Look what's happening out in the streets
Got a revolution, Got to revolution
-- Jefferson Airplane
I've been expecting Occupy Wall Street to happen for the past three years.
Anger has been rising on Main Street since the bailouts and the million dollar bonuses. Washington and Wall Street spent so much time talking to each other that they never noticed and figured it had gone away.
It has not.
Since 2008, I've written over 100 columns on Huffington Post and my new book, Wealth Without Wall Street: A Main Street Guide to Making Money, is a guide to getting Wall Street out of people's lives.
If I were 22 instead of 52, I'd probably be out on the streets. Instead, like most baby boomers, I'm watching the revolution on television.
And supporting the protesters in a middle-aged way.
Wealth Without Wall Street was released a few weeks before Occupy Wall Street took place. Along with sharing in the protest, I offer concrete solutions for reducing the power of Wall Street.
In a chapter called, "Think Globally, Act Locally," I said:
I don't advocate marching in the streets or writing a letter to your Congressman.A better form of protest is to set up your finances in a way that reduces the influence of Washington and Wall Street in your lives.
The book offers four steps to reducing the power of Wall Street over Main Street.
Local banks and credit unions will make sure that money is going back to your community. Use them as much as possible.
Those of us in the baby boom age range need to think about having money for retirement and for the rest of our lives. There are plenty of opportunities, off Wall Street, for people to develop a safe nest egg if they do it slowly over a long period of time. We don't need Wall Street to "trade" our money for us.
The phrase "think globally, act locally" is one that baby boomers are familiar with. Although it is usually associated with the environmental movement, the best way to think globally, act locally is to do two things at the same time.
Every person can work toward being a good citizen. That includes supporting local businesses, being a good neighbor, and gaining financial independence.
Then, recognize that your individual actions can ultimately reduce the power of Wall Street and Washington over Main Street.
People of in every age group, in every part of the country, can do their share to help "Occupy Wall Street."
Even if we are watching the revolution from our living rooms.
Don McNay, CLU, ChFC, MSFS, CSSC is the bestselling author of the book Wealth Without Wall Street: A Main Street Guide to Making Money
McNay, who lives in Richmond Kentucky, an award-winning financial columnist and Huffington Post Contributor. You can learn more about him at www.donmcnay.com
He is the Chairman of the Board for the McNay Group (www.mcnay.com) which provides structured settlement consulting for injury victims, lottery winners, and the families of special needs children.
McNay founded Kentucky Guardianship Administrators LLC, which assists attorneys in as conservators and setting up guardianship's. It is nationally recognized as an administrator of Qualified Settlement (468b) funds.
Follow Don McNay on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Donmcnay
But I believe each of us need to take actions to fight the 1%.
Do you owe large high interest credit card balances? Are you making mortgage payments? If yes, you're probably paying hundreds of dollars per month in interest.
Maybe to a giant bank.
If you have high interest debt AND you're investing, are your investments growing by MORE than you’re paying out in interest? An average person pays more than $200,000 in interest on a $200,000 mortgage? If you pay $200,000 in mortgage interest while your investments grow by $200,000 – did you come out ahead?
We, the 99%, must rethink living deep in debt AND investing. We should consider stopping our monthly investments (other than what our employers match) and use that money to pay down debt. We may even need to cash in some investments to pay off really high interest debts.
The 1% are more powerful when we, the 99%, have more debt.
Debt free people don't fear foreclosure.
You'll save tons of money in interest by paying off debts early.
You'll take some of your money away from the 1%.
Debt free people can pay cash and avoid paying interest in the future.
If we need a credit card for car rentals, plane tickets, or internet purchases, let’s get one from a small local bank or credit union.
I am bringing my son-in-law and my grandson this weekend. Three generations!
OCCUPY!
Debt Repudiation
1. Expunge all credit records/transactions post June 2008 from all individual credit reports going forward; reset all credit scores back to June 2008 levels.
2. Institute a temporary moratorium on foreclosures on all primary residences currently under water. Maintain agreed-upon interest rates but only apply to the actual current equity in the house until values increase beyond loan value.
3. Temporarily suspend all late charges on credit card balances and other similar loans.
4. Set a temporary maximum interest rate of less than 20% on all current credit card balances.
Jobs Stimulus Program
5. Pass the current Jobs Stimulus Program in full immediately – do not allow Congress to drag its feet over silly – and many times self-centered – politics.
6. Incentivize businesses to invest in programs that lessen their dependency on fossil fuels.
7. Institute a substantial direct government rebate on all American-made electric automobiles.
Fair Tax Policies
8. Roll back the Bush tax cuts on all Americans earning over $1 million dollars effective 2013.
9. Immediately begin taxing dividends and capital gains earned by those with income in excess of $1 million at ordinary income rates.
10. Tax proceeds from all Leveraged Buyouts and other job-destroying Wall St. tactics at 100%.
Stricter Regulations on Wall St.
11. Immediately re-instate the Glass-Steagall Act.
12. Severely limit Wall Street’s ability to create synthetic, high-risk derivatives and similar financial instruments.
Move your mortgage - If you're buying a new home or refinancing your mortgage, apply at a local bank.
Move your retirement accounts - Local banks have IRAs as well. Invest your money in bonds for some local government in your community (say your school district). Whatever you do, don't invest in stocks or mutual funds. Keep the money local.
401(k)s - Unless your lucky enough to max out your annual IRA contributions, only invest in a 401k enough to receive a match. If you get no or a poor match, don't contribute. Your IRA is better. Rollover to your IRA as soon as you can. Invest in the Money Market fund to limit the damage you do to future generations.
I (however) don't see how doing so is exactly what the Big Corporations are doing. Seems to me that they are doing their best to make sure that their money buys the most loyal politicans that they can find on that market - so they attempt to reduce the impact of what DC does by buying DC.
I'm old and I'm with the kids.
But either way - I'm with them.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2009/03/how-nation%E2%80%99s-only-state-owned-bank-became-envy-wall-street
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/16/bank-of-north-dakotasocia_n_463522.html
I do not/can't belong to a credit union. Rip up my credit cards---you betcha---but
in todays world you need one. What guarantee is there that the "local banks" would
not raise fees on their services? When you rescind or tear up your current cards;
possibilities exsist that your credit rating would be effected. Any answers.
A famous boomer once said, 'Eighty percent of success is showing up.' What better way to connect with the younger generation than to take a little time out of your day (maybe this weekend) to show up at a local Occupy Wall Street protest to listen firsthand what people are saying and to show your support for the cause. If not now, when?