Do You Believe In "Occupy"?

How is that hypocritical? If you're not one of the wealthiest 1%, buying a Dole pineapple or Nike shoes won't make you suddenly become one of society's wealthiest one percent.

We can be 100% but the 99% movement is trying to make the point that the income inequality gap is the largest since the 1920s. The top one percent own 40% of the wealth in this country. The bottom 80% own just 7% of the wealth! This gap is widening at an alarming rate. Just 25 years ago the top 1% owned 33% of the wealth. Today the top 1% own 50% of the stocks, bonds and mutual funds. The top 10% own over 90%. The US ranks 39th in the world in income inequality.

The top 1% have the ability to use their wealth to buy politicians and they are doing so. This is what the OWS movement is about imo.

Hard work is a great asset to have, but the stats I posted, and there are many more, show that things are changing for the worse as a whole. The gap between the rich and the middle class was narrowing for decades. The middle class was growing. People had jobs for life and were confident their children's lives would be better than their own. That confidence is gone. People are frustrated and pissed at what is happening.

After looking deeper into your post Tim, I definitely see where you're coming from. The gap is splitting pretty rapidly. Which leads to another question: What is the solution to allow individuals to have more confidence in their jobs, their family, and their overall daily lives?

There are no wrong answers

I'm sure there's a number of protestors doing so just for something to do...But that shouldn't take away from the organizers' goals.

I believe in capitalism. But I also believe it's far from perfect and far from always being fair. And I believe the USA was founded more on the principles of democracy and being fair than capitalism.

For example, let's say there was a shooting during a bank robbery, two people were hit. It is a small town with two ambulances and one of them is on a call 10 miles away dealing with a serious car accident and the town simply isn't prepared to deal with a mass shooting.

Bob has a sucking chest wound and could die at any time...But Bob is poor.

Bill was shot in the stomach and leg. He's in bad shape, but should be OK long term if he can get medical attention within an hour. Bill is a billionaire.

The ambulance arrives. In a purely capitistic society, the ambulance driver begins to negoitiate with both to see who will pay the most. Since Bill is a billionaire, he "bids" $1 million for the first ride in teh ambulance.

Is this the kind of society most of us would want to live in? Doesn't the ambulance company have a right to make as much money as they can?

Or should we sometimes make decisions based on need and fairness? And if we decide the ambulance company needs to to what's fair and "best", shouldn't society help compensate them for their loss of revenue, redistributing some wealth?

There are a lot of valid arguments in this thread. Keep it up!

The economy in the US is the worst since the Great Depression.

Unemployment numbers are at record highs.

Students who graduated or will graduate have an incredible amount of debt and can't find a job.

As Tim pointed out, this is the largest gap between the classes ever.

In my opinion, the reason OWS is growing is because there is not an agenda. It is left up to the people in the movement to determine what it is they are not happy with, be it the economic conditions, student debt, etc.

Since the passing of Citizens United, it is clear that this country is heading in the wrong direction. How a corporation can be deemed a person is unbelievable and just plain wrong.

The closest thing to a OWS mission statement:

Our nation, our species and our world are in crisis. The U.S. has an important role to play in the solution, but we can no longer afford to let corporate greed and corrupt politics set the policies of our nation.

Whatever the problem is, standing out in the street disrupting traffic and costing taxpayers money for police, vandalism, etc. IS NOT THE ANSWER.

I am not saying their philosophy is wrong and I will be the first one to scream about the 'Man' - however, again, they are not doing a thing but creating chaos.

Our cities and states are in dire need of assistance for important services for POOR people and MIDDLE CLASS (almost poor) -

Corporations create jobs - like it or lump it - as unfair and UnAmerican as they are (off-shoring etc), we need them to survive or there will be even less jobs for PEOPLE.

All these miscreants who are hacking and sacking are just a bunch of BS.

I am not saying I have answers (at least that anyone with any power would listen to) all I am saying is what are they accomplishing?

Oh! They are calling attention to injustice and recession? Gee I am so glad they pointed that out - I am sure nobody realized it before -

GO HOME OCCUPY!
GET A JOB (if you can find one)
CLEAN UP YOUR MESS BEFORE YOU GO.

The only issue I have with this OWS is that - as far as I can tell - there's no clear goal. There's rumblings, but not much more.

And without a clear goal, there is no proposed solution. What's that old saying? If your not part of the solution...?

This is complex, to be sure. But until goals and proposed solutions are brought to the table, they are all just wasting time. And it also DOES make them simply look like a jealous lot.

The whole "rich getting richer" and the widening gap between the rich and middle class/poor may be true, and is getting worse - but we have a LOT of issues in this country.Regardless of WHAT Warren Buffet says, my thought on why this is happening now IS to create and magnify class warfare. I don't mind that if there were solutions being proposed - but there isn't. By anyone. Which makes the entire thing suspect (to me).

Do I have an answer? LOL - Nope. But so far, neither does anyone else - the rich, the poor or anyone in between. Everyone seems more interested in simply shining the spotlight and smacking around the other side.

Just one opinion...

I've got to say; I never expected this thread to take off as much as it did. A lot of you are leaving some really insightful posts here. I may not have much to say regarding this conversation, but like I said before, I like seeing the opinions of others being debated among one another. Let's keep this conversation going.

The OWS issues are not that the rich are rich - it is that the rich are becoming owners of the poor, of the gov, of our ecology. When they get themselves in financial trouble - no problem, the gov will just take the money from the slave class and give it to the rich. We no longer have a voice, we no longer have a right to our own money, we are bound by laws made by people who are exempt from them. They are taking control of our food, our water, our money, our ecology, our children, and our health.

While the OWS may seem disjointed - it is not. They are protesting many fronts, but the heart of the fight is against slavery of any form. Nobody cares if someone else is rich - they just do not feel that the rich have the right to cart blanche ownership of anyone who isn't. And they should not be allowed to own our government.

The Middle Class has basically disappeared - at least in my town. I truly believe that the higher powers are globalizing poverty. When you're poor, you can be controlled.

That's the truth.

Occupy Movement Banner Project I'm installing this on my website.

Hell yeah!

This is an interesting thread and I am a little late to the party on commenting.

For me the OWS movement was/is refreshing. At least people are trying to do something. Yes, it is scattered and not at all like the focused efforts of the Equal Rights Movement or the Vietnam War protests, but at least they are trying to make their voices heard rather than sitting back and saying "oh well that's the way it is."

Maybe the movement will die. I hope not. I believe it is enhancing the dialogue in this country about where our priorities are and what we are spending our money on and who we are allowing to influence major decision making. I am in the 99%, but I'm not asking for a handout. But I do intend on collecting my social security when it is time, and isn't that a form of socialism? We are not a totally capitalistic society. It's a myth. I actually think we are a plutocracy, but that's my opinion.

Yes, this (the plutocracy) has been in existence for a long time, but I think many people were like ostriches and just had their heads stuck in the sand. The recent crises, financial and otherwise, were the catalysts for many folks to take a look at what is really going happening and to stop drinking the kool aid. The OWS movement is one proof that they now see. I don't know if they will make a difference, but they are certainly sparking a different kind of dialogue and that in my opinion is a good thing.

For what it's worth anyhow!

What they are trying to do is simply show their disdain for the status quo. There is no unification as far as what they are fighting for. Each person has a reason to believe that this country is heading in the wrong direction. Some believe in the same issues and I would agree that others are in the movement just to be there.

Lower and middle class have been unjustly denied equal financial rights. In a financial system where a hedge fund manager can make billions in one year is due to the lack, complete lack, of any type of regulation in that industry. That one career alone has lead the way to creating the biggest gap between the classes in the history of the US. I don't think it's necessarily "equal financial rights", I think it goes more to stop the corruption that allows what created the unjust enrichment to start with.

When the slicing and dicing of the home loans occurred coupled with the rampant predatory lending, that too created wealth. And not wealth distributed among the classes, but the one class who benefited the most - the banks. And to the detriment of millions of Americans. Administrators of retirement funds from police, teachers, and many other blue collar workers invested in these bogus "commodities" because they were touted as being low to no risk investments. We know how risky those investments are now though, don't we? The rating agencies put those AAA ratings on those securities to help the rich get richer. Pretty obvious when the same securities were downgraded sometimes less than 30 days after their initial offerings.

The biggest fear the 1% has is when the lower and middle class unite and say enough is enough. That's what we're seeing. That's my opinion.

Patrick, I had a post that I typed regarding Citizens United but I won't post it. It involves politics and there is no doubt what I have to say would get this thread closed. I appreciate your post and thank you for the information. I have researched the issue, read the briefs and the Supreme Court Justices' dissents on the issue. One thing I will say that is if the corporations are treated as individuals, then remove the ability to create formal entities. All of them. They shouldn't be necessary since they are one in the same. No more tax protections, no more protection from individual officers' and directors' liability.

I am getting worn with the idea that protesters are just people who want handouts. Maybe they are unemployed. Does that automatically make them beggars? What are you people thinking? About 10% of our people have been unemployed through no fault of their own for so long that they no longer even qualify for unemployment benefits (which, people pay taxes to earn, BTW, it's not free money). Wages are so low compared to inflation and other costs that even many working 40 hour jobs can no longer feed themselves - the hike in food prices, for example, if you care to look, is mostly linked back to MONSANTO and oil company greed. Official unemployment figures are around 9% yet 1/6th of our nation is on food stamps. Get it? Politicians kids don't have to repay student loans, yet average kids who can't find jobs after school or who's companies have cut them off are now even being jailed if they are delinquent. Get it?

Before the bail-out, politicians were told by well over half the nation not to go there - unprecedented rate of opposition. Did they listen to "we the people"? Hell no. Yet I hear people in here that are railing against a poor person who gets a few free meals or some medical care and ignoring the fact that we can be FORCED to give massive amounts of our money to corporate welfare - to corporations that can still afford to pay massive salaries and bonuses to executives. I don't hear railing against political welfare either - politicians who for 4 years of work get life long SPECIAL health care and pensions, and while in office, credit cards which are going to pay for a LOT of personal pleasure and luxury rather than state business.

Anyone who doesn't feel that giving welfare to corporations and government officials isn't wrong, yet screams against the "poor" who are sick of being stepped on is just plain brainwashed. Tell me again the economic benefit of giving tax rebates to a company that brings in the tens of billions of profits in a year that the oil companies do? I don't quite get how a company with 11 figure profits needs a tax rebate to provide more jobs. So they are getting these tax breaks --- um....where exactly are these jobs?

The rate of extremely poor people is rising rapidly, and those who still have an even remedial amount of security are still spitting that anyone poor is lazy and worthless....even while an increasing share of their money is being taken and used as "welfare" for corporations, and politicians themselves. I don't know about you - but I would rather see my money go to housing and feeding someone in need than to a vacation for a politician or as a tax rebated for a company with an 11 figure profit.

The poor have already been eaten -- the middle class is caving now. Just remember that all it takes is one hospital visit to take you out of the employed middle class and put you on the street with all those lazy good for nothings that have time to protest. Guess your news channel forgot to take pics of the WWII vets in the protests? Lazy *******s, why aren't they working?

For those of you who are in the layer just above those hit -- you are next in line to be lazy and worthless, so don't toot your horn too loudly about how everybody should be able to "make it" because you did. You have not "made it" until you can keep it, and there are things still coming down the pike that will take it from you. Stay tuned and enjoy the ride.

If you care to look into history -- this is not the first time this exact situation has been initiated by governments filled more with greed than brains. You'd think after a few historically disastrous incidents of the same thing that it would be time that people would be able to see what's coming and stop making excuses for those in power to be able to steal from the masses.