Pro-tax Occupation Protests Held Across U.S. (O.W.S. Thread)

[financeguy]

Why do I care about 1989? I even used the word "anymore." We're talking about today's economy. Let's have a little bit more relevant information here.

1989, a number
another summer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PaoLy7PHwk

 

[Inner El Guapo]

The reality is that both the Tea Party and this Occupy Wall Street movement were both 'grassroots' from the beginning. And then the corporate Republican fat-cats got the wheels in motion and 'appropriated' the Tea Party and they have been an arm of the Republican Party ever since. And now the same will happen with the Wall Street thing.

This happens because of the two party corporate monopoly.
There can't be a real viable 'outsiders' choice, a third rail, etc.
And it is so easily done precisely because of two things:
1) All the real power is in so few hands, and those hands want Coke vs Pepsi as the status quo. Simple strategy. It's easier to beat one opponent than several.
2) The discourse - as evidenced in this thread -always takes a Coke vs Pepsi route. Even among people that are aware of it...they can't help but do it.

It's actually very uncomplicated.

A viable outside movement can't even be seen as non-partisan.
Because the tools of opposition will always effectively be able to sell that outside movement as simply being supported by the other side. Just like how many of you that still believe the Tea Party was always a Republican ploy. You're part of the problem.

And THAT more than anything else is why we are truly fucked. Even the people that are active and engage with issues and are wise to the corporate machinations are still easily sucked in by sheer partisan politics.

 

[Steved1998]

It may be time to really overhaul our system. Little by little, the American Republic is dying. It's being torn apart by brutal partisan fighting - there's no mutual respect and disagreement just hate filled rants, corporations that want to gut the economy to increase their bottom line, the 1 %ers, and a legislative body that is comprised of people so far removed from the average American they might as well be representing Mars. To top it off we have a population that thinks meaningless sports statistics and reality show stars are more important then knowing the policies of the people who are guiding this country toward the edge of a cliff.

- We need proportional representation in this country...smaller parties will have a fighting chance.

- Make it a criminal offense to offshore jobs. You want to send American workers overseas and weaken the economy and country? Go a head, but the US Gov't can now seize your assets.

- Party over country is treason. Want to hold the economy hostage? Pay the price. You think debt is a serious problem? Address the root cause: Out of control spending and 3 decades of shitty financial policy- the 1%ers have to pay their fair share.

 

[yolland]

The reality is that both the Tea Party and this Occupy Wall Street movement were both 'grassroots' from the beginning. And then the corporate Republican fat-cats got the wheels in motion and 'appropriated' the Tea Party and they have been an arm of the Republican Party ever since. And now the same will happen with the Wall Street thing.

Inclined to agree, though it does seem undeniable that the Tea Party was overwhelmingly dominated by lifelong Republicans from its inception, while Occupy Wall Street seems likewise dominated by lifelong Democrats (for what "lifelong" is worth when most of them are so young). If OWS does continue to grow and evolve, personally I'd love to see it take the form of a nonpartisan citizens' movement to end corporate lobbyist control over Washington via a constitutional amendment, but I acknowledge that's not likely given the hyperpartisan backdrop. More likely it'll fizzle out, or perhaps become a fully co-opted appendage of the Democratic party with its own Congressional caucuses, PACs and whatnot, like the Tea Party now has.

But I don't think the ordinary American, the average liberal or conservative, requires all that much 'brainwashing' from MoveOn or Koch Industries or whomever to dismiss grassroots movements before they even get anywhere. They're already programmed to see the caricatures (bitter old racist rednecks; clueless hippie pothead riffraff) and when the cameras inevitably note the presence of some colorful examplars of that type, that's all they really need to dismiss it; any subsequently learned 'facts' are just ammo.

 

[INDY500]

And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for?

Good question.

 

[Canadiens1131]

The US needs to get rid of the revolving door between the private sector and business. You basically run for Congress to set yourself up for a lush lobbying or consulting gig after your term is done.

 

[Irvine511]

3 or the top 5 were unions.

how was your weekend?

 

[INDY500]

how was your weekend?

Ha, Good point But in my defense it took all of three minutes to lookup.

 

[Irvine511]

Ha, Good point But in my defense it took all of three minutes to lookup.

you know who to thank for having the free time to do so.

how was your minimum 2-weeks vacation this year?

 

[LJT]

4 weeks over here in the UK, but then we do live in the great communist state of Europe.

 

[BVS]

 

[Steved1998]

Throw in a "likes black people" circle intersecting with the wall street protesters and it would be accurate

 

[Irvine511]

Partly, but wild income inequality certainly has to be part of it. More and more money flows to the top and how of the middle class (the poor don't have any to begin with). As the middle class loses it's purchasing power, so goes the American economy. I wish people would see that something like a single payer health care would remove the burden and uncertainty that paralyzes households, and would also allow people to be more innovative and take more risks with their careers far more than any tax cut. Freedom from the de ar of going bankrupt from medical bills is a more accurate definition of "freedom" than lowering taxes by4%.

I wish the people who wave their Bibles around and are excessively concerned with who sleeps with who would direct all that energy into the actual Jesus message which is mostly about concern for the poor.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I wish the people who wave their Bibles around and are excessively concerned with who sleeps with who would direct all that energy into the actual Jesus message which is mostly about concern for the poor.

Jesus was such a dirty socialist.

 

[Tiger Edge]

Is it fair to call these rallies nothing more than "bitch-fests," since that's how some in here defined the Tea Party?

Both are bitch-fests. So many more things to do with all your time, Jesus.

 

[2861U2]

Maybe this movement is spreading faster than I expected:

Sawyer's Flub: Claims Wall Street Protests Have ‘Spread to More Than a Thousand Countries’ | NewsBusters.org

And I hear there's protests in 57 states... with one left to go.

 

[Canadiens1131]

Cute web blog ya got there, tee hee

Maybe this movement is spreading faster than I expected:

Sawyer's Flub: Claims Wall Street Protests Have ‘Spread to More Than a Thousand Countries’ | NewsBusters.org

And I hear there's protests in 57 states... with one left to go.

 

[Pearl]

And I hear there's protests in 57 states... with one left to go.

Uhm, are you serious? Did you really type 57 states or is that a typo?

Because anyone who does not know how many US states there are loses all credibility in my eyes.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Hannity said last night that the Occupy Wall Street is giving out condoms and people are having sex right out in the open. He also claimed there was a photo of a guy doing #2 on a police car.

 

[BVS]

Uhm, are you serious? Did you really type 57 states or is that a typo?

Because anyone who does not know how many US states there are loses all credibility in my eyes.

It was a reference to an Obama mispeak he made on the campaign trail. You know about 4 years ago.

 

[Pearl]

It was a reference to an Obama mispeak he made on the campaign trail. You know about 4 years ago.

Ah I see.

But seriously, there are Americans who are unaware of how many states there are. Its disgraceful.

 

[yolland]

You can find someone taking a dump in public or having sex in public in New York any day (or any other large city, for that matter).

 

[Irvine511]

i'd most like to hear Kristin Wiig read this out loud:

Suze Orman

"Occupy Wall Street": Approved!
Posted: 10/11/11 11:45 AM ET

In the space of less than a month, the Occupy Wall Street movement has gained national notoriety. A new poll out Monday shows that more than half of Americans are aware of the grass-roots campaign pushing back at the outsize profits, bailouts, and influence of the financial sector. That quick rise has plenty of special interests so worried they have resorted to a pathetic yet popular tact: When you feel threatened, work overtime to marginalize the threat before it establishes traction.

Me? I want to publicly say thank you to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Thank you for not accepting the status quo. Thank you for not assuming there is nothing to be done. Thank you for rattling the cages. Much coverage of Occupy Wall Street has cast this as the beginning of something new. That's only partly true. What I find so encouraging is that Occupy Wall Street's more important message is that this marks an end point. An end to just shrugging and putting up with the inequity. An end to patiently waiting for government to get its act together and take steps to reduce the pain felt by millions of Americans who are unemployed, the millions more who are underemployed, and the millions more again who worry that if we indeed slip into a double dip recession they will soon become unemployed. An end to letting Washington just continue further down its dysfunctional dark hole without being called out.

To deride the movement because it has yet to formulate a well-delineated platform says plenty more about the critics than the protestors. Revolutions tend to be messy, especially in the early going. The unholy alliance of much of Congress, K Street and Wall Street that has set the agenda from day one of the financial crisis is simply trying to protect its turf by casting aspersions on the ad hoc nature of the movement to date. I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less. After all, there's no way they could stage a substantive rebuttal based on facts. It is a real shame that the progress that Congress made last year in passing consumer financial reforms are now being blocked by these same interests.

The recent New York Times' report that inflation-adjusted median household income declined 7.6% from June 2009 to June 2011 has garnered much attention. While plenty bad enough, that income drop is really just an emphatic exclamation point to disturbing long-term trend. Adjusted for inflation, median household income has gone no where since the late 1990s. So much for shared prosperity.

As we all know to make up for the lack of income gains, American households borrowed plenty in the '90s and all the way up to the financial crisis. Yet the response to date has been to bail out the banks but offer virtually nothing to overextended homeowners who are hopelessly underwater on homes. Yes, I am well aware of the various federal housing assistance programs that were launched in the wake of the crisis. But they have been failures. And why is that? Well, our federal government thought it would work to craft programs that offered some small incentives to banks to modify mortgages, and then ask the banks if they would like to participate. It was entirely optional! And we're supposed to be surprised that three years in, banks -- after having happily accepting the bailout money -- weren't exactly eager to participate? Please.

And in my opinion there is no greater example of Washington politicians and K Street lobbyists working against our future prosperity than in the treatment of student loan debt. To be clear, this problem existed even before the crisis; families have been taking on crushing debt to help the kids get ahead for a few decades, as the cost of school has far outpaced inflation. It's just come to a painful head now: graduates with no jobs, or low paying jobs are justifiably panicked that they will never be able to get the loans paid off. Meanwhile, many well-meaning parents who only wanted to help their kids by taking out loans for college, are now laid off, or in new jobs that pay less. Yet where's the relief for these borrowers, who took out loans so their kids could compete in the workplace, or better yet, we collectively could compete in the global marketplace? Far from relief, here's what we have: a bankruptcy system that does not allow student loans to be discharged. Many other debts can be discharged, but not student loans. Look, we want a society where everyone strives to repay their debts. That's clear. But to single out education loans as the one type of debt that our system specifically prohibits from standard bankruptcy is flat-out wrong. We bail out the banks, but offer nothing to American families that borrowed to become more educated and competitive?

And more recently we now have the big bank-fee dust-up. Financial reform post-crisis has reduced banks' ability to collect as much fee income. So some banks have responded by announcing plans to roll out new fees to make up for the new restrictions on what they can charge for the old fees. Let's be clear, this isn't a matter of the banks being able to make payroll. What's at stake is the magnitude of their profits. They are piling on new fees to keep their outsize profits up. Sure, that's absolutely fair play in a capitalistic society. But I don't think this country was built on the fee income that gouged the little guy. Banks used to rely more on income from lending money to qualified borrowers, be it businesses or individuals. Today, the financial system seems less interested in being an intermediary in financing a growing economy and more interested in collecting fees that have absolutely no connection to participating in economic expansion. Is that really how low we're going to let the target be set? Occupy Wall Street is issuing an emphatic no. To that, I give a heartfelt, "Approved!"

 

[Steved1998]

Uhm, are you serious? Did you really type 57 states or is that a typo?

Because anyone who does not know how many US states there are loses all credibility in my eyes.

I think it was a piss poor attempt at making fun of Obama

 

[Steved1998]

Hannity said last night that the Occupy Wall Street is giving out condoms and people are having sex right out in the open. He also claimed there was a photo of a guy doing #2 on a police car.

I'm going down there. I will have plenty of pics and videos to share.

 

[deep]

He also claimed there was a photo of a guy doing #2 on a police car.

that's a Nike advert

 

[INDY500]

The picture is on page 2 of this thread. Then I thought it a fitting example of barbarous mob behavior. Now, thanks to another thread, I see it for what truly it is. Performance art.

 

[yolland]

Saw that one coming from a mile away. No, a light-year away!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

The picture is on page 2 of this thread

I didn't read the thread from the beginning, the title was kind of self explanatory Three day weekend and not enough time to catch up.

Sorry I missed that-on second thought I'm not and I really wish I hadn't gone back to look. That's really disgusting, and it looks very uncomfortable too.

I can sleep much better knowing that there are just as many nut jobs in the Occupy _________ Party as there are in the Tea Party. Seriously dump dude, have some class. He didn't get arrested for that?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Wrong Jesse-there was Joe The Plumber before you I'll have to look up his FOX thing.

Jesse LaGreca, Occupy Wall Street Protester, On 'This Week': Media Has Failed Working Class People (VIDEO)

Jesse LaGreca, the Occupy Wall Street protester who won plaudits for dressing down Fox News, continued his takedown of the media on ABC's "This Week," telling host Christiane Amanpour that he might be the only working class person to ever appear on a Sunday morning news show.

LaGreca has been championed as a major figure in the Occupy Wall Street movement, and was cheered by supporters for his articulate and testy exchange with a Fox News producer.

On Sunday, LaGreca took his criticism to ABC, where he made similar charges about the media failing to report on the struggles of working class Americans. Speaking to Christiane Amanpour, he took aim at the very people at the program and their colleagues.

He charged that "the working class people in America – 99% of Americans who aren’t wealthy and aren’t prospering in this economy – have been entirely ignored by the media" and lay the blame on pundits and political leaders.

"I mean, the reality is that I’m the only working class person you’re going to see on Sunday new -- political news -- maybe ever," he said. "And I think that is very indicative of the failures of our media to report on the news that matter most importantly."

Amanpour let out a shocked laugh at LaGreca's assertion that he would be the only working class person to ever appear on a Sunday news show. She smiled and said, "We are trying our best, Jesse" before quickly steering the conversation back to the specific demands of the movement.

LaGreca went on to predict that the movement will continue day after day, and beseech political leaders to listen to the protesters.