There has been a whole lot of talk about how the thousands of brave protestors occupying Wall St. have no clear demand. Funny, since this is just one more installment of a global movement for democracy that has taken over the entire planet -- you'd think the press would have caught on by now.
Almost a year ago, a revolution began in Tunisia and sparked a domino of uprisings across the Middle East. Their call was simple: end the dictatorship, usher in accountable government. Through occupation and all out war, countries in the Middle East attempted to topple leaders who clung to power despite representing the interests of the richest and most powerful to the detriment of the public good.
Months later, Europe exploded. Sit-ins in Spain and ongoing rallies in Greece protested economic policies that rewarded the richest 1% while punishing the other 99%. Then London and the surrounding areas erupted into riots: an expression of outrage at rising housing and food costs. Israelis established a massive tent city in Jerusalem protesting the same rise in the cost of living, and the government's stubborn refusal to pass laws that promote the common good and support the survival of the other 99%. Now, the United States and Canada have joined the fray.
Each and every demand in the occupy Wall St. protests and their kin relate to accountability. It is the latest in a global realization that our governments are held hostage by the rich and powerful, our laws and safeguards protect those rich and powerful rather than protecting the rest of us, and our leaders have no motivation to change the status quo.
Democracy is a word we throw around a lot, but it's not one that is very well understood. It's not enough to cast a ballot every four years. Democracy is a system of accountable governance -- a pledge that leaders will represent the interests of those they govern, will protect the weakest in society, and will steward collective resources (like our water and air) to ensure a sustainable future for all of us. It relies on a free press to help inform citizens of governmental action. It relies on freedom of assembly and movement to allow citizens to communicate directly with their representatives.
It is this pure notion of democracy that each and every protestor, from Tahrir Square to Wall St. is after.
So, it's not enough to study Occupy Wall St. as an American anomaly with a surprising lack of cohesion and a fascinating list of diverse demands. It can't be splintered off or explained away. This is the next phase of a global push for real democracy. And, given the poor state of democracy in the United States, it's no surprise cities are exploding with outrage, citizens are on the street, and a national movement has captured the imagination of the nation.
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Secondly, wealth is a great thing. When you have lots of money, you have lots of opportunities. The problem is that it's very hard to acquire large sums of money if you're simply milling around the street complaining about other people's wealth. These 'occupiers' probably don't deserve our respect. They're scared, confused, angry, frustrated. They're all those things that breed failure, not success, generate poverty, not wealth. I don't like them very much.
Mr. Dick Turpin
Those marching are not wanting anything for free, or to live on handouts. They want a fair chance for their work to be rewarded with a fair wage and for their vote to count as much as the person standing next to them. By N O M E A N S does a fair and open economic and political system 'breed failure or poverty'. Just the opposite. Whether you like them or not is not a conclusion based on rational or reality but on misinformation and misperception. And that means you are contributing to the things like failure and poverty you so disdain.
Jefferson wrote,
"instead of an aristocracy of wealth of More Harm and Danger than benefit to society,
to make an opening for the aristocracy of virtue and talent.''
That was for the trolls... they are irritating me this morning.
I get that there is great frustration among young Americans that take out six figure school loans only to find it very difficult to get a good job. I fear for the future of my own daughter currently in college. But, America is not the Middle East even on our worst day.
None of that really matters because what they really want is a life without effort. They don't want to start at the bottom and work their way up, they want to start at the top and have everything that their parents and grandparents have/had without putting in the time and effort to achieve it. They want want their college life (fun, friends, booze) and they want someone else to pay for it. The easy target is the rich. How did the rich get that way? In the minds of the protesters they didn't earn it. Bill Gates didn't get rich because the government took the wealth of someone else. Susan Serandon didn't get rich because of a government program. They worked and built a career.
Another example of corporatism is when corporations lobby for regulations which make it more difficult for others to compete and enter the market. These laws give them an unfair advantage.
Too bad the protesters are just confused socialists who want handouts and think that greed is the problem. It's not. The legalization of theft is the problem.
Banks take rich people's money, lend it to us and governments. That makes them evil? The problem is the rich have too much money and we have too little because life in the US is expensive. Give everyone free health care, tax the rich to pay for it. Then the rich will have less to lend, we'll borrow less, and Wall St will shrink to nothingness.
No net money is created, except that created by all loans: if I put my money in a bank I have it, if they lend it to you, you have it too. Twice the money in effect, though your negative assets offset my positive so no net new money.
Right now the Fed is creating money with the QE program. It's buying T-Bills up from the open market, using "printed money". If it redeems them when they mature, Fed will be paid back by taxpayers. If it destroys those T-Bills, it will have printed money and "monetized the debt" as they say. That is what Rick Perry warned the Fed not to do.
We don't know what they will do with those T-Bills in the future, so we really don't know. Hopefully they will be destroyed, and so would the government debt. Taxpayers now pay more for debt interest than they do for SS or Medicare, so it would help a lot.
Also, songs and chants are good. Maybe we should have a contest to see who can write/sing the best anti-Wall Street songs(as a group).
Good Food+Good Songs+Good Company = A Great Protest.
I almost forgot, Great Weather is also a definite plus.
Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMvPDK8oJBk
I'm hoping, given sufficient interest, to record it more professionally, so let me know if you like it.
I also hope the energy and political will of the Wall Street protesters gets channeled into recalling Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, electing Elizabeth Warren to the Senate from Massachusetts, and, for good measure, proposing a Constitutional amendment that says
from now on, wages will be tied to profits. When a company or corporation generates profits and increases in productivity, wages must increase as well. By law. Union or non-union.
And let me know if you like my song.
I am tired of pundits who say that Wall Street's operations have moved, and so forth. Wall Street is the place to protest because the street is symbolic of the corporate greed that has destroyed democracy, not just in this country but for the planet. I am in my 60's and it makes me feel joyful that young people and fellow protestors want to reclaim pure democracy. Change will come, despite nay-sayers and cynics.
I highly doubt that when the times were good you were so upset and vocal about undue corporate influence. I highly doubt that you were using your Constitutional rights to free expression to call attention to any injustice you saw.
As for your "pure democracy" if there was one thing the Founding Fathers of this country feared as much as a monarchy it was the voice of the mob. That's why they did not set this country up as a direct democracy but rather a representative one.
As for your "accountable governance" you have it. You can easily see what your representative's voting record is and it's now easier then ever to let them know where you stand. Did your elected representatives vote for the bail outs? Did you re-elect them or will you re-elect them? If so then you have no right to claim a lack of "accountable governance". If you did or will reelect them then you have no one to blame but yourself.
A country this size cannot exist without some form of governance but it should be accountable to 99% of the people not just 1%. I count politicians as "unacountable" when they are owned by corporate entities. The ones I'm referring to are not those I voted for. I routinely correspond with my representatives and I know their voting records.