GA/Proposals

This page is for making concrete Proposals to be processed at a General Assembly. These proposals regard the general function of the GA, and they are rooted in the aims of equality and efficiency of government.

Proposals may be presented to the GA by a representative who did not write the proposal, so both issues addressed and solutions proposed must possess utmost clarity. Determining the existence and definitions of an issue is a very difficult first step, so please take your time with this process.

You may be seeking the working group (WG) dedicated to Reform of global societal functions.
For more broad perspectives, check out Optimistic Visions

[Note: As we explore issues and necessary actions, we often observe organizational deficiencies that can be resolved only by breaking up existing institutions and delegating their functions to others. This page is currently undergoing the process of break-and-delegate, so proposals here might not fit into the description noted by the introduction.]

Instructions: In order to keep a log of suggestions, we must follow a basic structure.

• Please keep all notes dated (mm/dd/yy) for posterity. Place the date tag at the beginning of each note to denote its head.
• Use 'Edit' to add a proposal at the bottom of the list.
• When a proposal has been discussed,

In the event of Denial**:
* change the font color of the proposal to red** (color code #cc0000),
* add notes, in dark grey (color code #808080), summarizing the reason(s) for denial**
In the event of Implementation:**
* change the font color of the proposal to green** (color code #00cc00),
* add notes, in blue (color code #000ff), summarizing how the proposal is being implemented**

• Enjoy!

Proposals

1. (pre 10/10/11) Develop a Comfort Committee (a la our NYC comrades - one of the first committees; allowed for the rapid expansion of members.) (October 06, 2011) - Responsibilities include receiving, inventorying and distributing bedding, clothing, etc. on an as needed basis. (vital to winter success)
2. (pre 10/10/11) Form a fundraising committee.
3. (pre 10/10/11) Reach out to mayors in neighboring cities for letters of support (re: Menino's statement)
4. (pre 10/10/11) Set up a public workstation in Tent City for Occupiers to update the wiki.
5. (pre 10/10/11) The 100%: in positions, plans, strategies, always address the behavior of the 1%, not the personal character. We want the 1% to wake up and realize the horror they are causing, and then join the 99% so humanity can become Whole. (10/11/11) This proposal is vague; it appears to be a statement, not a suggestion. Please revise.
6. (pre 10/10/11) Find someone to make an iPhone/iPod APP for Occupy Boston.
7. (pre 10/10/11) Move the Wiki link to a more prominent location on occupyboston.com(October 06, 2011) Rapidly increase connections to people in the working groups in tent city. We need to get minutes of meetings, tell people they can update announcements, etc. (October 6, 2011) (pre 10/10/11) Implemented
8. (10/10/11) Create a "Town Crier" system for communicating at the camp.
9. (10/10/11) Devote the morning GA to maintenance/housekeeping issues and reserve the PM GA for messages, actions, allies, and the like.
10. (10/12/10) The nature of the Movement indicates that we are aiming for Revolution producing a Global Society. We should therefore Create a Global Forumaddressing the implications of Global Society. This will lead to the establishment of Global Working Groups. The parent of those groups - the Global Government itself - must establish a Foundational Agreement of Sovereignty and Solidarity to which Sovereign Entities may Ally.
11. (10/13/10) Upgrade our Video Streaming capabilities.
12. (10/13/11) Start gathering submissions for the official statement of purposeof Occupy Boston and get them on the wiki.
13. (10/14/11) Define Health Care as a right.
14. (10/14/11) Define Clean Water as a right.
15. Have a public debate regarding issues and demands at a GA on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Publicize the event. Gather individuals from different points of view to argue the pro's and con's of issues and establish a facilitation process that would enable participants to speak freely and efficiently. List topics to be discussed ahead of time.
16. (10/17/11) OWS, OccupyBoston and ALL Movements around the country should have the same STATEMENT OF PURPOSE; I propose that OWS and OB Lead this effort; "The 99% demand an end to business as usual in our working lives and politics as usual in our civic live. We want REAL change. If each movement has its own 'Declaration' it dilutes the message and gives one more reason to the Media to poke fun at this movement.
17. (10/18/11) Can someone propose this tonight?PROPOSAL: that the GA on Monday, 10/24 be devoted entirely to Message, including the "no message Message" option, no decisions, no other topics. City Life/Vita Urbana will be asked to attend to address the issue of inclusivity. (Let me know if I need to ask them.)

Proposed Agenda

1. City Life's comments on inclusivity, 2-5 MINUTES

2. Presentation of 2 Proposals* (Airing), 1 MINUTE EACH

a. Small Circle discussion, 5 MINUTES

b. Rinse and Repeat, 2. a.

c. Small Circle report back., 10 MINUTES

3.. Should we have a Message?

a. Pro, 1 MINUTE individual comments

b. Con, 1 MINUTE individual comments

C Rinse and Repeat

4. Individual Comments on Proposals.

5. Setting of follow up date for Rinse and Repeat.

1. (10/19/11) Proposal: New process for creating a statement of demands. This dovetails with the spirit of proposals #15 & #17 above.
   1. Problem: A "list of demands" or "statements of purpose" seems like good ways to unite the movement behind a comprehensible (if general) platform
      
      1. As we've seen in recent GA sessions, a lengthy "list of demands" seems difficult to discuss in GA and takes too long to properly put through the consensus process.
         
      2. The person or group of persons who developed such a list may not be representative of the movement & diverse viewpoints may be lost.
         
   2. Solution: Allocate time in GA to propose individual, itemized demands from the floor.
      
      1. One session could be devoted to proposals - all of which would be recorded & lightly discussed
         
      2. Proposals would be posted on the wiki / distributed on paper & the GA members would be given a few days to ruminate
         
         1. Items would be read in GA, just to review them.
            
         2. Perhaps there could be a "temperature check" on each item to make sure at least 50% of the GA would like to eventually vote on it
            
      3. After a few days' time, a dedicated GA session would review the demands. Perhaps this process could occur over the course of a few sessions, adding approved itms to a growing list to minimize the burn-out and loss of quorum that occurs when an entire list is discussed as a whole
         
      4. Final GA session to ratify the compilation of approved items after they have been individually agreed-upon
         
   3. Next steps: each demand (i.e. "End corporate personhood!") could be used as a platform for launching more concrete proposals for actions, thus providing an organizational structure for discussions of the future of the movement

Page Discussion:

This page needs some serious TLC but I hope to eventually be a place where #OccupyBoston members can make specific suggestions relevant to improving the success of our movement.

Great system for this page. However I'd recommend putting the most recent proposals at the top of the list instead of the bottom.

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Based on: GA Process Proposals at wikispaces