immanence

This list of demands is simple, yet demanding, as it should be. See below for explanatory notes. Please share these demands widely.

In recognition of the primary role played by oversized and deregulated financial institutions in causing the current economic crisis, WE DEMAND:

1) That all persons who have served as directors or chief executives of large financial institutions in the previous 10 years, and all persons who have accepted over $500,000 in campaign donations from employees of such institutions in the same period, be disqualified from running for office in Congress, Senate, and the Presidency and Vice-Presidency of the United States of America.

2) That all persons who have served as chief executives of large financial institutions and whose total earnings in any year over the previous 10 years were greater than $5 million be required to return one-quarter of these earnings into a national fund. Half of this fund will be used to repay the national debt, and half would be distributed fairly to persons who have lost employment and/or housing in the 5 years preceding this date.

3) That repealed provisions of the 1932 Glass-Steagall Act intended to separate financial banking from commercial banking be reinstituted.

4) That special tax breaks for capital gains and stock dividends be abolished.

5) That special tax breaks for corporations sending jobs and profits overseas be abolished.

Explanatory Notes

Throughout this document, “previous 10 years” and “5 years preceding this date” shall refer to the period preceding the signing of this declaration, except in (1) where it refers to the period preceding any given election.

The term “large financial institutions” will refer to banking institutions primarily or broadly involved in financial and investment lending and/or sales of speculative assets (such as derivatives), whose consolidated assets total more than $100 million. (See here for a comparative list of bank size, and here for a list of bank executive earnings for 2007.)

On capital gains and related unfair tax breaks, see here and here.

These demands are intended to be shared and broadly discussed. Other sets of demands can be found circulating online: for instance, here, here, and here.