Bernie Sanders may not be a viable candidate; his platform is extreme to many and untenable to others. But we believe that he is correct in one regard; the financial inequity we are witnessing today is undemocratic and it affects every other issue we face. That is why our highest priority issue must address financial inequity and the out sized influence of wealth.
For February 5, the broad topic is Financial Transparency. To address such a complex issue, we need to break it down into battles we can win. And like with all our target issues we start small, with the first domino. We start with #WageTransparency.
Executive salaries and to some extent boardroom compensation is transparent. We can see it in the filings and it’s open to criticism. But we need more context for change. Wage transparency will allow us to review every level of compensation not simply in one business, but by sector. This isn’t simply about the gender pay gap, but about the lowest rung employee compared to the highest.
Most capitalists and pro-business forces laud the free market. A main element of free market theory is price transparency. Outside professional athletes and executives, who else in the labor market benefits from wage transparency?
Wage transparency isn’t an invasion of privacy, as some might claim. Rather, wage transparency will allow labor to fully participate in the free market, perhaps for the first time.
Sub-Topics within Financial Transparency
- Wage Transparency
- Offshore Transparency
- Tax Transparency and Reform
- Correct Distribution vs Redistribution
February 5 