial conglomerates used to take qualifying struggling mortgages out of the hands of the banks by means of homeowners applying for federal amnesty of a portion of their loans. To demonstrate this, the homeowners must demonstrate a history of paying their loans currently up until the economic crisis and its aftermath. If amnesty is granted, one half the loan will be forgiven from the consumer with no adverse effect to their credit score (save what it was before), and the bank will receive payment of half the loan from the federal government at the rate of 65 cents on the dollar. The homeowner must make the remaining payments without further opportunity to refinance.

Fannie and Freddie unwound and replaced by 100 new small loan/mortgage agencies with entirely new staff - 2 for each state.

The new agencies takes some struggling mortgages that do not qualify for the above and refinances them in such a manner that homeowners can reasonably expect to pay the balances on time.

In cases where that is clearly not possible (i.e. both adults in household unemployed), the agency does nothing to assist the bank that made the bad loan. The agency demonstrates proper discretion, unlike Fannie and Freddie, with all future endeavors.

 

V-Student loan relief:

Student loans are no longer exempt from forgiveness, or reduction in value, through bankruptcy, save for those owed to the federal government.

Student's college GPA and difficulty of major taken into consideration during bankruptcy proceedings.

Students who obtain a GPA higher than 3.000 in college receive a 5% "discount" on the principal of their federal student loan upon successful graduation with an undergraduate degree.

 

VI-Unemployment relief:

Will come as a byproduct of the tax reforms discussed earlier. Funding will be increased for infrastructure and maintenance at the federal level, and some money disbursed to states - which will then have to use it for those purposes. The money cannot be used for new projects by the states, only for its intended purpose, without a special approval from the federal government and a state voter referendum in favor of the proposed new construction.

 

VII-Campaign finance reform:

Ban all campaign contributions by corporations, for-profit or otherwise.

Ban group contributions in general.

Cap donations by individuals at $5000 per candidate.

Personal and family wealth disallowed: you may "donate" up to $10000 to yourself and each family member over 18 may donate up to $5000 to you, but other than that nothing.

Candidates do not get to keep what they do not spend - the money, after the election, is turned over to the municipality for which the election is held. The money cannot be spent unless the municipality has a net surplus (not a budgetary surplus for the year - an actual, overall surplus!)

Corporations cannot advertise on television in any way that is seen as seeking to influence the outcome of an election.

 

VIII-Lobbying reform:

Forbid lobbying by any organization. Individuals may speak or write to elected officials, but anyone affiliated with an interest group or PAC is forbidden to meet with any elected official save for monthly "interest groups" meetings that are aired nationally, and to which domestic and foreign press access is granted.

Forbid access to politicians by interest groups and their representatives outside the interest group meetings.

Forbid any and all gifts and/or free meals from interest group representatives to politicians, or vice versa.

Forbid regulators from working at corporations in the field they were responsible for overseeing for twenty years from end of time in office.

Forbid regulators from voting on measures that impact industries they were employed in within the past 10 years (ie they must "abstain"), or from voting on issues that affect special interest groups they previously were a representative or member of.

Forbid any politician from taking private-sector lobbying employment for life. Private consulting employment only OK after 8 years.

Term limits for all elected officials - maximum = 2 terms, then the individual must take a break from politics at the previous level (ie a 2 term mayor can run for president because city -> federal, but a 2 term senator cannot run for president because federal -> federal). All officials get a partial term "break" that allows them to finish a term, (ie a senator beginning his second term may run for president, but cannot remain president after completion of his first presidential term). After reaching the term limit, the politician must take 4 years off from the level of government in which the limit was reached. After 4 years off, they may run. No elected official may serve in the same role for more than 2 TOTAL terms at any level of government.

 

IX-Tort reform:

All civil suits can be deemed "frivolous" by a judge. In the event a suit is deemed frivolous, the plaintiff must pay 3x the legal fees of the defendant: 2x legal fees goes to the defendant for "grief and aggravation", 1x legal fees goes to the municipality in which the case was heard for wasting its time. In addition, the lawyer filing the suit is charged a $1,000 fine, and is given a strike on his record. If three "frivolous" lawsuits are filed by the same lawyer within any 24 month period, the lawyer is disbarred and prohibited from practicing law again until completion of a recertification course which the lawyer must pay for personally. Should the lawyer be disbarred a second time for frivolous lawsuits, the lawyer is prohibited from practicing law for life.

Appeals can be deemed "frivolous" by a judge in the same manner. The same rules apply for appeals as for suits.

 

That's my idea of a good start.

[Tokkemon]

The tort reform thing was loltastic. While I agree tort law is out of control, that is not the way to do it. Talk about misappropriation of justice and potential for abuse!

[Tokkemon]

The tort reform thing was loltastic. While I agree tort law is out of control, that is not the way to do it. Talk about misappropriation of justice and potential for abuse!

[SoSpectacular]

That's an excellent start, SubwayGuy

[SoSpectacular]

That's an excellent start, SubwayGuy

[SubwayGuy]

The tort reform thing was loltastic. While I agree tort law is out of control, that is not the way to do it. Talk about misappropriation of justice and potential for abuse!

 

It puts the onus on the lawyer filing the suit to put his personal livelihood on the line when deciding whether or not to take a client.

 

The reason there are so many lawsuits is "free legal advice" firms that work for nothing, and if you win, or get a settlement, they take a very large piece of the pie. If you lose, they get nothing. But at least they didn't waste a lot of time on the case since the cases generally are heard very quickly.

 

It's basically a way for the lawyer to "play the lottery", so to speak.

 

Any tort reform measures must compensate the municipality and the defendant for the waste of time, and the punishment must exceed the basic costs to serve as a deterrent for future behavior of the sort.

 

I'd also add in as a protective measure, however, that any case a judge allows to go to trial cannot be considered frivolous. Thus it is the discretion of the judge whether or not the case can proceed to trial, and he cannot flip flop later on whether or not the case is frivolous. This also limits the plaintiff's liability (if the case is deemed frivolous) to the pre-trial legal fees of the defendant's attorney and any compensation by the municipality for the work of the judge and clerk's in processing pre-trial statements.

[SubwayGuy]

The tort reform thing was loltastic. While I agree tort law is out of control, that is not the way to do it. Talk about misappropriation of justice and potential for abuse!

 

It puts the onus on the lawyer filing the suit to put his personal livelihood on the line when deciding whether or not to take a client.

 

The reason there are so many lawsuits is "free legal advice" firms that work for nothing, and if you win, or get a settlement, they take a very large piece of the pie. If you lose, they get nothing. But at least they didn't waste a lot of time on the case since the cases generally are heard very quickly.

 

It's basically a way for the lawyer to "play the lottery", so to speak.

 

Any tort reform measures must compensate the municipality and the defendant for the waste of time, and the punishment must exceed the basic costs to serve as a deterrent for future behavior of the sort.

 

I'd also add in as a protective measure, however, that any case a judge allows to go to trial cannot be considered frivolous. Thus it is the discretion of the judge whether or not the case can proceed to trial, and he cannot flip flop later on whether or not the case is frivolous. This also limits the plaintiff's liability (if the case is deemed frivolous) to the pre-trial legal fees of the defendant's attorney and any compensation by the municipality for the work of the judge and clerk's in processing pre-trial statements.