During My First Term as President I Will…

If elected President, by the end of my first term I will do the following:

a) Secure our borders with an effective physical barrier, and deport at least 25% of illegal immigrants.

b) Prosecute at least 60% of financial criminals to the fullest extent of the law, and return all stolen money to proper owners.

c) Create a Small Business and Middle Class Task Force, which will evaluate the effects of all laws and regulations on those two key segments of society, as well as make recommendations to the appropriate officials.

d) Make the financial summaries of government operations easier to access, obtain, and interpret, along with an extensive set of links for more detailed information on each topic.

e) Persuade Congress to pass a series of legislative reforms which will:

1. Provide more oversight of the financial sector.

2. Establish significant restrictions of allowable financial transactions.

3. Restrict foreign ownership of federal, state, and municipal government operations, including infrastructure, security, and bonds.

4. Return authority of most government activities to state and local regions.

5. Increase personal freedoms and allow more personal choices for individuals.

These are the goals I will achieve in my first term as President of the United States.

Free Market versus Capitalism

Introduction

The Free Market is NOT the same as Capitalism. They are two very different concepts.

We must make the distinction because capitalism needs to be restrained, while the free market should be encouraged to flourish.

The Free Market is the system where things happen. People do things. People create things. People provide needed services for other people.

In contrast, Capitalism is merely a method for moving money around. No goods or services are created using Capitalism (unless the capitalists specifically invest in goods and services). Capitalism in itself does not create products or create jobs.

The Free Market

The Free Market is the best economic system available. The Free Market is a system where people create goods and services, using their passion and pride. The people then exchange those goods and services for other goods and services.

We commonly think of the goods and services being traded for money, but that is not necessarily an absolute in the free market system. People can exchange goods and services for other goods and services. For example: I will repair your barn if you give me a bushel of wheat. Or, I will provide the meat if you prepare the meal.

All that matters in the Free Market system is that there is an exchange where both parties get something they need, by providing something of value to the other person. The only reason money is involved is because money is a standard unit from which to compare the price of goods and services.

Remember, the Free Market is the system where things happen. In a Free Market people do things. People create things. People provide needed services for other people.

Capitalism

Capitalism is vastly different from the Free Market. Capitalism is all about the movement of money. Capitalism has nothing to do with real activity.

In capitalism, money is moved around. Yet no goods are created. No products are made. No services are delivered. It is simply the movement of money.

And that is the inherent problem of the Capitalist system.  This is one of the central problems which has led to the economic situation of today.

Fallacies of the Capitalist supporters

The supporters of Capitalism say that Capitalism does create products and services, because of the investment into the businesses. This is not necessarily true.

First, understand that it is the dedicated people in our nation who create products and services. Capitalism is only one means to fund those businesses. Many successful people have never used Capitalism to grow their businesses.

Second, many of the financial elite in the past 20-30 years have used the method of Capitalism for strictly personal gain. They have used Capitalism as a method to defraud investors and to destroy businesses, while taking large personal profits. So in fact, Capitalism has been used by many financial elitists to destroy businesses and eliminate jobs, rather than to grow businesses and create jobs.

Capitalism is but one tool in the Free Market System

Capitalism is not the Free Market. Rather, Capitalism is a tool used in the Free Market system. And Capitalism is not the only tool.

Over the past few years I have meet with dozens of entrepreneurs throughout the nation and the world. All of them are quite successful. Note that every one of these successful entrepreneurs used the Free Market system, yet none of them used Capitalism.

Each entrepreneur created his own business, using his own money, and building it up over time. Small investments led to small profits, which were reinvested into the business.

Many of these successful businesses were created as a partnership, where each person provided some of his own savings, as well bringing his/her unique skills to project. In many cases, the project partners worked for almost nothing until the business became profitable.

There was no capitalism in any of these cases. There were no bank loans, no stockholder investments, and no connections to Wall Street. So you see, capitalism is far from the only tool available to boost prosperity in the Free Market system.

Capitalism as a tool: for good or for evil

Capitalism is a tool. And as with all tools, Capitalism can be used to create or to destroy. Capitalism can create happiness or it can cause harm.

If Capitalism is used as a means to boost the free market, then Capitalism is a useful tool. But if Capitalism is used solely to acquire more money without providing a useful product in return, then Capitalism is very destructive.

Capitalism is a useful tool when used properly. The proper use of Capitalism is to invest money in a business. This money is used to develop new products, to acquire supplies, to hire a skilled team, and to pay for marketing. As the business grows and makes money, some of the profits are given to the Capitalist investor while other profits are put back into the company.

When used in this way, Capitalism helps to create products and services, Capitalism helps a business to grow, and thus Capitalism does help to create jobs.

However, Capitalism by itself does NOT create any of these things. When used improperly, Capitalism will cause great harm.  If Capitalism is used to just move money around without creating a product or service, then Capitalism will destroy a community. If Capitalism is used as a mechanism to defraud others, then Capitalism will cause serious harm (not only to the people who were stolen from, but also to the general economic health of the region).

This is exactly what we have seen over the past 20 years, culminating into the situation we have today.

Focus on Free Market, not on Capitalism

In order to restore some sanity in our economic system, in order to create prosperity in our nation again, we must change our focus. We must place our support on the Free Market, and we must keep Capitalism in its place.

The Free Market is good. The Free Market is the best economic system available because it will obtain the greatest prosperity and personal happiness for the largest number of people.

We must stop thinking of Capitalism as our basic economic system. Capitalism should be thought of as just one tool of our economy, and not the entire basis for our economy.

We must remember that unrestrained Capitalism is NOT a successful economic system. Unrestrained capitalism causes destruction and chaos.

We must remember that Capitalism does not create jobs. It is the Free Market that creates jobs.

Furthermore, it has been proven over the past 20 years that unrestrained Capitalism destroys successful businesses and puts many good people out of work. In contrast, the Free Market economy allows successful businesses to prosper, and allows passionate workers to have good jobs.

We can appreciate that Capitalism, when properly used by responsible parties, can be a useful tool. Yet the serious damage caused by unrestrained Capitalism proves that we must restrict the privileges of the Capitalists.

If we encourage the Free Market to grow, at the rate of the unbridled creativity and labor of the people, while at the same time restraining Capitalism to only legitimate functions, then America will prosper again.

List of General Demands for Occupy Wall Street Movement

Introduction

One of the common complaints the elite make about the “Occupy” movement is that the people are not able to articulate specific demands. Therefore in order to aid the movement it is called upon individuals like myself to offer such a list.

The following is a List of Demands, created on behalf of the people.

We desire that the federal government and the financial elite take appropriate steps based on these demands to bring economic justice back to our nation.

General Demands

In general terms, the people demand the following:

1. The financial criminals who obtained their wealth through fraud and theft must be brought to justice. All stolen money must be returned to rightful owners. All criminals must be punished according to existing law.

2. Government agencies in all jurisdictions must do whatever is necessary to return stolen money to proper owners, to bring the financial criminals to justice, and to protect the people from any future financial crimes.

3. The financial elite must put the needs of the businesses before personal gain. Executives and investors must be dedicated to gradually growing the business over time, rather than being focused on quick profits and large paychecks.

4. The financial elite are obligated to help ensure that communities are economically healthy and that the nation remains prosperous. Personal wealth must not be obtained by sacrificing the general welfare of the communities or the nation.

5. All elected representatives who assisted the financial criminals in committing their crimes must also be brought to justice. These individuals must be replaced with representatives who are more responsive to the people. These representatives may also be charged with crimes as appropriate.

6. The financial elite must never be given any preferences over other sectors of the economy and other economic groups regarding government policy decisions, legislation, or enforcement of existing law.

7. All government money (actually taxpayer money) which was given to businesses as grants, loans, or stimulus must be immediately returned to the government treasury.

8. Wealthy corporations and individuals must pay their fair share in taxes. Those who benefit from the system to the greatest degree are obligated to return some of their profit to that system. Therefore all corporations and individuals who earn a substantial income must pay all taxes at the existing tax rate, without using any of slight-of-hand accounting methods to reduce their tax obligations.

This is our list of Demands. We further add that every elected representative, every government agency, and every member of the financial community take appropriate action to meet these demands.

Class Warfare: It is based on Justice, not Jealousy

Introduction

There is indeed a class warfare going on today. But it was not started by the poor, middle class, or any politician pandering for votes.

The class warfare was started by the financial elite. The people are simply trying to defend themselves and protect what is rightfully theirs. The ordinary people of the country, the 98% who are not part of the financial elite, are engaged in a movement to protect their future.

Key Elements of the “class war”

There are a few things to remember about the class war of today:

1. The financial elite started the war, by attacking the American people and by looting established businesses.

2. The term “class warfare” was invented by the financial elite to disparage the people. The term has been used to deflect attention from the elite’s serious financial crimes.

3. The financial elite have been using the media over many years to lie repeatedly. This includes false accusations against innocent people so that the elite can deflect attention from their own very real crimes.

4. The 98% of the population who are not part of the financial elite are engaged in a movement to protect everything of value. These people are motivated by justice, not by jealousy.

5. The people are simply trying to defend what is rightfully theirs, to regain stolen assets, and to punish the criminals.

Financial Elite: Pillaging, Looting, Bully Behavior

The financial elite have been pillaging American communities and looting from the American people for decades. It is time that the people take back what was stolen from them. It is time that the people reclaim what is rightfully theirs.

The financial elite have been behaving like school bullies. Yet instead of the school principal telling the bullies to stop, the principal encourages the bully and rewards the behavior.

The authority figures should be the referees, they should be enforcing a fair playing field. Instead, these authority figures are giving the bullies bigger sticks. The referees are cheering the bullies onward as they beat their victims senseless.

Media lies and deflection from crimes

The financial elite have also been using media for their advantage. The financial elite have coined the term “class warfare.” The elite use this term to insult the people, and divert attention from those in power who have really been waging war against Americans.

These elite have always claimed that the rich are innocent, and that the people are selfish. Yet, these accusations are false. In fact, the opposite is true. The financial elite are selfish. The financial elite destroy businesses, destroy communities, and commit fraud, all for large amounts of personal wealth. 

The elite have also claimed that the people are acting out of jealousy. Again, another deflection tactic. The people are not jealous of the criminals. Rather, the people want to be protected from the criminals.

The elite claim that many people want to tear down the wealthy and redistribute the wealth in a socialist manner. This is another lie. The people do not want to steal money, they want the money stolen by the elite to be returned to their owners.

The elite claim that the people want free money for no labor. Again, a lie told by the elite through the media to deflect what is really going on. The people do not want free money for no labor. Rather, the people want honest investors and CEOs who care about the companies instead of just how to get more money. The people want executives who stay with a company for generations, and grow a company honestly. As a result, the free market economy will work. As a result, hard-working Americans can perform their work with pride and be able to support their families. As a result, our nation's economy will prosoper and continue to bloom.

The false accusations against the people are deliberate. Making false accusations against the people deflects the attention from the elite's real and very serious crimes.

Class Warfare and The People’s Army

Is there a class warfare? Absolutely. It is real, and it has been growing for years. Was it started by the people? No, it was started by the financial elite. Only now are the people gathering in large enough numbers to effectively fight back.

The 98% of hard-working Americans, the people who have been unemployed and underemployed for many years, are finally amassing into a people’s army.

In revolutionary terms, you might call this a “militia”.

The people didn’t start this war, but by God the people are going to finish this war. And the people will eventually win.

How do we know the people will win? The fight is very personal: the people are defending their homes, their lives, and their personal freedoms. The people are also motivated by justice and equality.

And never forget the numbers: 98% of the people versus 2% of the elite. If this militia is organized properly, and if effective methods are used in battle, then such large numbers cannot be defeated!

The methods used in this war may vary quite a bit. It is left to the leaders throughout the movement to develop the strategies and goals. Nevertheless, the people's militia, located in pockets throughout the nation, is now ready for the series of battles that will come.

Remember that ordinary Americans fought and died on the beaches of Normandy. Many good men died that day, yet the sheer mass of soldiers (along with their unwavering dedication) conquered that beach. Their dedication ultimately defeated the Nazis throughout all nations. In a similar way, the mass of ordinary Americans of today will fight and eventually defeat the financial elite.

Class warfare: The People Will Win

We are witnessing the natural development of a new militia. This militia is composed of the millions of unemployed and underemployed who have been harmed by the financial elite.

The people of this movement are motivated not by jealousy (as the elite claim), but by the pursuit of justice.

The people did not start this war, but they will finish it. The people will remake society according to basic God given rights and American principles. With determination and a series of effective plans, the people will win this war.

Mark Fennell

10/10/2011

Wall Street and Financial Elite: Examples of Bad Behavior

Introduction

I fully support the movement of Occupy Wall Street and related “occupy” gatherings around the nation.

A common criticism of the movement is that the people of the movement do not know what they are protesting.

I counter that criticism: The people DO know what they are protesting. They can’t always articulate it, they might not have the facts at their fingertips, but they know.

The people of this movement are protesting the repeated criminal acts and unethical behavior of the financial elite. These actions have destroyed successful businesses, depleted communities, stolen investors money, and worsened the financial state of millions of Americans. These actions have gone unpunished. These criminal acts are sometimes rewarded and praised. This is what the Occupy Wall Street movement is protesting.

However, in order to aid the movement, the citizen researchers and civic activists must help the people articulate the problem. We must gather examples of the criminal acts and unethical behavior of the financial elite.

In this article I will provide an overview of some of their criminal acts.

A. Venture Capitalists stealing money from investors

There are many Venture Capitalists who have no desire to create a business. They will admit as much when you talk to them personally.

These Venture Capitalists have a method for making money: They put their name and their money behind a new business. Then they get other people to invest in the company. The Venture Capitalists manipulate the stocks, manipulate the financial reports, and make the business appear a grand success. Then the Venture Capitalists pull their money out, with a substantial profit.

The Venture Capitalists get wealthy, while the business falters and goes under. Small investors (regular people who work full time but invest on the side) then lose their money.

In addition, because this business was deemed a failure, few investors or banks will take a chance on a similar business. The fact that it was deliberately run into the ground for the profit of a few elitists at the top is a fact that few people know. The general consensus is “don’t invest in that type of company again”, which makes new start-ups (and future economic growth in the community) much less likely.

This type of activity falls under deceptive business practices. It is a type of bait-and-switch. Law enforcement agencies should punish this behavior, but nothing ever happens. The Venture Capitalists run free to perform this deceptive (and destructive) act again and again.

B. Financial elitists stealing money from the government

The government often gives grants, loans, and other types of economic stimulus money to private companies. However, this money usually goes to the financial elite, who take the money only for personal gain.

First, the biggest amounts of money given out by the federal government tend to go to the most wealthy people. The top people at the government are friends with the financial elite. This results in money being given to the wealthy elite rather than to a deserving company.

Second, many of these recipients have no intention of using that money to build a business. The business is just a front for the real activity: pocketing government money.

The recipients of the government money will pretend to run a business, for a while. Yet if you look closely you will see extremely high salaries, padded travel expenses, and business expenses that are really personal pleasures. Yet there never really was a business. The business only exists as long as the government money is coming in.

Third, the business begins to falter. It could be from the fact that there never really was a business, and very little product was sold. Or it could be that the government money ran out. Or it could be that the high salaries couldn’t support even the smallest pretense of a business.

At this point the government (the taxpayers) have increased the wallets of the financial elite, without anything in return. In addition, the community is disappointed - they believed in that business and the economic growth it would bring. Employees at the bottom worked hard yet are now unemployed. And the thought of anyone investing in a similar company in the future seems unlikely.

Do the taxpayers get their money back? Not usually. The political leaders are friends with the financial elite, so nobody is ever going to investigate, and no one will be required to return the money.

(More examples of Bad Behavior will be written in future blogs)

Clarification of Who we are talking about

Remember we are talking about the financial elite. We are NOT talking about hard working entrepreneurs and employees. We are not talking about the people throughout a business who grow the company through their passion and dedication.

Rather, we are talking about the criminal element. We are talking about the financial elite who deliberately steal money, who manipulate markets, who knowingly break existing laws, and who don’t care about destroying communities. Those financial criminals are the people we are talking about.

Wall Street Protests: I Support the Movement

I fully support the movement of Occupy Wall Street and related “occupy” gatherings around the nation.

The financial elite have been harming our economy in serious ways over many years. These financial elitists get wealthy at the expense of the people, and the nation.

These elitists obtain their wealth not through hard work over a period of years, but through repeated criminal and unethical behavior.

These financial elitists never face the consequences of their actions. They rarely pay for their crimes. In fact, they are often rewarded and praised.

The people have known about the problem for decades, yet only now is there a movement which has taken hold.

A common criticism of the movement (again by those in political and financial power) is that the people of the movement do not know what they are protesting. I counter that criticism: Yes the people DO know what they are protesting. They can’t always articulate it, they might not have the facts at their fingertips, but they know.

The people of this movement are protesting the repeated criminal acts and unethical behavior of the financial elite. These actions have destroyed successful businesses, depleted communities, stolen investors money, and worsened the financial state of millions of Americans. These actions have gone unpunished, even rewarded and praised. This is what the Occupy Wall Street movement is protesting.

And I fully support it.

However, in order to aid the movement, researchers and civic activists must help the people articulate the problem. We must gather examples of the criminal acts and unethical behavior of the financial elite. We must show the laws written by the elite for the elite, and the criminal acts unpunished by the government. We must take back our government and our finances from the criminals who are the financial elite.

Regulations: Crime Prevention or Burden on Innocent Americans?

Regulations are often created to prevent unethical people from harming innocent Americans. However, these regulations can often cause an undue burden on the people the regulations were supposed to protect.

Before regulating an activity, we must think carefully regarding the following:

1. Is the threat real? Or is it just perceived?

2. What is the likelihood of the threat becoming reality?

3. How dangerous is the act if not prevented?

4. What is the burden on the millions of innocent Americans, those who play fair and who never pose a threat?

What usually happens is that one person was able to commit one very unusual crime or harmful act. Legislators and agencies get in the mentality of “much ado about nothing”, which results in a new law or regulation. However, this regulation now puts a great burden on the people. Millions of innocent people are now required to pay the penalty. Americans are punished for the unusual act of one individual.

However, there are times when it is appropriate to regulate an activity. You can usually tell the difference by noticing how harmful the activity is, and how frequently it occurs. If the harmful activity is frequent then additional regulations are probably necessary.

Let us take look at some cases where regulation is necessary. Financial companies provide numerous examples.

The Financial Industry is famous for doing slight of hand, tricky accounting, and lying to its customers. From 1820 to 2010, unethical banks and unethical companies have found ways to steal money from true hard working Americans.

Pick any unethical banking procedure. In 1820 bankers influenced elections and refused to give loans based on personal views. This led to President Jackson’s war on the National Bank.

In the 1920s, preceding the Wall Street crash and the Depression, many companies falsified information about their securities. This led to the crash, then contributed to the Great Depression. This also led to the creation of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) so that investors would see honest reporting of securities.

In 1995-2000, several companies such as Enron played funny money with their accounting systems. This led to many major companies going bankrupt and investors losing their money. In response, the government created many new accounting laws to prevent this situation from occurring again.

For each of these activities, there was a harmful act, followed by appropriate regulation. Why was the regulation appropriate in these cases? Let’s look at the factors:

1) The threat was real, because several companies have behaved in this manner.

2) These acts were pervasive throughout financial industries. Therefore, the likelihood of the damage to innocent people was great.

3) The danger was significant, because one company can cause thousands of Americans to loose all their money and their home.

4) Regulating these activities was a burden on the executives, not on the people, so the factor of burden on the innocent Americans is minimal.

Therefore, in these cases it is acceptable to regulate the financial industries.

Remember that just because a harmful act has been committed, this does not necessarily mean that new laws or new regulations must be created. If the act is unusual then the regulation may be punishing the people more than the criminals.

However, there are times when it is appropriate to enact laws and regulations to prevent significant harm to innocent people.

Each harmful act and each proposed regulation must be evaluated on its own. When evaluating regulations, remember to use these criteria:

1. Is the threat real? Or is it just perceived?

2. What is the likelihood of the threat becoming reality?

3. How dangerous is the threat if not prevented?

4. What is the burden innocent Americans, who play fair and who never pose a threat?

Criminal is not a protected class

Today I wanted to address the bogus claims of discrimination made by illegal immigrants. The basic concept is this: "criminal" is not a protected class.

Many illegal immigrants gather and protest, often claiming discrimination. They usually claim discrimination based on "national origin" or "race." However, the issue here is not the immigrant's national origin or race, but his status as a criminal. The fact that the person is a criminal supersedes his national origin or his race.

Legally, civil rights discrimination applies only certain classes, such as race, sex, and national origin. Note that "criminal" is not on this list.

Categories such as race, sex, and national origin are what you are born with; you had no choice. These are protected classes under discrimination laws.

In contrast, criminal activity is a personal choice. The person can choose to obey the law or to break the law. Thus, if you break the law, that was your personal choice. Therefore you are no longer protected by civil rights discrimination laws.

Therefore, an illegal immigrant cannot claim discrimination, because his criminal activity supersedes any other factor.

Civil Rights Commissions

I have been reading the details of civil rights information provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the US Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR). I have also been discussing scenarios and legal facts with various people who work in these areas. Regarding criminals:

• No criminal can claim civil rights discrimination. This is because "criminal" is not a protected class.

• When a person breaks the law, that is his choice, therefore civil rights protections regarding "protected classes" do not apply.

• A criminal has no civil rights related to employment, renting, buying property, or access to public facilities.

Also note that these points apply equally to illegal immigrants as much as to any other type of criminal.

All illegal immigrants are criminals

"We are not criminals!"

I hear illegal immigrants making this statement during every protest. That statement is absurd. Every illegal immigrant is a criminal.

There are several federal laws regarding immigration. If you do not follow any one of those laws then you have committed a crime. If you habitually commit crimes, then you are a criminal.

Therefore if you continue to break the law, as is the case with an illegal immigrant being in the U.S. day after day, then you are indeed a criminal.

Note that employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants are also criminals because they break laws which prohibit this activity.