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

[anitram]

The gap between rich and poor is widening across most developed economies as skilled workers reap more rewards and top executives and bankers benefit from a global job market, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.

The average income of the richest tenth of the population is now about nine times that of the poorest tenth, the Paris- based OECD said today in a report. The gap has increased about 10 percent since the mid 1980s.

Mexico, the U.S., Israel and the U.K. are among the countries with the biggest divide between rich and poor, while Denmark, Norway, Belgium and the Czech Republic are among those with the smallest gap. The earnings multiple is 14-to-1 in the U.S. and Israel, compared with about 10-to-1 in the U.K., Italy and Japan and 6-to-1 in Germany and Denmark.

“The social contract is starting to unravel in many countries,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said in a statement. “This study dispels the assumptions that the benefits of economic growth will automatically trickle down to the disadvantaged and that the greater inequality fosters greater social mobility.”

I think that people who choose to continue to ignore this or blindly keep repeating that so long as the rich get richer and pay less taxes the rest will magically benefit do so at their own peril. History has shown us as much.

Full article at Bloomberg: Rich-Poor Divide Widens in Developed World: OECD - Bloomberg

[Canadiens1131]

I wonder what the big reasons are for the Nordic countries' small gaps.

On one side of it, there is a different attitude to work and life there. Jobs/trades that are mocked or marginalized in American and Western society such as garbage men are looked at as honest professions over there.

On the other hand, having very homogeneous populations could have something to do with it.

[Vlad n U 2]

Originally Posted by Canadiens1131

I wonder what the big reasons are for the Nordic countries' small gaps.

You can say social democracy. Even if it can be argued that one or two of the Nordic countries have turned to liberalism, but I'm not completely educated on that area.

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by Canadiens1131

I wonder what the big reasons are for the Nordic countries' small gaps.

... having very homogeneous populations could have something to do with it.

I thought a nation's greatest strength was its diversity.

[maycocksean]

It has been OUR nations' greatest strength, I'd say. One might describe it as. . .exceptional.

But the growing gap between richn and poor in the U.S. is not necessarily tied to our diversity.

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by maycocksean

It has been OUR nations' greatest strength, I'd say. One might describe it as. . .exceptional.

Not to be argumentative but I believe our nation's greatest strengths are our Constitution, our Creed as set forth in the Declaration, our Rule of Law and God's Providence. Without those diversity doesn't flourish. Just look around the world.

[Irvine511]

"God's Providence?"

[KhanadaRhodes]

the capital of rhode island?

[Tiger Edge]

Also, Walmart.

[BVS]

Originally Posted by INDY500

Not to be argumentative but I believe our nation's greatest strengths are our Constitution, our Creed as set forth in the Declaration, our Rule of Law and God's Providence. Without those diversity doesn't flourish. Just look around the world.

Did we not have these things 50 years ago?

[Irvine511]

i haven't read anything so sweeping, grandiose, and totally vague since ... Noot last opened his mouth.

[BEAL]

Pretty typical it seems nowadays, twist whatever you want to fit your agenda. Jesus did come back, but changed his name to Gordon Gecko



My Take: Jesus was a free marketer, not an Occupier – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

(CNN) – One of the last instructions Jesus gave his disciples was "Occupy till I come."

As Jesus was about to enter Jerusalem for the last time, just before his crucifixion, he was keenly aware that his disciples greatly desired and even anticipated that the kingdom of God was going to be established immediately on the earth.

Groups bring Occupy to Congress

As a way to break the news that it wasn't going to happen in the manner and with the timing they expected, Jesus pulled them aside and gave them instructions by way of a parable.

The primary purpose of the parable, which appears in the Gospel of Luke, was to make clear to his disciples that the kingdom of God would not be physically established on the earth for some time and that, until then, they were being entrusted with certain responsibilities.

Jesus, depicted as a ruler in the story, would have to leave for a while as he traveled to a faraway place to receive authority to reign over the kingdom. In his absence, the disciples – depicted as servants – were to "occupy" until he returned.

Here's the direct quote from Luke: "He called his ten servants, and gave to them ten minas, one mina each (a mina today would be worth around $225), and he then told them to 'Occupy till I come.' " (Luke 19:13, King James Version)

But just what does Jesus' order to occupy mean? Does it mean take over and trash public property, as the Occupy movement has? Does it mean engage in antisocial behavior while denouncing a political and economic system that grants one the right and luxury to choose to be unproductive?

Opinion: Occupy Wall Street looks like church to me

No, the Greek term behind the old English translation literally means "be occupied with business." As with all parables, Jesus uses a common activity such as fishing or farming to provide a word picture with a deeper spiritual meaning.

From a spiritual perspective, the mina in this parable represents the opportunity of life; each of us is given the same opportunity to build our lives, and each of us shares the same responsibility to invest our lives for the purpose of bringing a return and leaving a legacy. Jesus gave equal responsibility and opportunity to each of his 10 servants.

The fact that Jesus chose the free market system as the basis for this parable should not be overlooked. When the nobleman returns, after being established as king – a stand-in for Jesus – he calls all his servants together to see what they had accomplished in his absence.

The first servant reports a nice profit: 10 minas. While the story lacks specifics on whether he invested the money in a herd of sheep or a hedge fund, we do know that he made his gain by engaging in business transactions of some sort. He used a free market system to bring a tenfold return on investment. No doubt such a return took a lot of diligent, dedicated effort.

The newly established king praises the servant and gives him a reward that's an even greater return on his efforts, "because you have been faithful in very little I will give you authority over ten cities."

Likewise the second servant in the story, who had turned his one mina into five, is praised and rewarded with greater responsibilities: He is given five cities.

Occupy Wall Street movement tackles housing crisis

The third servant in the story had apparently either slept through his economics course or was just indifferent to the work delegated to him.

He had essentially kept the capital entrusted to him under his mattress for safekeeping.

When called to give an account of what he had accomplished, the man immediately attempts to shift the focus off his failure with excuses of how unfair the boss was because he was always trying to get more than he deserved for his money.

The employee review is immediate and intense: "Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant." The king's disappointment and frustration are nearly palpable. "Why didn't you at least put the money in the bank and draw interest?" the king inquires.

While such language might prompt an HR complaint today, its meaning was quite clear to the disciples. There are no excuses for doing nothing.

Parables generally have a twist near the end, a final jolt to drive the point home. This one is no exception. The ruler orders that the capital, or opportunity, given to the lazy servant be taken from him and given to the most productive servant. "To everyone who has, more shall be given," the Bible reads, "but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away."

Jesus rejected collectivism and the mentality that has occupied America for the last few decades: that everyone gets a trophy – equal outcomes for inequitable performance. There are winners and yes, there are losers. And wins and losses are determined by the diligence and determination of the individual.

Some would argue that such an approach encourages abuses, the likes of which we have seen on Wall Street. While some egregious abuses have taken place, they are not inevitable or intrinsic to free enterprise.

The parable of the king and the servants endorses the principles of business and the free market when properly employed.

Remember, these servants were not working for themselves, but under the constraints of their lord and for his benefit. Likewise our free market system works when bridled by morality. Not arbitrary morality that changes with political parties, but transcendent moral principles.

Yes, we are to "occupy," not by railing against a free market system that rewards diligence, even though it is occasionally abused. Rather we are to occupy by using that system ethically as a means to advance the interests of the one we serve.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Tony Perkins.

[maycocksean]

Originally Posted by INDY500

Not to be argumentative but I believe our nation's greatest strengths are our Constitution, our Creed as set forth in the Declaration, our Rule of Law and God's Providence. Without those diversity doesn't flourish. Just look around the world.

I agree with you more or less.

I don't quite understand the need for all the capital letters though. . . .

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by maycocksean

I don't quite understand the need for all the capital letters though. . . .

it makes it look more divinely inspired.

[maycocksean]

Divinely Inspired

[Tiger Edge]

Divinely Inspired™

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by maycocksean

I don't quite understand the need for all the capital letters though. . . .

Rules for Capitalization

5. Capitalize the first, last, and all other important words in the titles of written works (Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution).

7. Capitalize words referring to the Deity and a specific religion (God's Providence).

And Creed can be capitalized because it is a unique and defining set of ideas. The American Creed.

Am I correct grammar nerds?

[deep]

nO

[financeguy]

Originally Posted by INDY500

Rules for Capitalization

5. Capitalize the first, last, and all other important words in the titles of written works (Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution).

7. Capitalize words referring to the Deity and a specific religion (God's Providence).

And Creed can be capitalized because it is a unique and defining set of ideas. The American Creed.

Am I correct grammar nerds?

Grammar, and for that matter, language itself, is of course no more and no less than a bourgeouis conceit of the fascist capitalist neo-liberal globalist Bilderberg conspiracy - accordingly i approve of your disdain for it, and indeed I salute your outright revolution against the literalist, paternalist, capitalist edicts of the 1%!

[maycocksean]

Rule of Law?

Further Providence would be capitalized when uses as a name for God as in the hand of Providence. God,'s Providence is redundant. You wouldn't say God's Love or God's Justice.