The protest is pretty open-ended, but some demands are more in the spirit of the thing than others, and the spirit of the thing is what has helped it to catch fire.
Notes from the armchair. So if I was proposing demands, I would think along these lines, with suitably artful, concise language. And I wouldn't think of them as 'demands,' but as talking points for all activists to raise and hammer on. They need to be simple, specific, and ambitious.
* Break up the big banks, no more too big to fail, no more bailouts. Resolve failed banks the way they do now, firing the execs, haircutting the equity holders, pay off debts to the extent possible.
* Claw back bonuses within the assisted banks (the money is peanuts in the grand scheme of things, the principle has broad appeal)
* Write down outstanding loan principal, in housing and for students. Somehow or other.
* Instant deficit-financed WPA
* A progressive tax system
Of course there are many other worthy objectives. But there is a reason demanding the other stuff has not amounted to anything. I would argue these are all close extrapolations of the OWS activities. If I felt like I needed to stifle the Ron Paulistas, I might add 'democratize the Fed.'
On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 3:04 PM, <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:
> Mostly agreeing with Carrol.
>
> I have been pondering my list, which would not be titled demands but
> "What's worth fighting for."
>
> -- The end of the wars.
>
> -- The dismantling of the police state and the closure of prisons.
>
> -- Free health care [nationalization of pharma; accountability/transparency
> of medical procedures and drugs]
>
> -- Free education [organized around skills and enlightenment; includes
> child care]
>
> -- Stewardship of the earth [sustainable/organic development, clean up of
> toxic env, development of non polluting energy sources]
>
> -- Public support for the arts
>
> -- Something about immigration -- not sure what.
>
> -- Meaningful work available to all. Meaningful both in the sense as
> necessary (waste disposal) and in the sense of the development and
> refinement of human beings.
>
> ....
>
> Joanna
>
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