When has America ever been about complex thinking, for a decade or so, you've had people railing against welfare queens and "undeserving poor" that more or less are a figment of the imagination. So we've cut back on all sorts of aid, forced those "welfare queens" to work, just because someone came up with a good enough scarecrow. Let the left have their "shadow enemy" with the "undeserving rich" of Wall Street.
OWS has several things going for it that may keep the momentum up and the movement growing. First, it is targeting a very real problem that is personally affecting a wide swath of people. People understand that the country is in trouble in a visceral way. Second, there is so much clear cut, relatively easy to understand data that illustrates the problem with economic path we've been on for 30 or so years. Third, there is an actual location that can be "occupied" in a global media center that serves as a powerful metaphor and physical rallying point. These favorable conditions will enable the movement to continue growing and allow it some leeway to stumble while they are finding their footing, without losing too much momentum.
I don't think housing is. Technology is cheaper. But things like gasoline and food prices...those aren't related to corporate taxes.
Commodore, if you're not part of the 1%, then why are you stressing? If you are though, you better be ready for universal health care, and increases in capital gains tax. "Class warfare" ftw.
you forgot anti-semitism. <iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IMjm4LxFa1c?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> charming people, these.
Geeez, I know the lady is fat, but calling her "people" is going a little overboard, don't you think? I'm sure there are anti-muslim, anti-gay, anti-war, anti-tea party folks in the crowd as well. That's what you get when you have a sample size of one!!!
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yes, indeed he is, and among the liberal base, there is much discontentment with the fact that he is receiving money from WS (in fact, I started a topic on that very subject). However, this is just disingenuous for anyone with a basic knowledge of American politics. Dodd-Frank might be a weak, watered down Glass-Stegall, but the Republicans are STILL fighting against it. I think most Americans know who the deregulation nuts are, and those who want to pony up their souls (here's looking to you Romney) to Wall Street should not expect ANY support from OWS types, least of all the educated ones who know about the inner workings of securities laws, and the bull**** Wall Street is pushing around to try to stop it despite all of the failures revealed in 2008.
So for discussion's sake, what would you need to be making a year to consider yourself the 1%? And are the OWS people cool with those in the 2-5% range?
Perhaps the best thing that can happen is the collapse of our gov't and its current system. It's clear it is corrupt, filled with corporate money, and disconnected from the masses. true for Republicans and Democrats. With faith so low in gov't, we need a new start. Clean out all of these guys, and pick people who care about people. People uncorropted by money and ideology.
Just curious -- who is doing the "picking?" We don't need a new government. We need a new tax code implemented over a designated period of time or at some designated point in the future so that businesses and consumers can plan for the change. Personally, I am intrigued by Cain's 9-9-9 plan, even though I have reservations about the value-added tax part (9-12-5?). However, we also need incentives for keeping jobs in America while re-inventing our manufacturing base.
Neat. The Communist Party USA marches at #OccupyChicago. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HHG6dfjXpUY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The guy's probably the type of person who read Animal Farm, then decided Communism was a bad thing, without having ever read Marx. (I always like bringing up the fact that Orwell wrote the novel "contre Stalin" and not against communism/socialism itself in this kind of situation---because, well, he was a socialist himself, one who fought for the Spanish republicans.)
