This is my quickie list of what the problems are and the proposed solutions. In no particular order and nothing new here, except an attempt to keep each item to a single sentence and a single line (or close to it anyway). If not quite a bumper sticker, they are still meant to simple, punchy and clear.
Please, in comments, provide lots of constructive criticism and suggestions.
Both for different policies and better wording.
Please feel free to help this go viral, spread the word, generate feedback and improvement
No linky goodness, but occasional shorthand signifier references and shout-outs:
The Problems:
- Highest real unemployment since great depression.
- Highest long-term unemployment ever.
- Low wages and income
- Highest income disparity and wealthy inequality ever.
- Over-priced privatization and debt-ization of common goods: education, health, housing.
- Lack of power in the workplace for average citizen; all power to rich and corporate.
- Lack of power in government for average citizen; all power to rich and corporate.
The Economic Solutions:
- Increase minimum wage,
- Eliminate all exemptions to minimum wage.
- Increase wage enforcement.
- Expand earned income tax credit for low-income people.
- Strengthen labor rights and right to organize and collectively bargain.
- Greater progressivity of income tax, lower rates on middle class and higher tax on
wealthy.
- Tax all income the same regardless of source or type – salary, carried interest, capital gains (Buffett but stronger).
- Increase inheritance and other wealth tax to reduce inherited plutocracy and permanent disparity.
- Financial transaction tax to reduce the counter-productive multi-layered meta-financialization of everything (Tobin but stronger).
- Simplify and fix individual income tax code by getting rid of complex deduction that only favor wealthy, make tax table fit on index card (simple does not mean flat).
- Simplify and fix corporate tax code by eliminating loopholes and fancy deductions that favor large and multinationals over small business, make tax table fit on index card.
- Eliminate anti-jobs and regressive payroll deduction jobs taxes, and replace with the increased progressive income and corporate tax.
- Strong bank and financial regulation to keep government guaranteed personal banking separate from the casino everything goes world (Glass-Steagall, Volcker rule, Basel III).
- No governmental promises to back private bankster losses as sovereign debt.
- Massive investment in domestic infrastructure and green economy of the future.
- Undo privatization of what are inherently and essentially governmental governmental functions, including the educational loan system, mortgage guarantees, and of course need to move to single payer health insurance, etc.
- Debt Relief: Mortgage relief on first/only homes; recapture of privatized high-interest
government backed student loan system.
- Strengthen rights of individual workers and organized labor .
The Political Solutions
- Public funding of elections.
- Eliminate corporate personhood.
- Eliminate de-facto bribery and privileged access by campaign contributions.
- Improved definitions of constituency and voting (Gunier).
The World:
- Carbon tax. True cost of the commons must be included in the economy.
- Decrease defense budget.
- Withdraw from Afghanistan and Iraq.
- International trade/investment/tax rules must include workers rights, citizen rights and environmental rule (not just freedom for capital but also free labor, free citizens and value of the commons).
Short Term Action
- Continue OWS protests.
- Primary every regressive, corporate democrat, even at risk of losing seat.
- Run economic populists and progressives at every level and in every election from school board, town council, county commissioner, state legislature, and national.
- Don’t stay at home. Register. Vote for most progressive available across all elections.
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