I’ve been posting on my Facebook page a “fact” or message a day about Wall Street to show my sympathies with this movement, even though my definition of Wall Street is different from that of the movement. I define Wall Street as the the circuit of elite power that runs through Wall Street, Congress and the Administration, K Street, and elements of the media.I think the movement’s definition is more like “an economic system that is unjust and unfair to 99% of the population.”

My interest here is to contribute in my own tiny way by getting these people focused on how we got where we are with the corrupt financial and political system we suffer under today and practical things we can all think about to solve the problem, or something more practical than sleeping in public spaces. Not that I object or hold that against them in our democracy. I just think once the occupation ends, governing has to be restarted and there really are concrete steps that can be taken to fix things.

Most of this comes from my studies of financial engineering over the last five years, now embodied in my graduate work towards a Doctorate in Sociology. In any case, I’ve re-posted my daily messages here (in reverse chronological order):

• The current recession is only the latest crisis properly laid at Wall St’s gilded door. What about the junk bond scandal, the Savings and Loan fiasco, the collapse of Long Term Capital Management, and the dot com, telecom, and energy com failures? After each, financial services got stronger for the next round because regulatory oversight got weaker. The system has become a siphon for the few who get transaction fees in current dollars by inflating the perception of future value estimated from their “proprietary” models.
• In 1985, 14% of American business profits went to financial firms. In 2006, at the height of the housing bubble, it was 33%. Today, it is still 25%. Is it even close to appropriate that one of every four dollars of profit comes from moving money around a corrupted system, instead of investing that money for the long-term good of Americans?
• In 2009, the AmericanSociety of Civil Engineers gave the condition of our nation’s infrastructure a grade of D. $2.2-trillion over five years is needed to fix it, accompanied by tens of thousands of jobs. Its pretty clear Wall St gets a F for managing the nation’s finances. We need long term investment in the foundation of the country not minute to minute speculation by the 0.001% that runs Wall Street.
•  Repeal the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, passed by our Congress in year 2000 expressly to PREVENT regulation and oversight of derivatives and the exotic financial products at the heart of our financial crisis and the profits of the 1%
• Make the Fed transparent. Under current law, no elected representative of American citizens has the right to examine the Fed’s dealings with US banks or other global or central banks.
• Break the circuit of global economic power and influence, the handful of elites in the revolving door through Wall St, DC, K Street, and academia, and the media amplification of their message
• In less than 36 hrs in 2008, the Fed converted Goldman Sachs and the other investment banks into commercial banks so they could receive their share of TARP funds. Government works lightning fast when the right people have their hands out begging.
• When your personal net worth is $4-billion, every zero after that first digit represents the sweat and toil of others in the service of your vision.
• (The lack of) Money is the root of all evil. (with gratitude to Mad Magazine where I read this several decades ago)
•  Reduce speculating. Expand educating.
• End Financial Engineering. Support Infrastructure Engineering.