User:Dualus/99 Percent Declaration
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The 99 Percent Declaration or 99% Declaration is an unofficial political document including a list of suggested grievances on which its organizers have been trying to get Occupy Wall Street protesters to form consensus.[5] It calls for a United States General Assembly on July 4, 2012 in Philadelphia to support public works programs, tax hikes on the wealthiest, debt forgiveness, ways to get money out of politics, and amendment of the U.S. Constitution.[4][3][6] The Declaration says the Assembly would operate like the Committees of Correspondence of the Founding Fathers of the United States who met in Philadelphia.[7]
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99 Percent Declaration | |
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![]() Website logo and Washington State Route 99 road sign | |
Created | October 7, 2011[1] |
Ratified | October 15, 2011[2] The email added, "This matter was not submitted or agreed upon by the NYC general assembly, and therefore by-passed the process all OWS plans have been made through."[2] |
Location | the99declaration.org |
Author(s) | Occupy Wall Street Demands Working Group[3] |
Purpose | To convene a national general assembly to petition for the redress of twenty suggested grievances and amend the United States Constitution[4] |
The protesters' slogan "We are the 99%," refers to income inequality in the United States. The wealthiest 1% control about 40% of the total wealth of the country and their incomes increased 275% from 1979 to 2007.[8][9][10][11][12] Since 1979, average pre-tax income for the bottom 90% of households decreased by $900, while that of the top 1% increased by over $700,000, as federal taxation became less progressive.[12][13]
Occupy movement protesters have joined the call for a constitutional amendment.[14][15][16][17] On November 1, 2011, Senator Tom Udall introduced a constitutional amendment to reform campaign finance.[18]