The “Occupy Movement’ Agenda

The “Occupy Movement” at first glance, to the Wall Street community and political right-wingers, seems to be various loose packs of disorganized, roaming wolves from the political left with no specific targets and barking up the wrong tree. To a certain degree, I agree with them.

First, the movement should not target specific businesses or corporations as the targets of their frustrations. Marching and blocking access to business sites will not only anger and alienate the public and make them less sympathetic to their cause. They should targets the politicians and laws that protect Wall Street and enable them to run amok and unaccountable.

Secondly, the movement needs to crystallize and coalesce into an organization with an expressed manifesto to state its mission. It needs to set specific actionable goals to advance its cause and accomplish its mission. Contrary to some misguided belief, this is a grass-root movement that encompasses all walks of life and all spectrums of political persuasions.

The mission of this movement should not call for a re-distribution of wealth, but rather a demand for fair share and burden. This “Fair Share and Burden” doctrine requires each economic entity to contribute equally to the financial welfare of our country, by paying equitable amount of taxes based on its pecuniary obligations and monetary gains. In other words, just as the corporations are allowed to deduct all kinds of expenditures and tax exemptions to remain profitable, so should an individual be able to get the same tax treatment and be able to deduct his or her expenditures to sustain a comfortable life, free from hunger and for want of shelter.

To this end, I recommend the following actionable goals to accomplish for this movement:

1. Reform lobby laws: prohibit retired politicians and government agency functionaries to work for political lobbies for issues they oversaw or regulated when in office for 10 years after their retirement;
2. Demand Congress to pass laws to nullify the effect of January 2010 Supreme Court ruling on “Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission” decision, which upheld the right of corporations to spend money influencing political campaigns;
3. Strengthen the current Anti-trust laws to prohibit corporations to cannibalize industry by merging and buy-outs to grow so large that they are not allow to fail, or exerting undue influence on the course of government. In light of unlawful hacking to private citizen’s cell phones, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. comes to mind. By consolidating print and broadcast media, the News Corp. extends its prying tentacles into every aspects of civilian life and exerts dangerous influence on the politicians who cowers in fear of its power to publish negative publicity;
4. Pass new laws and close current loop holes to hold corporations accountable for their actions and make their transactions more transparent to the public;
5. Reform Tax Laws to incorporate the “Fair Share and Burden” principle;
6. Vote more moderate politicians into of office, not ideologues or partisans, our representatives should be able to negotiate, compromise and seek common grounds for the benefits of the whole nation, not solely their constituents.

May this movement gain momentum and usher in a new dawn in government and corporation accountability and integrity.

On 10/5/2011, a huge star winked out. But the remnants of this supernova will travel far and wide to generate new stars and illuminate the firmament of human endeavors, ingenuity and perseverance. This is your legacy, Steve Jobs. Rest in peace!