Proposal for Limited Occupation

A Proposal for Limited Occupation of Boulder For The Restoration of Popular Control of Government and The Health and Safety of the Nation, the Earth and the Earth's People

Whereas, corporate-government collusion is fascism and puts the profit of the few before the needs of the many, allows for unregulated casino capitalism, reduces environmental and civil protections, and propels war, and

Whereas, the legal fiction that a corporation, which won't freeze to death or need to care for its children or mother, is a person, has empowered corporations with inappropriate rights, and

Whereas, the fiction that the unregulated spending of money on political advertising and organizing is a protected form of free speech, has disproportionately increased the influence of money in our politics, and

Whereas, the power of wealth to create monetary systems, laws, tax policies, and regulations to the benefit of wealth and not to the benefit of the citizenry is evident and not hypothetical, and

Whereas, the People of Boulder have long stood for protection of the land and the maintenance of good government under the law, and

Whereas, the People of Boulder have voiced overwhelming opposition to corporate personhood in November of 2011, and

Whereas, our rights are not ours unless they are exercised and respected, and the rights of citizens to petition the government, to be free from a standing army (which we have seen the police become), to elect representatives without undue interference from the wealthy elite, to freedom of speech, and to be free of excessive punishment and fines without trial, are in need of exercise, and

Whereas, dissent, the lifeblood of democracy, must be valued and supported by the citizenry, and taught to our children, and

Whereas, the concern for the land, and the safety, education, and inspiration of the People of Boulder is primary in the actions of the Occupy Boulder group,

We Resolve To:

Encamp at the old courthouse on Pearl Street Mall,

in a manner that protects the land and the women, children, and men, through principled, disciplined management of the encampment through a democratic process. We seek the decriminalization of sleeping under a shelter, and otherwise support the laws of the land,

For the purpose of,
exercising our right to assemble, to grieve the government, and to speak,
and to model community based on the principles of participatory government.

Until

the re-establishment of progressive taxation,

the elimination of undue influence by wealth on the democratic process (either through restrictions, public financing of campaigns, or significant change in the process),

the affirmation by the government and the law that a corporation is not a person,

and the establishment of a monetary system that promotes social and environmental justice.

At that time the General Assembly of Occupy Boulder will consider decampment.


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We petition the support of the People of Boulder and ask the government of Boulder County to decriminalize the act of sleeping under shelter, in support of this resolution, so that healthy dissent, the lifeblood of democracy, can be witnessed and joined here.

I think it sounds pretty good. But I feel that Occupy is a social and cultural revolution that is taking us someplace we cannot predict. I would prefer we did not put a limit on it or overdefine it.

I saw somewhere that when people ask what our demands are, we reply with "we demand that you quit asking us for demands."

Chris

hi chris, i get your point about not overdefining. the point of listing something (hopefully a minimal set of demands we consense to) is that we want at least these things (we will "consider" moving after these things have happened)

That's a valid point. I think this is something we should discuss with the group in person if at all possible. There is so much to discuss and the free flow of ideas moves much slower in this type of forum.

1) The first 'whereas' statement doesn't make any sense to me. It can't be fascism and unregulated capitalism at the same time. Fascism means the economy is regulated for the benefit of the elite (as opposed to unregulated capitalism, or socialism where the regulations are for the sake of the worker). I for one view our government as fascist, and I'd honestly rather have no regulation at all than the status quo. If I had my way entirely, the federal government would be a lot smaller than it is, and the regulations would be sensible, simple, easily enforced laws that wouldn't create the sort of high barriers to entry that currently encourage the development of massive corporations. For example, we could simply re-define corporate charters, and re-assert the government's ability to refuse to issue them or to revoke them if a corporation is not fulfilling a useful purpose.

2) I don't think progressive taxation (or any other taxation scheme) needs to be a fundamental piece of our message. As I said before, I'd like to see the federal government shrink. I don't think they need any more money than they're already taking in, so the tax debate doesn't particularly inspire me.

Some (or all) of these statements of why folks are encamping should be posted so that passers by can get a better understanding of the Why of Occupation...just a thought.....