WASHINGTON -- Occupy Washington DC, the movement formerly known as Stop the Machine that has been camping and protesting in Freedom Plaza since Oct. 6, held an "Occupied Super Committee Hearing for the 99%" on Wednesday.
"We are more of a liberated committee than a super committee," said Kevin Zeese, an organizer of Occupy Washington DC. "We are not stuck with corporate cash."
The Freedom Plaza hearing was still sufficiently wonky. Andrew Fieldhouse of the Economic Policy Institute talked about tax reform. Carl Conetta of the Project on Defense Alternatives talked about the demilitarization of U.S. foreign policy. Occupy Washington DC organizer Margaret Flowers, who is a medical doctor, advocated for universal Medicare as a cost-saving and humanitarian measure. Gar Alperovitz, author of "America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy," talked about building up more cooperatively owned institutions, like credit unions.
Zeese told The Huffington Post that the purpose of the hearing was to "show the public that there are real alternatives to our economy and to jobs and the deficit. We also have solutions to the wealth divide."
Within about a week, Occupy Washington DC intends to put out a report detailing the group's proposals for fixing the economy and reducing the deficit. Zeese said the proposals will address tax reform, health care reform, a more closely regulated Wall Street and military budget cuts.
"This is really only to show that there is an alternative to what we're going to hear from the [congressional] super committee," Zeese said. "You'll see the things that we recommend in this report will reduce corporate power and increase the power of the people."
WATCH Gar Alperovitz discuss economic transformation: