Immediate needs for our republic (some from http://wedontmakedemands.org/posters.php ):
1. End the Fed and ban federal central banks.
2. Reinstate Glass-Steagall (or similar permanent isolation of investment banks from savings banks).
3. Audit all bailed-out banks.
4. Close the Enron Loophole. (many say 2010 Dodd-Frank and 2008 Farm Bill didn’t go far enough)
5. Require Mark to Market accounting.
6. Regulate the Derivatives market, CDS/CDOs.
7. Restrict United States banks from making certain kinds of speculative investments that do not benefit their customers.
8. Paul Volcker: “I’d love to see a four-page bill that bans proprietary trading and makes the board and chief executive responsible for compliance. And I’d have strong regulators. If the banks didn’t comply with the spirit of the bill, they’d go after them.”
9. Regulate (and tax) High Frequency Trading. “Tobin Tax” reflects this.
10. Outlaw bailouts of large corporations and financial institutions on the basis of “too big to fail.” “Too big to fail” = “has failed already.” AIG and others like it are effectively a monopoly, regardless of its competitors.
11. Prosecute banks and bankers for financial crimes, including fraud.
12. Overturn Citizens United with a constitutional amendment.
13. Bailout homeowners, not banks. Do this by refinancing mortgages, which banks are reluctant to do. They are currently imposing onerous restrictions when those holding mortgages could be paying down principle.
14. Work to uncover ALL toxic debts, identify debt holders and creators, and publish the findings.
15. Reinstate the Uptick Rule for short-selling of stocks.
16. Repeal / block variants of ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, NDAA, HR 3166.
17. Repeal Patriot Act. Maintain security with transparency.
18. Keep fracking illegal in NYS, work to shut down its use in other states.
19. 100% public funding for elections. No special access for corporations.
20. Paper ballots, visible for recounts, everywhere. Independent hackers really should be paid to beta test anything called a “voting machine.”
21. Abolish the Electoral College.
22. Close Guantanamo. Bring terrorists to trial.
23. Outlaw gene patenting. Outlaw GMOs for food stream. Anything with such drastically serious consequences (to our food stream and our ecosystem) must be vetted through open source technology, not proprietary
24. Utility companies are some of the worst offenders to economic justice. They have government-guaranteed profits regardless of the market. Any such system of automatic government compensation to private companies should cease.
25. Afghanistan is an unwinnable occupation. The US should have a debate and a national referendum on whether to exit or stay occupying.