The Wall Street Protest: 3 Demands to Effective Change
Nick Carraway
GunGirlNewYorkThe media coverage of the growing Occupy Wall Street is all over the place. We can't tell if the crowd is made up of anarchists, socialists, hippies, bored college kids, Tea Partiers, hired union members, or just regular folks. Most likely it is a mix of generally dissatisfied, unemployed people who are angry enough to mobilize despite their various causes.
If so, the Occupy protests are both a sign of hope and a sign of trouble. That many diverse opinions have identified a common problem, i.e. - the financial sector, is encouraging. Perhaps the will of the people will finally push Congress to impose bipartisan regulation and accountability on those who caused the financial collapse of 2008. However, a nebulous protest with no leadership is very dangerous because it can easily be co-opted by powerful political interest groups, even those that were the original objects of protest.
To make sure that doesn't happen, the Occupy Wall Street movement needs strong leadership and clear objectives with wide populist appeal. Here's what they should demand in the humble opinion of one blogger who has closely followed the economic news of the last few years.
Goal #1. Remove Obama from Political Power ASAP
I know that it sounds partisan, but even if you voted for President Obama back in '08, you have to take an objective look at what his presidency has done to this economy. First, the lion's share of his campaign contributions are from some of the largest investment banks like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and Citi Group. Furthermore, his economic advisors have been filled with the ranks of Wall Street insiders such as former New York Federal Reserve head Timothy Geithner. Under Geithner's watch, we've seen the downgrade of US credit and a general lack of leadership on the eurozone debt crisis. His advice to the Europeans received an icy reception last month, and just on Thursday Geithner's assessment that US exposure to European debt is "very limited" has been contradicted by an independent study which estimates that 5% of total US banking assets are subject to the Euro crisis. Since Obama has no background whatsoever in economics, the Occupy Wall Street protestors and the rest of America for that matter should not assume that the President or his administration will do much to reform their Wall Street friends and donors. Instead we must demand a new President who has not been co-opted by the contributions of big finance.
GunGirlNewYorkGoal #2: Return to Glass-Steagall
If you've never heard of the Glass-Steagall Act, look it up now because its repeal played a key role in bringing about the current financial crisis. Financial crises in America are not new, and we've recovered from them before. What's different about this current crisis is a lack of political will partially due to the growth of the financial sector's influence in Washington. But back in the 1930s, the US Congress had more gumption to regulate harmful financial practices like speculation which drove the country into the Great Depression. One of those regulations was the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act which separated investment banks from commercial banks. In short, Senator Glass and Congressman Steagall saw the ability of a bank to take its' customers deposits and gamble them in securities issued by an investment firm owned by the same bank as a huge conflict of interest.
Logically, this makes sense, but in the late 90s another Treasury Secretary under Clinton, Larry Summers, helped lead the way for Glass-Steagall to be repealed. This de-regulation led to the creation of the now infamous credit default swaps on mortgage backed securities that fueled the collapse of AIG and others, essentially disrupting the global economy. And who did Obama choose as a top economic advisor to shape new policy designed to lead the country out of the derivatives mess? That's right, Larry Summers, the same guy who helped create it. To no one's surprise, trillions of these toxic assets still exist and financial regulation with the teeth of Glass-Steagall has yet to be passed on the banking industry.
Goal #3: Audit the Federal Reserve
The last aspect of the economy which protestors and concerned Americans must address is our central banking system. Clearly, our politicians need to address the Federal Reserve which has been buying up much of the US national debt and mortgage back securities during the current financial crisis. Recently, the policies of the Federal Reserve have been the object of much criticism and have produced little success. Despite keeping interest rates at historic lows for the past 20 years and injecting trillions of liquidity into the US markets with QE1 and QE2, the economy has not bounced back.
Indeed, many argue that the Fed's policies have done more harm than good. The expansion of easy credit in the 90s contributed to the housing bubble and the expansion of money supply is leading to increasing inflation. Even if you differ on the macroeconomic theory, it is at least plain to perceive that the Fed has not been doing a good job on creating a stable economic environment for business. Actually, every time Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has made public statements recently the stock market has nosedived. The threat of inflation and volatility in the markets surely aren't helping the problem of unemployment.
GunGirlNewYorkTherefore, Congress has the right and duty to audit the Fed to see what assets its holding in reserve, what needs to be liquidated from its balance sheet, and if necessary, how to best reform or dismantle it entirely. In the past, central banking in the United States has gone through many reforms, and there's no reason not to call for it again considering the precarious state of our economy. As the founder's intended, the issuance of currency and credit needs to return to the control of a democratically elected Congress, not a private banking cartel outside the realm of meaningful transparency and accountability.
If we as a nation can agree on these three demands and direct our political action towards achieving them, then we will see an immediate improvement in the economy. If, however, the Occupy Wall Street becomes fragmented and degenerates into the age old left right battle, then we might be in for much worse civil unrest then a couple hundred protestors blocking city streets. Let's rally together so it doesn't get that far.
Reader Comments (2)
I liked this post because we have to see if there is real implications to these meetings or if the media is just building stories. I know there is frustrations in the American public but is this the outward sign of it? Is this group of people who are yelling for their message to be heard a fad or a clear group that might actually change the course of government?
We must vote to change things but I am not sure if I want this group to fall into one political party either. The Tea Party went the way of the Republicans and their message of smaller government and protecting American boarders and jobs were misinterpreted as crazy radicals. There is a danger in saying this group is the Democratic version, and though there is a concern with national interest and social causes, I hope it does not just accept the polticians in office.
I would like to see if this group can bring its own elected officals. I would like to see more parties contend for the American government and though it does create havoc perhaps, Americans would not have to compromise everytime we vote.
The media and government do not like divergent thinkers, but I think that is just what this post is asking. Let them be divergent. Let them not have a face to be attacked. Let them build support and each message be heard. I think there is fear in labelling this early because it could be just what our country might need.
Great piece from The Onion, http://www.theonion.com/articles/nation-waiting-for-protesters-to-clearly-articulat,26353/
Enjoy!