To get started, Occupy Dayton is a movement consisting of Dayton residents and residents of the surrounding areas acting in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Which by now, you've most likely read about online, in a newspaper, or seen a news report about. We are based out of Court House Square in Downtown Dayton.
If you are still unsure about what The Occupy Movement stands for, there are several major points the movement stand for. There are also points that relate specifically to each local Occupy Group. The points of local importance, at least for Occupy Dayton, are decided at General Assembly meetings at our events by a simple majority vote.
The major points that are, for the most, relevant to The Occupy Movement are as follows:
1. End Corporate Personhood and Get Corporate Money Out Of Politics
This means that a corporation should not be allowed to use their profits to influence legislation being passed in their favor when it hurts the rest of the country. Also, due to a recent United States Supreme Court Decision (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) corporations are now allowed to give unlimited amounts of money to politicians during campaigns. You may be asking yourself, why is this bad? Well, to put it simply when one group gives a large amount of money to a political campaign they are going to expect a return on that investment. The return that corporations, generally, seek on these donations are favorable legislation once the candidate gets into office. Sine we, as private citizens, would have a very difficult time donating money to a campaign at this level it puts the interests of the corporation before the interests of the individual citizen. Which damages the way our government is supposed to operate, especially when the majority of a politician's constituents disagree with the possible end result of the legislation that might be passed.
2. Closing Tax Loopholes
Within our current tax code, there are taxes that companies in certain industries are supposed to pay based on certain factors. However, there are also holes in the legalese of these laws that allows companies to avoid paying these taxes as well. It is The Occupy Movement's contention that these loopholes need to be closed in order to allow for a fairer across the board system of taxation under current tax policy in this country.
3. Sincere Effort Toward Anti-Trust Breakup
Put into laymen's terms, this simply means that a monopoly by one company over any industry is a bad thing. It falls back onto that old adage that something is "too big to fail". As we have seen with our banks over the past several years, finding something that is "too big to fail" is quite difficult. To take it out of the financial realm and put it into another light. If one were to take an especially large basket out to collect eggs on a farm, it would be faster and easier than if they took several small baskets. However, if you place all of your eggs into one large basket, and that basket breaks you are in a bad way. Not only do you no longer have any eggs, but you also have a mess you need to clean up. By using several smaller baskets, you won't lose all of your eggs if the basket fails. Plus, the mess will be much easier and faster to clean up. This same concept, can be applied to any situation economically speaking.
4. Punishment Of White Collar Crimes
To date, there have been almost no arrests in regard to the melt down of economy based on the extremely questionable practices of those working in the financial industry. While some of this can be attributed to the idea that while banks may not have been too big to fail, there was too big of a mess to figure out where to point the blame when it came to individuals. By refining the laws governing how Wall Street invests our money, and then enforcing these laws, we would have been able to actual hold individuals accountable for their role in the melt down of our economy.
These points are present, in all Occupy Movements in the United States. As previously stated, you will find that some local movements are taking on other causes that are of importance to their local movement or just their local community.
It should be noted, that my thoughts on these four main points are by no means definitive in their scope nor am I an expert in any of these topics. I am going to begin looking for individuals who are more knowledgeable in each of these four points to address them in future entries on this blog. Until then, if what has been said here has sparked your interest in Occupy Dayton we welcome you down to join us in Court House Square. More information regarding what is going on down there can be found on our Facebook Page. If after reading this, you are interested but would like to know more about these issues at hand, please read more and learn more. Actually, even if you agree with our points, are picking up a sign or have picked up a sign and marched with us ... read more and learn more. Knowledge is the greatest weapon any of us can have.
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