The Occupy Wall Street Movement

[Calvin]

This is something I just heard about recently when some friends of mine from back home informed me of the movement in my hometown. Apparently it started in New York and has trickled into many cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Providence. The protesters chant the slogan "we are the 99%," referring to the fact that 1% of America's population holds 50% of the nation's wealth. The protesters have no defined leader and instead are "led" by groups of organizers. They're said to be represented by a broad demographic, from young people to retirees, and I've even heard stories of parents bringing their children to these demonstrations. They are starting to get support from unions, small businesses, and legal advisors as well. It apparently has been going on since 17 September, but the media hasn't been reporting on it very widely. Has anybody seen this or been part of it?

They don't seem to have a specific list of demands. Its more of a general protest against the way of things, which to be honest, I can understand. Their general political philosophy seems to be to stop bailing out the rich, and to give better support to the middle and poor classes. I find it interesting because they don't define themselves as being in a particular political party, like the Tea Party movement did. Their complaints lie with the all-powerful Government, which, perhaps, is where the complaints should be.

[DoReMi_Vampire]

I only heard about this today too, there was teeny tiny little column in the paper that told about how some protestors had celebrated this movement by dressing up as money-eating zombies.

I think this is great personally. The USA has a deeply rooted tradition in capitalism, and I don't have any problem with those ideals, but there is always a point where anything can be taken too far. I've often wondered, what if America and the Soviet Union never had been at war? Would we have had a future where capitalistic and communistic ideals had been mixed in order to make the world-market more flexible?
I guess time will tell how the US will change in order to handle all the poverty and class-differences.

[KFCrispy]

I see this as an opportunity to create a new political force that is finally working for the people and not whatever organizations provide hand over the most money - NOT as a way to stop "wall street."

The 99% should "Take back DC", kick out the corrupt as hell politicians (why do we keep voting for the same 2 broken-ass POS parties anyway???), and get rid of the big business lobbies.

Blaming "Wall St" for all the problems is stupid. Banks can't be blamed for all the factory jobs lost in the US by outsourcing to China, they can't be blamed for the price of commodities skyrocketing, they can't be blamed for the auto industry failure, and they can only be PARTIALLY blamed for stupid-ass people buying houses they couldn't actually afford.

I think it's government's job to implement the right economic policies that help balance out things we don't want to happen. Some of the economic problems like outsourcing labor can be fought with policies created to discourage it, even some "unreasonable" laws-- extra taxes/fees can be charged when you outsource and tax breaks can be added when you hire at home. Things like that will start to equalize the price difference, and with the added hassle of managing overseas work, labor at home can still cost a little more than outsourced labor but could still win out depending on the situation.

Obama isn't the right man for the job, either. All of his attempted bills provide pathetic temporary reliefs--like hiring a person will give a company tax credit for that year... but what's the point of hiring more people for tax breaks off the first year?? We need long-term solutions that pay off over time.

[KFCrispy]

this article is pretty good... http://beta.finance.yahoo.com/news/why- ... et=&ccode=

[dragons_descent4]

There was a bunch of groups in San Francisco today protesting. It was intense,I passed a bunch of people on Market street that got into a fight with a guy in a business suit that kept yelling at them to pay their taxes. Not gonna lie though,the fight looked staged....

[adrielle.martin]

The Protesters do have a point, but they don't have any solutions. All through recession, the rich just sold or closed their business and moved to a new one, while poor and middle class had to lose their job, assets, houses etc. There should be some reforms in the law which would benefit the public in some way during such turbulent times.

[KFCrispy]

yup it all goes back to laws--our leaders. we definitely need reform but if we keep voting in the rich and powerful political monsters who work for their rich and powerful friends, it'll never change. the laws will keep letting "Wall St" get away with everything.