By David Gravely
Today, I was made aware of the "unofficial" list of demands that the Occupy Wallstreet group has put together. While I can certainly appreciate the groups core desire to protest, and applaude their efforts to bring about a change in these times of financial hardship......some of these "demands" are absolutely insane and totally illogical.
Here, for you're consideration, is the list:
-Repeal the Taft-Hartley Act. Unionize ALL workers immediately.
-Raise the minimum wage immediately to $18/hr. Create a maximum wage of $90/hr to eliminate inequality.
-Institute a 6 hour workday, and 6 weeks of paid vacation.
-Institute a moratorium on all foreclosures and layoffs immediately.
-Repeal racist and xenophobic English-only laws.
-Open the borders to all immigrants, legal or illegal. Offer immediate, unconditional amnesty, to all undocumented residents of the US.
-Create a single-payer, universal health care system.
-Pass stricter campaign finance reform laws. Ban all private donations. All campaigns will receive equal funding, provided by the taxpayers.
-Institute a negative income tax, and tax the very rich at rates up to 90%.
-Pass far stricter environmental protection and animal rights laws.
-Allow workers to elect their supervisors.
-Lower the retirement age to 55. Increase Social Security benefits.
-Create a 5% annual wealth tax for the very rich.
-Ban the private ownership of land.
-Make homeschooling illegal. Religious fanatics use it to feed their children propaganda.
-Reduce the age of majority to 16.
-Abolish the death penalty and life in prison. We call for the immediate release of all death row inmates from death row and transferred to regular prisons.
-Release all political prisoners immediately.
-Immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.
-Abolish the debt limit.
-Ban private gun ownership.
-Strengthen the separation of church and state.
-Immediate debt forgiveness for all.
-End the 'War on Drugs'.
So there it is. Simple, to the point, and in their minds completely rational and the cure to all of our problems.
Or not.
I can't even fathom how far off the deep end some of these people must have gone to believe that ANY of this would be helpful to our country. Socialism, communism, and the complete disregard for our Constitution would be the only way to impliment these "demands".
I can only hope that sane and sober minds will prevail, and that these "protestors" will be allowed to protest within the limits of the law, but their misguided and flawed logic will be seen for what it is.
-Raise the minimum wage immediately to $18/hr. Create a maximum wage of $90/hr to eliminate inequality.
-Institute a 6 hour workday, and 6 weeks of paid vacation.
-Institute a moratorium on all foreclosures and layoffs immediately.
-Repeal racist and xenophobic English-only laws.
-Open the borders to all immigrants, legal or illegal. Offer immediate, unconditional amnesty, to all undocumented residents of the US.
-Create a single-payer, universal health care system.
-Pass stricter campaign finance reform laws. Ban all private donations. All campaigns will receive equal funding, provided by the taxpayers.
-Institute a negative income tax, and tax the very rich at rates up to 90%.
-Pass far stricter environmental protection and animal rights laws.
-Allow workers to elect their supervisors.
-Lower the retirement age to 55. Increase Social Security benefits.
-Create a 5% annual wealth tax for the very rich.
-Ban the private ownership of land.
-Make homeschooling illegal. Religious fanatics use it to feed their children propaganda.
-Reduce the age of majority to 16.
-Abolish the death penalty and life in prison. We call for the immediate release of all death row inmates from death row and transferred to regular prisons.
-Release all political prisoners immediately.
-Immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.
-Abolish the debt limit.
-Ban private gun ownership.
-Strengthen the separation of church and state.
-Immediate debt forgiveness for all.
-End the 'War on Drugs'.
So there it is. Simple, to the point, and in their minds completely rational and the cure to all of our problems.
Or not.
I can't even fathom how far off the deep end some of these people must have gone to believe that ANY of this would be helpful to our country. Socialism, communism, and the complete disregard for our Constitution would be the only way to impliment these "demands".
I can only hope that sane and sober minds will prevail, and that these "protestors" will be allowed to protest within the limits of the law, but their misguided and flawed logic will be seen for what it is.
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