Occupy Wall Street is a protest movement, but beyond a few reports on macings and arrests, you'd never know it from the main stream press.
This time protestors are a little smarter on media blackouts. They have their own website, with live streams, news and events.
Who are they? They claim to be the 99% that is sick to death of the unabated greed of the uber-rich, or top 1% wealthy in this country. A major demand is to get corporate money out of elections, politics and government. Wonder why when 85% of the nation wants something and supposedly the majority of Congressional representatives do too, that same policy never gets enacted into law or action? That's your corporate money at work. Corporations and uber-rich literally control government these days and can kill any legislative bill, any government action, regardless of what the majority demand.
What are they doing there?
Like our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Greece, Spain, and Iceland, we plan to use the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic of mass occupation to restore democracy in America. We also encourage the use of nonviolence to achieve our ends and maximize the safety of all participants.
They are clearly hoping the rest of the 99% who have little join them, help them shut down Wall Street until we get some real financial reform and change in favor of working America. Can you believe it has taken this long to get any sorts of protests going on in America considering the state of the economy and unbridled theft of the nation by corporations?
The below video, about a minute in, shows the protests and scans up to the super-rich, drinking champagne and mocking the protestors, laughing at them. Does the stark haves and have nots need a better illustration than the below video clip?
The organizers have also set up a conference bridge, otherwise known as a party line, have a live video stream on their website, along with usual twitter, facebook, share. The site even has adiscussion forum.
Hollywood is now helping with Susan Sarandon showing up and Michael Moore going on CNN.
Readers of this site know we have repeatedly statistically shown what the protests are about. Multinationals do not act in the national interest, our entire political system is corrupt and does not act in citizens or the national interest, won't even consider policy for the U.S. worker and has been selling us down the river for 30 years now.
If you cannot protest, consider at least pulling out your meager wages from financial institutions giving you the never ending shaft and consider at least buying American. If you are an employer, hire an American.
We really need people in the streets at this point for it's clear both parties are corrupt as hell and if we were going to get any real change in favor of the U.S. middle class, it would have happened by now. Below is the live stream of the protests.
In Solidarity, The Economic Populist
Comments
You had me until you said,
You had me until you said, "hire an American."
you have issue with hiring Americans for Jobs in America?
With 14 million official unemployed and unofficially it's about 28 million in the United States?
Good God.
Protestors
The youth protesting are all doing the right thing. They know something is very wrong, but they aren't quite focused yet on the problem is.
First, some background. Remember those 1960's hippies and their anti-war protests? Those young people wanted easy sex, drugs, anti-war, a hedonism lifestyle, etc. And then they grew up to run this planet. Obama is the offspring of such a failed generation. Well they got their wish - a free and easy life at the expense of others. Now, it's time to take back.
But first back to the "problem". Corporations dominating politics is a symptom. The core problem is the currency, the creation of paper money unbacked and unrestrained by Precious Metals leads always to people with gangster mentality running things. 47 years ago, in 1964 we removed silver from our coins. In 1971, we went off the Gold Standard. Since then, spending has been out of control and government has turned into a monstrosity of epic size. With the Gold Standard, Government is limited to how much money it can issue because they cannot issue more than the Gold/Silver in the Treasury. The Founding Fathers called this a Sound Money policy. Many end up deeply in debt due to free and easy money (student loans, mortgages, child support, etc). This is intentional...because then you stay under the thumb of the government and the banks they are partners with. Ron Paul is one of the candidates that understands this problem and how to fix it. But I do not believe our economic world will live until November 2012. I think a financial crisis that will make history is coming before then.
It is doubtful Government and the Banks will ever give up and "let you go free". The only way out of this "evil system of debt slavery" is a reset of all debts to zero...and that is what you should MARCH FOR!!! A new currency can then be started, backed once again by Gold and Silver. Government will survive, but only at 10-20% of it's current size. And all the large banks and corporations will be out of business. The "rich" will no longer be rich. We will all be poor, but we can rebuild.
So protest well my friends. Send the message of hope. I do think an economic reset of debts is inevitable - as it is the only solution to trillions of dollars of endless debt - and we will all be free from debt bondage. In the meantime, defend all of our Constitutional rights and God Speed.
Ron Paul would have everyone die
with his philosophy the government isn't supposed to offer services, help to the people they govern.
You might like this post, Bretton Wood II where the history of monetary currency, exchange rates goes into some detail.
Taking haircuts across the board and forcing the private investors, i.e. GS, BoA, the very banks who were bailed out, something to get out of all of this sovereign debt, sure seems like the way to go.
My issue is free flows of capital and derivatives. We need these things banned, and we need incentives to invest in the real, or production economy, i.e. manufacturing.
re: Ron Paul would have everyone die
The opposite is true. His philosophy is how this country was founded, How quickly we all forget how to be Americans!
FREEDOM! You have no idea what that means, you are a slave.
no, that's a distortion
America was not founded by some Ron Paul distorted libertarian philosophy, not by a long shot.
My favorite example is trade, the U.S. had tariffs, incentives, all sorts of government intervention to make it the great exporter it once was.
Look, we're an economics site, not a philosophy or fantasy site and go by the theory and the statistics.
We are not a political site per say, although politics pop up and we assuredly are not a Ron Paul cheerleader fan club.
This post was to cheer on these people for finally standing up and raising hell, which everyone in America should do.
But repeating economic fiction over and over by people who do not even know the basic economic history of the U.S. sure doesn't help.
I usually say, quit with the prattling and go to your nearby university library and crack some undergrad economics texts. Paul Samuelson's Econ 101 is a great place to start.
Occupy Wall Street
---This one is better, please publish this one and not the other one, thanks.---
The youth protesting are all doing the right thing. They know something is very wrong,
but they aren't quite focused yet on what the problem is.
First, some background. Remember those 1960's hippies and their anti-war protests?
Those young people wanted easy sex, drugs, anti-war, a hedonism lifestyle, etc.
And then they grew up to run this planet. Obama is the offspring of such a failed
generation. Well they got their wish - a free and easy life at the expense of others.
Now, it's time to take back.
But first back to the "problem". Corporations dominating politics is a symptom. The core
problem is the currency, the creation of paper money unbacked and unrestrained by Precious
Metals leads always to people with a gangster mentality running things. 47 years ago, in 1964
we removed silver from our coins. In 1971, we went off the Gold Standard. Since then, spending
has been out of control and government has turned into a monstrosity of epic size.
With the Gold/Silver Standard, Government is limited to how much money it can issue because they
cannot issue more than the Gold/Silver in the Treasury. The Founding Fathers called this a
Sound Money policy. It limited the size of Government size because you cannot spend that you don't
have. There are no lobbyists, because Goverment and Corporations are not in bed together
plotting how to separate you from your money. So removing the Gold Standard created the "Problem" and the "solution"
will be a new monetary system.
Under the "Free and Easy Money" system we have now many people end up deeply in debt (student loans,
mortgages, child support, etc). This is intentional on the Government and banks part...because then you stay under the
thumb of the government and the banks they are partners with. College costs are so high - because student loans removed all the competition and allowed colleges to raise their tuition! Ron Paul is the one candidate that really understands this problem and how to fix it. But I do not believe our economic world will live until November 2012. What I think is a financial crisis that will make history is coming before then.
Government and the Banks will probably never just give up and "let you go free". The only real way out of this "evil system of debt slavery" is a reset of all debts to zero...and that is what you should MARCH FOR!!! If you read the Christan Bible, the evils of debt slavery are well known. The solution is always the same - freedom from debts solves the problem. When the economic crash comes - and it will - this will also be a time of great danger to America. Government
will insist on new security measures to protect itself from the now-very-angry people who will no longer get Social Security, Unemployment, and Welfare checks. We must not give into Government and your efforts will help to safeguard us all will be vital.
A new Dollar currency can then be started, backed once again by Gold and Silver. Government will survive, but only at 10-20% of it's current size. And all the large banks and corporations will be out of business. The "rich" will no longer be rich. We will all be poor, but we can rebuild. Within a short time, our ecomony will grow again and you, and all of us, will have no debts to pay. We can build the new society and live in freedom and liberty again. You will tell your grandchildren about this historic event.
Please beware of celebrities who want to join the protests. They are usually only looking for free publicity
and to influence your views to suit their own agenda. Listen to them, let them march with you, but their advice is useless.
So protest well my young friends. Send the message of hope. I do think an economic reset of debts
is inevitable - as it is the only solution to trillions of dollars of endless debt - and we will all be
free from debt bondage. In the meantime, defend all of our Constitutional rights and God Speed.
Michael Moore exception to the rule
I agree on celebrities generally. Look at their Presidential endorsements for a start...but Michael Moore is more of a political activist and just did his "documentary" on Wall Street, financial "Armageddon".
Roger & Me is a classic and a foreshadowing of all of the disposable worker syndrome in the U.S. that is imploding not only the U.S. middle class but now the entire economy.
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Just more Sixties-derived HPD
That is to say, histrionic personality disorder. Look, mommy, the Whole World is Watching (me)!
That's nice, dear. Now let's go sign up for more debt so you can go to a good college and leapfrog over others in your pursuit of class status!
Shall we take Mommy's Prius? Or Apple Vixen Django's fixy?
I'm sick of this shit. It's political spectacle, and that's all--Situationist self indulgence that does nothing practical but divert the masses. These stupid kids couldn't even get out of bed last November long enough to vote to keep Rick Walker from getting elected, and Russ Feingold--the most honest person in Senate--in his seat.
Oh, but they could turn up by the hundred thousand to "march" on Madison afterwards!!!
By the way:
http://www.cracked.com/article/116_5-facts-about-woodstock-hippies-dont-...
They are now three generations of media-controlled idiots. And Boomer fucks like Michael Moore whip them up so they can feel good about being personalities, rather than doers.
Same thing on the right.
I don't think you can say that
first, most people from Wisconsin don't have enough money to make it to NY and sit and protest and odds on, these people have the time because they do not have a job.
They also could have not been 18 in 2010 election to even vote.
I think they are trying to do something here, obviously voting didn't work out too well.
Re: Just more Sixties-derived HPD
And to which of those three generations of media-controlled idiots do you belong? Even if you're a "Greatest," look at the prophetic dualism in war-era propaganda posters or the naive, idyllic newsreels introducing the suburbs into the American consciousness to see how little has changed.
People have been throwing around the term "Class Warfare" when in reality the scarcity of resources has also led to a clash between two generations. I see all three (yes, I remember Gen X, too) working age generations with heartfelt pity: laid off Boomers can't find work, Gen Xers have little mobility and underwater mortgages from the mid-'00s, and Millennials can't even find a first job to begin paying down their mountain of student debt. There's a lot of blame to pass around, but ultimately there's more to pity in each scenario.
The simplest way I can
The simplest way I can describe our economic situation is if you put a bunch of rats in a a cage and slowly decrease their amount of food they will end up eating each other. Capitalism has reached it's peak. The poker game is over. The rich folks are not lending any more money so we can stay in the game. They are now taking their winnings and leaving the room and trust me they will survive. When the families of America have run out of tricks ( both parents working. Racking up credit cards to pay bills. Tapping into home equities to get by) then the game is over. Now it is survival time folks. President Obama is ahead on this game. Take from the rich and give to the poor. May not seem very noble but it's either that or we all end up eating each other.
Investigate who is responsible and what exactly happened
Investigate who is responsible and what exactly happened in the first place...
The men who crashed the world
The first of a four-part investigation into a world of greed and recklessness that led to financial collapse.
Four men who brought down the global economy: a billionaire mortgage-seller who fooled millions; a high-rolling banker with a fatal weakness; a ferocious Wall Street predator; and the power behind the throne.
The crash of September 2008 brought the largest bankruptcies in world history, pushing more than 30 million people into unemployment and bringing many countries to the edge of insolvency. Wall Street turned back the clock to 1929.
But how did it all go so wrong?
Lack of government regulation; easy lending in the US housing market meant anyone could qualify for a home loan with no government regulations in place.
Also, London was competing with New York as the banking capital of the world. Gordon Brown, the British finance minister at the time, introduced 'light touch regulation' - giving bankers a free hand in the marketplace.
All this, and with key players making the wrong financial decisions, saw the world's biggest financial collapse.
Meltdown is a four-part investigation that takes a closer look at the people who brought down the financial world. It can be seen on Al Jazeera English
A global financial tsunami
Meltdown examines how an epidemic of fear caused banks to stop lending, triggered protests and led to industrial action.
In the second episode of Meltdown, we look at how the financial tsunami swept the world. We hear about a renegade executive who nearly destroyed the global financial system and the US treasury secretary who bailed out his friends.
Henry 'Hank' Paulson, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and later an economic advisor to the US government; refused to bail out global financial services firm - the Lehman Brothers. Paulson said it was not the role of government to save private businesses.
Lehman's failure had repercussions around the world. Millions of people lost their life savings. Pension plans were decimated.
Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister at the time and a close friend of Paulson's, publicly described Paulson's decision on Lehman "horrendous".
Markets from London and Paris to Shanghai fell. An epidemic of fear caused the world's major banks to stop lending, ending the year in protests and industrial action.
Sign up for Al Jazeera news, read it everyday like reading the newspaper. I'm tired of just hearing about the politics here in the USA, the world news is just as important. This Occupy Wall Street is not in the news because of news blackouts, just like Michael Moore said. This is the same thing happening that I was involved in to end the War in Vietnam. I used to go to the same type of rallys in Sacramento in the 60's.. the people had a voice by joining forces...
This has been going on for awhile now and you won't see it on US TV, its going on all over the USA you just have to look for an event nearest you...
This country needs to get back to Ethics....
A Marxist Critique of the Wall Street Occupation
Certainly the OccupyWallStreet demonstrations have created a lot of buzz and enlisted a lot of leftish celebrities like Chomsky, Michael Moore, Cornell West, and others to support their cause, but I believe that the rather inchoate, generalized discontent expressed by the protestors needs to be given adequate theoretical clarification in order that the participants in this phenomenon might dedicate themselves to a longer-term program of reconstituting the Left. Michael Moore quite transparently wants a return to neo-Fordist Rooseveltian capitalism, Chomsky is a self-proclaimed "anarchist" who voted for John Kerry in 2004, and so on down the line. I therefore offer the following (Marxist) critique of the protests to this point.
Of course, I realize that it is not enough to relentlessly criticize from the sidelines, but it is essential that these protestors be engaged so that their understanding of global capitalism is deepened and their politics radicalized. This means more than waving a few placards with populist slogans and other such theatrics.
Regressive "Resistance" on Wall Street: Notes on the Occupation
Should last line be a link?
The only sense I can make out of comment by RossWolfe is by supposing that the last line was to have been a link.
BTW: As someone who grew up in the world of "neo-Fordist Rooseveltian capitalism," I have to comment that it wasn't all bad! Indeed, if it were possible, I'd trade what we have now for those good old days!
links in anonymous comments were disabled
I had to disable them due to a spam attack that the system wasn't able to catch.
If people want to write, discuss, they should register. Sorry about that, never ending, ongoing battle with spam vs. real people who want to discuss.
400 arrested on Brooklyn Bridge
The movement is sprouting up all over the country, now specific demands should be made. Lots of people describe the problem then present some agenda which is the antithesis of any solution.
i.e. enact a transactional tax on high frequency flash trade. Ban derivatives. Demand banks take a hair cut on current mortgages...
and so on.
Occupy Wall Street
If the protesters were serious, they would be storming the Harold Pratt House, 58 E. 68th St. at Park Avenue, New York, NY (Headquarters of the Council on Foreign Relations) and the New York Fed,33 Liberty Street New York, NY.
But they won't be led to confront the gods on Mount Olympus by their Judas goats and shills. David Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger might be held up from lunch at 21.
For both supporters and opponents of the Occupy Wall Street protests who seek more incisive background in understanding what has been really going on behind-the-scenes with the Wall Street corporate and financial elites, check out the two items below:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory216.html
"In a Relationship, and It's Complicated," by Anthony Gregory
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard66.html
"Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy," by Murray N. Rothbard
Both articles "name names," and are forthright, direct, and pull no punches.