Citizens occupy Wall Street

[James48843]

Neither you, nor I, nor any of the people here on this board are among the 1%.
We're all in the 99% that's taking the beating.

They've set up a website that says, in part, "We are the 99 per cent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we're working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 per cent is getting everything."

The site includes several photos of people holding up messages about how the economic crisis has affected them. A few examples:

• I am a social work undergrad with over $25,000 in debt. I'm scared to graduate because the average social work graduate makes $35,000 a year for helping the poor, disenfranchised and voiceless.
• I have a master’s degree and I am a teacher yet I can barely afford to feed my child because my husband lost his job due to … a chronic illness. His meds alone are more than I make in a month.
• I have $70,000 in school debt. I work two jobs and still have no money.
• I am 16 years old and am afraid my generation will not be able to afford optimism.
• Single mom. Lost house to foreclosure. Make "too much" for state insurance. Medical issues (I) can't afford. In debt.

According to Reuters, a protest spokesman, Patrick Bruner said police were responding in an "exceedingly violent" manner. Meanwhile, updates on the protest were being posted on another website, occupywallstreet.org. One comment posted there asked: "If Tea Partiers were pepper-sprayed by police while peacefully protesting an Obama event, what do you think the reaction would be?"

http://www.theprovocation.net/2011/09/wall-street-protests-why-silence-why.html

 

[nnuut]

No we are in the 50% that pay income Taxes the other 49% are the ones that are getting hurt so badly, right?
Take a Chill Pill James you make a lot more money than I do, but I earned my retirement and worked my whole life for the little I get, it wasn't by accident I planned it all the way. As they say I met the Enemy and it was US!
Have a good night everything will be OK.

 

[PessOptimist]

I can almost feel sorry for these students. Almost.

I personally know a former student who has a BS in "Women's Studies" and an MA in "Library Science". Advice about the undergraduate major was shrugged off as being from troglodytes. Encouragement about the masters was given the same regard since there are no more books. Unfortunately said person only could find a job at a small library that not only still had books, but still used the Dewey Decimal Classification. Said person did not know this nor the UDC nor the Library of congress Classification. Claims professors said it wasn't important.

Said person is complaining no good jobs are available. Said person rejects links sent to USAJobs where the main requirement is "degree in library sciences or related field".

Said person is lucky since Dad (not me, don't go there) cosigned student loans. Said person never has even tried to pay them off cause they are Dad's problem.

I doubt said person is unique amongst all the unhappy students. Just saying.

I like some of the quotes James provided.

• I have a master’s degree and I am a teacher yet I can barely afford to feed my child because my husband lost his job due to … a chronic illness. His meds alone are more than I make in a month.

Those three dots could explain a whole lot.

• I am a social work undergrad with over $25,000 in debt. I'm scared to graduate because the average social work graduate makes $35,000 a year for helping the poor, disenfranchised and voiceless.

What was this undergrad expecting, FAA wages? Pay this debt off in the first year? Many of us older people bought a house that cost 5x our annual salary. We expected to pay it off eventually. Many in the 90s bought a house that was 100x their annual salary, I have no idea what they expected. This person is scared to start off life owing about 70% of his annual salary? Boo effing Hoo.

Protest away you people who claim to be representing the 99%. I like the figure thrown out here about maybe 49%. Perhaps someone can explain.

Maybe someone can throw out a figure showing the percent of Federal employees who make $4800 per pay period. Am I missing out on something?

 

[Frixxxx]

Where were these people when home mortgages were being given away to those who couldn't afford them?

Where were these people when their parents took out a second mortgage to pay for their education from a home with no meaningful equity?

Where were these people when Wall Street was making 30-40% return?

THAT is when they should have been protesting!

Not when it is losing what little worth it has left!

Oh, by the way...I started a business in this recession and I'm making money.......Guess I need to go throw it in the streets and feel guilty about it!

And James, I'm hoping to be near that 1% someday....But I'm working on it, not protesting!!!

WASTED EFFORT!

 

[PessOptimist]

A brief search of median income in the US brings up $45k-$31k. I am sure I will be told these are bad statistics. What was that idealistist who wanted to help the poor, disenfranchised and voiceless complaining about again?

 

[James48843]

Where were these people when home mortgages were being given away to those who couldn't afford them?

Where were these people when their parents took out a second mortgage to pay for their education from a home with no meaningful equity?

Where were these people when Wall Street was making 30-40% return?

THAT is when they should have been protesting!

Not when it is losing what little worth it has left!

Oh, by the way...I started a business in this recession and I'm making money.......Guess I need to go throw it in the streets and feel guilty about it!

And James, I'm hoping to be near that 1% someday....But I'm working on it, not protesting!!!

WASTED EFFORT!

"Let them eat cake!"

 

[FAB1]

At least they did it on a Saturday so they didn't have to call in sick to their day jobs. Let them eat cake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_them_eat_cake

The reason its not reported is no one wants to see mikey gimmeMoore's fat-engorged hypocritical puss in their living room. Talk about a capatilist pig. Mikey is only in the game for personal gain.

 

[FAB1]

Or who is that Elephant in the room along with the real protesters? Its mikey!! GimmeMoore!

 

[burrocrat]

I hesitate to advertise for a seamstress because there might be some qualified seamsters out there too, but can any of you sew, or know someone that does? ...I'll pay shipping for finished product to my location and a reasonable fee or trade for labor. Anyone? ...Taking bids, PM or email with offer.

Well, I was a little dissapointed that none of the protetestors took me up on the offer. Apparently it's difficult to find extra work when all your free time is already devoted to protesting, or maybe things aren't really as bad as they'd like you to think it is, or maybe they thought the work was beneath them, who knows?

I am happy to report that I got good responses from our fellow tsp'ers though. It looks like one of us may get repaid on a persoal loan with sewing equipment, allowing that person to use the bartered tools for fair value immediately and possibly extra income later, and I get a set of custom curtains that will last without having to go pay tribute to the people's republic of cheap imported rollback crap. Kind of a win-win-win type thing.

Unfortunately, I think we just proved the old adage true: the rich just keep getting richer. And the poor protestors, being so busy protesting and all, were cheated out of another opportunity they weren't really looking for and unwilling to earn.

That capitalism is tricky stuff, almost frightening in it's simplicity and efficiency. I bet if you type the word into a free online thesaraus it will return something like 'individual initiative' or equivalent.

 

[burrocrat]

When the top1% hordes the "meat" and flaunts it in the face of the masses, the masses in the end will take your advice and go for red meat.

Its happened several times in modern history.

1) France 1789.
2) Russia in 1917.
3) Cuba in the 1950's.
4) USA 201? ????

Those who do not heed the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them -George Santayana

Well if 100% of us are part of the 99% then that prospect may not be so frightening. Rest assured if something is broken it will get fixed. Or else maybe it doesn't and this old earth machine quits turning.

Let's hope we can all put our heads together and figure it out before things revert to the mean.

 

[Boghie]

Hey,

Has anyone read the links James provided...

James, why didn't you link to 'Noam Chomsky Announces Solidarity With #occupywallstreet'? I mean, I now want to fly out there and protest somewhere. Noam Chomsky is my hero.

And, let us not forget to link to tha 'Call of Solidarity for Comrades Held in Van Outside 1st Precinct'. The nicest thing about that message is that they reference the IWW. The Industrial Workers of the World are a very colorful lot. I love their logo. Red is my favorite color!!!

By the way, if your family grosses $100K your in the Top 10% of wage earners in America. There ain't that much difference between ranting about the Top 1% and the Top 10%. I mean, 90% make less than many of us!!! I'm certain the protesters aren't making any bank - I don't think they are getting paid...

 

[inyadreems]

Whining malcontents who have no actual notion of what it is to live in the real world and actually work. Fed nonsense by their idiot professors, their "vision" of a new world is pathetically deluded. Laws don't apply to them and civility is not in their repertoire. Welcome to the future of our nation.

BTW you cannot march or protest in the streets of NYC w/o a permit which the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters did not have. Second it is against the law to obstruct the flow of traffic, which the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters did. Third when ordered to disperse you must do so, otherwise Police are allowed to use tactics/techniques to make you comply and then you will be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. If the protestors knew they needed a permit, why didn't they legally obtain it? If the protestors knew they would be arrested when ordered to disperse, why didn't they do so?

Answers in first paragraph.

 

[James48843]

...By the way, if your family grosses $100K your in the Top 10% of wage earners in America. There ain't that much difference between ranting about the Top 1% and the Top 10%. I mean, 90% make less than many of us!!! I'm certain the protesters aren't making any bank - I don't think they are getting paid...

There is an incredible difference between the 90% percentile, heck, even the 95% percentile, and the top 1%. It's called the L-Curve.

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

There is an incredible difference between the 90% percentile, heck, even the 95% percentile, and the top 1%. It's called the L-Curve.

James, it almost made me cry... I am still trying to get to the 99 yard line... but at least I am trying

The reason its not reported is no one wants to see mikey gimmeMoore's fat-engorged hypocritical puss in their living room. Talk about a capatilist pig. Mikey is only in the game for personal gain.

Thought you might like this:

Ask how come, if liberals are so keen on equality and fairness, they're so much more money-grubbing than conservatives.
According to both the World Values Survey and the General Social Survey, left wingers are more likely to rate "high income" as an important factor in choosing a job, more likely to say "after good health, money is the most important thing," and agree with the statement "there are no right or wrong ways to make money." This was confirmed by Doug Urbanski, former business manager of libtard documentary-maker Michael Moore, who said: "He is more money obsessed than anyone I have known—and that’s saying a lot."

 

[Viva_La_Migra]

When the top1% hordes the "meat" and flaunts it in the face of the masses, the masses in the end will take your advice and go for red meat.

Its happened several times in modern history.

1) France 1789.
2) Russia in 1917.
3) Cuba in the 1950's.
4) USA 201? ????

Those who do not heed the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them -George Santayana

Seditionist.:suspicious:

 

[Silverbird]

If less than 10K people show up, it doesn't count. This only proves putting it on Facebook isn't enough to stir up an instant Revolution.

 

[SteelSaving]

Whining malcontents who have no actual notion of what it is to live in the real world and actually work. Fed nonsense by their idiot professors, their "vision" of a new world is pathetically deluded. Laws don't apply to them and civility is not in their repertoire. Welcome to the future of our nation.

BTW you cannot march or protest in the streets of NYC w/o a permit which the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters did not have. Second it is against the law to obstruct the flow of traffic, which the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters did. Third when ordered to disperse you must do so, otherwise Police are allowed to use tactics/techniques to make you comply and then you will be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. If the protestors knew they needed a permit, why didn't they legally obtain it? If the protestors knew they would be arrested when ordered to disperse, why didn't they do so?

Answers in first paragraph.

The reason is, because then there wouldn't be pictures of the poor children being arrested on the ground with looks of fear across their faces. A picture can tell a lot... some of it might even be true.

 

[FAB1]

Good ol mikey GimmeMoore. He leads the protesters straight to the battlefield but when the Cops start bustin heads ...ITS the old monty python...Run Away!!! Lol. His fat self never gets billyclubbed. Mikey probably has hired hands all around to protect his Jabba the Hut carcass. Lol

 

[SteelSaving]

Moore is rich enough to have lawyers on retainer. Methinks he isn't offering to pay for the kids' legal council.

 

[Buster]

Not impressed..sorta like Hugo paying for people's heating oil bills...


"Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer"