conservatives in the u.s. constantly point to the 99% movement and say that they are trying to start a class war. but when the 85 wealthiest people literally own as much as the 3.5 billion poorest people (yes, that's billion with a 'b'), it's clear that the war is already well under way. the real question is, how do you turn it around so that the deck isn't stacked against those who don't have access to drafting their own legislation, health care, lawyers, members of the supreme court, members of congress, the media, and on and on?
especially when you have 1 percenters like this fellow who think it's just great?
some suggestions:
1. update the tax code for individuals and corporations to better reflect their ability to pay.
2. don't let companies sell products in the u.s. if they don't pay taxes here for those sales.
3. don't let companies bid for government contracts if they don't pay taxes for income earned as a result of that work.
4. bar all lobbyists from making contributions to members of congress, judges on the supreme court, or any regulatory agency members, including meals, trips, fund-raisers, etc., directly or through pacs or tax-exempt fronts.
5. do not allow any member of congress to take a job with any company that they regulated while in congress for a period of at least 15 years.
6. evenly distribute public education funds across the country, including locally collected taxes.
7. institute a national curriculum and national testing for all public schools.
8. fire any teachers whose students do not meet minimum standards.
9. increase individual teacher pay based on student outcomes.
10. set national standards for executive pay based on a company's size and earnings.
11. make every media outlet and journalist cite their sources for every story. especially television personalities.
12. raise the minimum wage. the wealthiest people on the planet complaining about making sure that their employees can eat is monstrous.
it's not everything, but it's a start. what would you change?
