Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations. They are mainly protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and corporate power and their influence over government and of lobbyists. "We are the 99%" refers to the difference in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. This movement symbolizes a rise of direct democracy that hasn’t been since ancient times.
In a nutshell, “They want more and better jobs, more equal distribution of income, less profit (or no profit) for banks, lower compensation for bankers, and more strictures on banks with regard to negotiating consumer services such as mortgages and debit cards. They also want to reduce the influence that corporations—financial firms in particular—wield in politics, and they want a more populist set of government priorities: bailouts for student debtors and mortgage holders, not just for banks.”
If the government is going to bail out the big banks and giant corporations, they need to also help out the 99% that are getting screwed. It’s like when I was in elementary school and on Valentine’s Day, I had to bring a Valentine card to everyone in the class, not just my friends. The government is only willing to help out the 1% because that is where the money comes from – from their “friends.” It isn’t fair. I know that in elementary school it was more about not having my feelings hurt or hurting the feelings of my classmates, but with the bail outs, it’s more than just feelings – it is our lives and the lives of our families and their well-being.
While it's true that Wall Street protesters are divided on whether the bank bailouts were necessary, I believe that vying for personal bailouts goes against the origin of the movement. Ron Paul (R-TX) wrote, "In bailing out failing companies, they are confiscating money from productive members of the economy and giving it to failing ones." Why would you want to "take from you to give to you?"
ReplyDeleteWhile it is true that democracy is waning, there are many other ways to influence the system without asking for handouts. Want to break the two-party duopoly? Petition against the Electoral College. Want to get corporation's hands out of the electoral cookie jar? Sign the petition for a constitutional amendment reversing the decision made in the Citizens United vs. F.E.C. court case. Interested in exposing corruption? Support the Federal Reserve Transparency Act to audit the Fed.
There is a lack of specific policy demands and no formal leadership of the Occupy Wall Street group. If we want to see changes we need to work for them, not sleep on the street.
I am the 53% (of Americans who earn enough income to pay federal income taxes.) Key word there being AMERICAN, the movement, after all, was started by Canadians.
I take responsibility for my misfortunes and while I understand people have been hurt by corporate greed, I believe there is a need to take further action than pointing fingers.