A number of commentators have struggled to link the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street protestors. Both groups seem to be grass roots, spontaneous expressions of popular discontent. They appear to occupy opposite ends of the political spectrum, however, and have different takes on the cause of, and the solution for, their unhappiness.
There is one very significant difference between the two groups. And that difference helps explain the one thing they have in common that matters more than anything else. The difference is the Tea Partiers are a mob masquerading as a movement, while the Occupiers are a movement determined to act like a mob. The important thing they have in common is that, in the not-so-long-run, neither of them is going to amount to anything.
All the journalistic descriptions of their lasting impact are just the usual cycle of the media going from inattention to obsession and back to attention deficit. In the end, both movements are going to fade away and the problems that motivated them will remain.
The Tea Party is not going to matter because it displays the usual inability of conservatives to deal with the world as it is, only on steroids. They don't like reality, don't understand it, resist the changes it implies and ignore any evidence that clashes with how they wish things were. That makes them easy prey for politicians who promise a return to an Ozzie and Harriet world that never existed, billionaires with an agenda like the Koch brothers and hucksters like congressman turned lobbyist Dick Armey.
The Tea Partiers believe the solution to a dysfunctional government is less government, which is a bit like saying the remedy for a leaky roof is to remove the roof. They seem to think that dismantling the social safety net will allow them to prosper. They swear allegiance to the free market, without giving a thought to what is required for such a market to operate as efficiently as they think it will or to the implications of that being the only determinant of one's fortunes.
They assert, for instance, the answer to soaring medical costs is the free market and not government intervention. At their next debate someone should ask the Republicans vying for their party's presidential nomination how much they spent last time they went to the doctor, how much they will spend the next time and how much they would spend if their health depended on it. They will all blather on without answering those questions because none of them has any idea what the answers are.
So how is a free market supposed to operate when the consumer has no idea what the product costs and is willing to pay any amount if necessary to buy it? The consumer also has no idea about the quality of the product and what alternatives are available. To operate as efficiently as it does in theory, a free market needs many buyers, many sellers and lots of information about the product and alternatives to it. That does not describe, and never will, the market for health care. Not to mention the problem of ignoring the moral considerations of having a society where wealth determines health.
Nonetheless the Tea Partiers will vote for politicians who promise the myth of the free market as the solution to their problems. By being visible and turning out for the last election, the Tea Party did manage to put in office a number of freshmen congressmen who pay lip service to their beliefs. Those politicians will either be captured by the system, and just as beholden to the special interests as the rest of Washington, or they will be irrelevant naysayers who have no effect on the way government operates. So the Tea Party will, thankfully, not have any lasting impact -- other than perhaps to help the Republican Party nominate one of their least electable candidates for president.
The Occupy Everywhere crowd is also eventually going to be equally disappointed with their inability to bring about change. They refuse to have leaders, agendas or proposals, other than for the top one percent to be more generous with the bottom 99 percent.
Fat chance. If Ronald Reagan accomplished anything it was to make greed a virtue and government a vice in the eyes of many. The rich think they have earned their status and will never believe they have too much or even enough. They don't believe in any government program that redistributes income. So by occupying the public square and only using shame to bring about change is not going to work. It would be like going to Las Vegas and demonstrating in favor of good taste, moderation and the arts. A few laughs will be the only result.
What really would bring about change? Now, thanks to the right wing majority on the Supreme Court, corporations are entitled to unlimited, anonymous free speech in the form of attack ads against any politician who dares stand against them and for the people. Limiting the influence of money in Washington, public financing of elections, total transparency about who is trying to affect public policy and congressional districts not drawn to ensure the victory of one party or the other are all essential steps if real change is to ever happen.
While those steps are a good start there also must be a rejection of Reagan's simplistic rewriting of our civic values. Government doesn't do anything well, but that does not mean the free market can always do better. There is a role for government and the taxes paid to support it are the price we pay for living in a fair, just and safe society. That realization will bring about change a lot quicker than quixotic movements or delusional mobs.
The Occupy movement is a real group that came into existence to protest real problems such as income disparity and criminal actions by the financial industry.
There's your difference: Imaginary vs. Real. Support for the Tea Party is fading as it becomes increasingly clear it is nothing but a front for the extreme right. Support for the Occupy movement is becoming stronger because reality is always with us, unless we happen to be Republicans, and there are fewer of those every day.
http://mushymiddle.typepad.com/view-from-the-mushy-midd/occupy-wall-street.html
Most US Citizens are not as concerned about the “Global Economy" as they are about being able to earn a living, their children’s future and the future of our country.
The “Global Market Place” is not a level playing field! We should provide tax incentives and if necessary even partial subsidies to companies that manufacture products here in the USA with US Citizens. We need to add tariffs that are proportionate to the inequities in wages and regulations in the country where the goods were produced and or where we’re importing them from. We could then use the money raised by these tariffs to help companies build state of the art manufacturing plants here in the USA, which would create more jobs here at home for US citizens, which would then in turn increase our income tax revenue. We also need to bring customer support services back to the United States of America and staff them with employees that are US Citizens. Both political parties sold out the American people by letting Wall Street, Corp Board of Directors and CEOs open the floodgates. There’s nothing wrong with making a profit and people in these other countries deserve to earn a higher standard of living, but our leaders can’t allow it to happen at the expense of the American people, who they’re supposed to represent. (continued in reply)
We have to stop letting Wall Street, Corp Boards and CEOs promote sending US jobs to countries where they work for slave wages, no benefits, no OSHA safety standards or no real environment regulations. The so-called “Global Market Place” is not a level playing field. Wall Street may have made higher profits by doing this, but they've been putting middle class Americans who are a good part of the world’s customer base out of work. I’m not a lefty or member of any union. I run a business that employs over 20 people and produces products that are purchased by customers that do manufacturing and packaging. I’m just an average Joe, but I've been saying this for more than 10 years now. If I can see it, so can our so-called leaders (political leaders) who are beholden to the same people who are exporting our jobs. We need a 3rd party that actually does what's best for all Americans (US Citizens) rather than just worrying about their party and winning the next election. Even though I usually vote Republican, I think they put the interests of Wall Street above the interests of the majority of Americans (Middle Class US Citizens).
(continued in reply)
The private sector is doing things perfectly legal!
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Regarding Unions: They were necessary at one time in our country, but now they've gone over board and just make us less competitive with the rest of the world.
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(Under Clinton jobs to China, Under Bush I & II influx of illegals or cheap easily abused labor into the US and jobs to Mexico/NAFTA) I voted for Reagan, Reagan, Bush, Perot, Bush, Bush and McCain
"The difference is the Tea Partiers are a mob masquerading as a movement, while the Occupiers are a movement determined to act like a mob. "
This is a very inaccurate description. To refer to the tea partiers as a mob is to not understand who they are. Mostly these people are conservative, humble, and respectful people. Their behaviour has generally been very respectable, I'm sure with some exceptions. It seems there does tend to be a lack of appreciation in their views for the complexities of the modern mixed economy and the legitimate interests of many who have a different situation than their own.
Unfortunately for the OWS group, many of whom I'm sure are very sincere people who behave well, the incidence of poor behaviour has damaged their cause.
What the tea party and OWS really do have in common is their opposition to anti-democratic actions by powerful oligarchies. Both groups claim to and do represent the interests of individual citizens who generally are not economically powerful. One of the oligarchies the tea party is opposed to is powerful public service unions...being of the belief that they are the ones who pay...unfairly..for excessively generous compensation and benefits and less then adequate expectations for the work to be done. Both groups are opposed to financial oligarchies that manipulate the economic system to their advantage at the expense of these individuals and purchase government intervention on their behalf.
Wow just like the Bankers? Wait that is wrong, most of the bankers were in on the act and will never be held accountable, but with OWS a few bad apples will give the right all the ammo they need to attack the rest of the group.
I think you will find that your comment is totally consistent with the last paragraph of the one you were responding to.
Would the poster characterize disrupting lawful assemblies as being "respectful", and especially when, in an informational meeting, they begin to "argue" with the speaker rather than asking a question then sitting down and carefully listening to the answer? Perhaps the poster has never attended such meetings or did not recognize the incivility of the Tea Partiers. Perhaps the poster could explain to us why so many of their champions in the Congress and Senate, while they encouraged such activitie from their "supporters" are now afraid to face the public themselves, and have to use private groups where "You have to pay to get in" in order to avoid having to answer hard questions.
By analogy, those who behave badly on the OWS side and other more left leaning groups discredit that side. I do not negatively judge the whole group on the left due to these misdeeds. I do appreciate the respectful nature of your communication about our disagreement.
We have allowed our guard dogs to get out of control. They produced hundreds of puppies and started killing the sheep and biting the shepards. They spend so much time chasing rabbits that they allow the wolves to eat the sheep.
Time to get back to a much smaller pack of guard dogs. Train them to stick to their important job of protecting people and property.
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Medical costs: How do people know the value of any good or service they provide? When you are paying your own bills then you are willing to do a little research and independants service providers spring into action to make this easier. If everyone was paying the majority of their annual bills (high deductable insurance) then we would get second opinions, we would ask about more about options and their effectiveness. We would insist that our primary doctor have a reputation of representing our interests, not the interests of drug and treatment providers. Ratings services for Dr. would come into existence that would allow you to compare local doctors.
Yes when your child is seriously hurt you can not be expected to go on line and find a cheap ambulance service or brain specialist. That is what insurance is for. Emergencys.
With the chaos of the NYPD's health scare invasion, where will the media go to to get OWS viewpoints?
Oh, they have no leaders so silence will be the response!
Tea Party was, and is, a multi-billionaire's figment masquerading as a movement. OWS is genuine public anger waiting for the cops to come and bust 'em up ... which, I am sorry but not surprised to say, finally happened last night (at midnight, of course). Movements do not achieve lasting change until some heads get busted-up; until "the powers that be" finally make their move and in so doing get drawn out of their well-insulated comfort zones.
The core problem here, Dennis, is that "We, the People," really do have a collective problem, and we really do have to address it. Bribery does not lead to good decisions. Ply a man or woman with "all the money, all the favors, all the drugs that s/he can do," and it takes about fifteen seconds for that person to be, as kids say, "PWNed." And to throw 312 million other people under the bus.
And that is where We find ourselves today: staring up at bus-tires. The entire system has devolved into velvet-gloved tyranny, and we must repair it without further breaking it, and without allowing it to simply remain as is. ALL of us really DO rely upon this nation for our very existence. We are the stakeholders. We are also the ones in harm's way.
Capitalism might say (correctly) that its fuel is "human greed," and it might say (again, correctly) that there is no greater motivation for the actual human spirit. But the reality of human greed is also that it is self-destructive, and if that "greed, unchecked" is standing in the wheel-house, the entire ship can and will be lost. You can be sitting there in the first-class lounge, listening to "Nearer, My God, to Thee," or you can be sitting outside in the wind staring at the icebergs, but the fact remains that the ship is going to go down unless the people take the wheel.
You don't have to re-design the entire ship while it is hurtling through the North Sea, and you can't. But you do have to determine what the course must be, and you do have to =force= that wheel to be turned until the ship is no longer in mortal danger. The first step, then, is to convince enough people that "mortal danger" is what you are presently in.
You need to force the issue with Congress, the gatekeepers!
I don't really want to say this, but I doubt peaceful protests will work. The Marie Antoinette's in this country who hold privilege and power can't be reached with kind words and polite conversation. How can one effectively bring necessary change when the powers that be mock your hunger with "let them eat cake," or callously yell at the millions of desperate jobless to "get a job."
What regulations and laws you citing for this?
No federal court cases that Wall Street did anything illegal?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903927204576574130471400852.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/16/us-goldman-idUSTRE63F3JX20100416
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204618704576640873051858568.html
To quote a song on the subject (Rush- Bastille Day)...
"Power isn't all that money buys......."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ik4f1dRbP8
Tea Party only needs to say "No", that's all !
Of course if you depend on Government Spending this is unacceptable !
Non-Profits LOVE Government Spending, Local, State and Federal.
Thanks Mom ! Tea Party will continue to say "No" I hope !