Who is the "1%"?

Many of the people I hear arguing against the 99% call our efforts “class warfare” or “socialism”. Let me be clear – anyone demonstrating for the 99% that thinks what we need is wealth redistribution is not part of my platform. What we need is political transparency, laws that support fairness rather than favoritism, and quick justice for those that break these laws.

There are plenty of Americans that fall into the 1% of wealth holders that deserve every penny of their money. Anyone that begrudges hard work, the creation of new and innovative products and services, or the riches those things bring is misguided. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Cuban, Sergey Brin, and Larry Ellison are examples of what America is supposed to be all about. Like them or not, they earned their power and status.

The men that corrupt our politicians, cheat our financial systems, and bankrupt our country to achieve their wealth, those are the men we should be marching against. Men that manipulate currency instead of manufacture goods. Their mansions are the ones we should be chanting in front of. And they are the men that must pay for their crimes before the 99% are satisfied.

Two days ago, a federal indictment accusing Rajat Gupta of insider trading was unsealed. Gupta was a board member of Goldman Sachs and allegedly passed corporate secrets to his friend and hedge fund founder, Raj Rajaratnam, who then made millions off resulting stock transactions. The FBI caught Gupta on tape doing this.  Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his theft. Now it’s Gupta’s turn. This is an example of the justice the 99% must demand.

Wall Street Fraud

So who were some of the key figures behind the greed and deception that led to the government bailout of Wall Street and the $700 billion price tag that was hung on American taxpayers in the process and where are they now? Here’s a hint; you won’t find any of them in prison.

John Thain – Former COO of Goldman Sachs, former CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, and the CEO of Merrill Lynch when it was sold to Bank of America on Jan 1, 2009 for over 70% above the market value. That sale led to the near collapse of Bank of America when Merrill Lynch announced a quarterly loss of $21.5 billion just two weeks after the deal was closed and was a key contributor to the government decision to loan the bank $45 billion to keep it afloat. Thain is infamous for paying Merrill Lynch employees over $4 billion in bonuses just prior to that sale and for spending over $1 million renovating his Merrill Lynch office a year prior including a $31,000 toilet and a $1,100 trashcan.  So where is he now? Although threatened with investigation in 2009, Thain was named CEO of CIT Group in early 2010 and remains a free man that no doubt enjoys the hundreds of millions of dollars he “earned” during his time at Merrill Lynch.

Angelo Mozilo – Former CEO of Countrywide Financial until its sale to Bank of America in 2008. Mozilo was the driving force behind the subprime lending trend that allowed U.S. homebuyers to purchase property they generally wouldn’t have been able to afford based on ignoring the buyer’s income and foregoing down payments. It’s estimated Mozilo’s personal income from that business during the housing bubble of 2001-2006 was nearly $500 million. Mozilo was investigated for fraud and during that investigation it was learned that his “VIP loans” program that offered unheard of rates to influential political and banking figures included the CEO of Fannie Mae, Frankin Raines, the son of former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and former Senator and chairman of the Banking Committee, Christopher Dodd. Mozilo eventually paid $67.5 million in fines and agreed to a lifetime ban from serving as an officer or director of a public company, but all criminal charges were dropped in early 2011.

Charles “Chuck” Prince – Former CEO of Citigroup before retiring in 2007 due to the huge losses the firm suffered under his leadership as he invested in mortgage backed securities and collateralized default obligations (CDOs). His mismanagement led to a government bailout of $45 billion the following year yet Prince still walked away from the job with $150 million in stock options and salary. When asked by the Financial Crisis Inquiries Commission (FCIC) why he green-lighted such obviously risky investments, he responded “as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We’re still dancing.” Prince still serves as a consultant for Citigroup even to this day.

Joseph Cassano – Former AIG officer who spearheaded the development and sales of credit default swaps. This new method of “creating wealth” through insuring derivatives without putting up any real collateral netted Cassano $315 million in personal income during his 21 years with the company despite the devastating repercussions to the investment industry and American economy when the bubble burst in 2008. Although threatened with investigation, Cassano has yet to be charged with a crime and is living quite comfortably outside London, England.

Raymond McDaniel – CEO of the credit ratings giant, Moody’s. The massive sales of the subprime mortgage-backed securities that brought down companies like Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns wouldn’t have possible without the favorable credit ratings given by the big three ratings agencies including Moody’s. Paid for by the fraudulent firms that were selling them, McDaniel and his company provided these ratings despite the obvious risk of subprime defaults and grew their own revenue from $600 million in 2000 to over $2 billion in 2007 as a result. Although questioned by the government’s FCIC, McDaniel retains his position as CEO and his 2010 estimated compensation package was over $9 million.

Dishonorable Mention:

Alan Greenspan – Former chairman of the Federal Reserve

Hank Paulson – Former CEO of Goldman Sachs and Secretary of the Treasury

Deven Sharma – Former President of Standard & Poor’s

Stephen W. Joynt – President and CEO of Fitch Ratings

Christopher Dodd – Former Connecticut Senator and chairman of the Congressional Banking Committee

Phil Gramm – Former Texas Senator and one of the major contributors toward bank deregulation

Maurice “Hank” Greenberg – Former CEO of AIG

My 99% Platform

American news media and politicians are finally beginning to take notice of the Occupy Wall Street effort and the 99% of American people it is meant to stand for. Many are questioning what it is "We are the 99%" want. While I certainly don't speak for the masses, I am a supporter of their cause and have my own version of a platform to right some of the current wrongs in our country that are oppressing the 99% while further enriching the 1%. As such, here are my demands:

1.      Congressional Term Limits: Two six year terms for both Congress and House members. This would allow Congressmen to focus on the job rather than constant campaigning and would limit the lobbyists’ influence.

2.     Campaign Reform: Make it illegal for corporations to make political donations.

3.     Wall Street Reform: Make high-speed trading, credit default swaps, mortgage-backed securities, and investment firm payments to ratings agencies illegal.

4.     Economic Collapse Prosecution: Prosecute the individuals responsible for the economic collapse via their involvement in fraudulent hedge funds, bond ratings, and mortgage-backed securities in both criminal and civil courts.

5.     Tax Reform:  Reform the federal tax code to remove loop holes, simplify the rules, penalize the off-shoring of jobs, and tax corporations based on American revenue rather than investment.

6.     Anti-Monopoly Actions: Launch anti-monopoly proceedings against the major banks, oil, and pharmaceutical companies which have falsely inflated fees and prices on the goods and services the American public must have to survive.

7.     Higher Education Costs: All higher education schools must make their graduation percentages and average first five year post-graduation salaries publically available and no public school of higher education may charge more than their average first five year post-graduation salary for a four-year degree including tuition, room, and board.

8.     Welfare Reform: Deny welfare (including Medicaid and food stamps) to anyone under 65 and non-handicapped and replace it with a federal jobs program that guarantees any American citizen a job and focuses on infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, and environmental protection. Revenue from those products would be used to further fund the program.

9.     Defense Strategy: Remove American combat troops from the Middle East and station them along the Mexican border as a fully-monitored, high security fence is built across the entire border by the federal jobs program. Overseas military action would be limited to training and drones.

10.  Energy Investment: Create additional rebate programs for energy efficient appliances, cars, and solar panels to stimulate their manufacture and sales, while lowering our reliance on fossil fuel.