Yesterday, in a coordinated effort, many of the #Occupy movements were “closed down.” From California to New York, police moved in and cleared out encampments. Now, I think it is critically important for us to review what the #Occupy Wall Street movement is all about. To me, this movement is about Us. Our democracy has stopped working for Us. Over the last 30-40 years the scales have been tipped in favor of the rich and corporations. Politicians have stopped listening to Us. Instead, they listen to corporate lobbyists and the very rich.
If you don’t believe this and you don’t believe that the system has been unfairly rigged, all you have to do is look at the financial meltdown. Whether you understand or believe the cause of the financial meltdown is not important. Basically, our financial system was on the brink of collapse. Every single firm on Wall Street was in jeopardy of going under. The ripple effect from the massive uncertainty and huge losses was felt all over the country. Millions of Americans lost their jobs. Hundreds of thousands lost their homes. Now, the smoke has cleared. Wall Street is raking in record profits. Corporations that were on the brink of bankruptcy are now sitting pretty. The American people, on the other hand, continue to struggle. The unemployment rate remains unacceptably high. Wages are stagnant. Congress is arguing over cutting the meager benefits, which are keeping millions of Americans out of poverty.
The #Occupy movement is about restoring the balance. I support the right of Americans to peaceably assemble. I support Americans who want the right to free speech. I support Americans who believe that Congress needs to work for Us and not for corporations. I support hard-working Americans who want a living wage for a hard day’s work. I support #Occupy Wall Street.
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I’m an ex-Wall Steet “professional” and I support most aspects of OWS too!
Wall Street was a major contributor to The Financial Crisis and in my opinion needs to apologize and reform ASAP.
I wrote a blog on the subject. Here is the link.
http://www.blogonwealth.blogspot.com/
Jeff – I appreciate your thoughtful words, Thanks for the link.
please stop by more often!!
These people are my heros . I can’t believe how brave they are . I knew this would have to start with young people , because older folks are busy trying to survive and provide for there children .
To your question Dr Thompson here is the outrage , I know you’ve been wondering like a lot of us when we would say enough .
You have to like the enthusiasm of youth. It is infectious.
Thanks for your comments.