Hundreds of protesters in the Occupy Wall Street movement are swarming midtown Manhattan for what they call a "Millionaires March" that is passing the homes of New York City's wealthiest residents, including News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and oil tycoon David Koch.
Protesters expressed concern about how much less the wealthy will pay -- and who would be negatively affected -- when New York's 2 percent "millionaires' tax" expires in December.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, isn’t likely to join the movement any time soon.
Rendell says the protesters, who have launched demonstrations across the country, need to “get on with your lives.”
“Look, I don’t agree with their message,” he told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham on Monday. “I mean the guys in Philadelphia said they’re going to be here all winter. Well, that’s silly. You’ve made your point, you’ve gotten about all the publicity you’re going to get.”
“Now get on with your lives and if you really care about this stuff, organize at the ballot box,” he said. “You know, we can scream about the Tea Party, but the Tea Party folks understood how to make change in 2010. They got out and voted.”
I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." - Henry Ford
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges; When the Republic is at its most corrupt the laws are most numerous. - Publius Cornelius Tacitus
The point is only beginning to be "made"... I rather imagine the 1%'ers are starting to get very nervous... Right now the OWS folks are going through the same anger stage the TP did, and then soon it will turn to organization and getting out THEIR vote... It ain't over.
I'm going to agree with LJ on this one, it's far from over, and I think they may become a powerful group in the coming elections. They have a strong message, good statistics, and the rallying cause of a lot of upset people behind them. There is a vast amount of anger directed at the "haves" in our society.
Right or wrong, those who feel slighted are starting to band together. If we're actually wondering what class warfare in America will eventually look like, we're watching it today, right now, right on the cusp. From this point forward, with the help of the internet and social media in general, we'll see more of this, and in my opinion, it will only grow.
Now, I should say, I don't agree with all of what OWS is saying, because quite honestly I was told when I was little that "life isn't fair", but I will admit that watching a guy drive his Bentley into Denver the other day... I did feel that little pang of jealousy. Did I think I was entitled to his Bentley, well... no. But at the same time, if I were jobless, unemployed, homeless, or without financial hope... I can see how easily anyone could be pursuaded to jump from a little bit of jealousy to a feeling like for some reason I should be doing better, and that it must be a conspiracy to keep the working-man down, and me unemployed/disheartened,etc..
Change is coming, the world is changing, and as more and more begin to believe in the government when it comes to their fiscal viability, the government will put more and more pressure on the wealthy to bear the burden of those who are not as viable.
It is extremely unfortunate that life is not fair (Karma sometimes seems to miss people... I have a few from my past I wouldn't mind getting hit by a little of what they gave me...), but it's not. The best they can try to do is legislate the fairness they want through social legislation. It's coming, expect it, get ready.
My uncle visited the Portland OWS site this week and said it was disgusting. Denver will probably need to bleach and steam clean the Denver site once these people go home.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Gandhi once said of growing movements of social protestation, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." The trajectory of the ever-evolving and growing Occupy Wall Street movement follows the same pattern almost to a "T," with slight variation.
Anyone who still thinks the 'Occupy Wall Street' protests are some kind of fluke, an exercise in ego inflation by spoiled college kids and aging hippies, needs to go back to bed. This thing is very much for real, is very large, and is growing exponentially. Similar protests have sprung up in dozens of cities all across the country, and with an 'Occupy the London Stock Exchange' action set to take place on Saturday, the movement is poised to become an international affair.
Another delicate moment looms for the movement, one you can file under "With Friends Like These..." Yes, everyone can relax, because the Democratic Party is coming to the hoedown. The very politicians whose inactivity and collusion regarding Wall Street excesses made this movement necessary in the first place have licked their finger, put it to the wind, and decided it is safe to come out and play:
Howls of outrage and disgust from OWS activists and supporters could be heard all up and down the Eastern seaboard when word reached them of their new prospective allies. No, no, and hell no, went the refrain. These are the same politicians who line the pockets of the very people being protested, and now all of a sudden they want to join the struggle? The OWS movement is protesting the Democrats as much as it protesting against the rest of the crooked institutional theft machine that shattered the economy in the first place.
There is a decision to be made here. Does the OWS movement issue a "Thanks But No Thanks" response to the Democrats' sudden interest, or do they open their arms and welcome the Party to the party under the auspices of "The More The Merrier"?
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
Gandhi once said of growing movements of social protestation, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." The trajectory of the ever-evolving and growing Occupy Wall Street movement follows the same pattern almost to a "T," with slight variation.
In order for them to "win", they first need to have an coherent objective. If they just continue to scream and make a mess, people will just get tired of it all and start getting turned off. IMO
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
Gandhi once said of growing movements of social protestation, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." The trajectory of the ever-evolving and growing Occupy Wall Street movement follows the same pattern almost to a "T," with slight variation.
In order for them to "win", they first need to have an coherent objective. If they just continue to scream and make a mess, people will just get tired of it all and start getting turned off. IMO
CB....that is what we thought about the Tea Party with their cut cut cut spending (but no clear objective of what and how much) and their no no no no to everything both the Democrats and the Republicans were doing (to the point they wanted to bring our government to a halt, and damn the consequences). I think people are getting tired of it, and their influence will wane, IMHO. The Tea Party members may be better dressed, have more professional signs, (although I never did see tea bags hanging from straw hats as particularly professional) and the certainly have big money backers, but the OWS has the hearts of the little guy behind them, and there is strength in numbers, even if those numbers represent people and not dollars.
Gandhi once said of growing movements of social protestation, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." The trajectory of the ever-evolving and growing Occupy Wall Street movement follows the same pattern almost to a "T," with slight variation.
In order for them to "win", they first need to have an coherent objective. If they just continue to scream and make a mess, people will just get tired of it all and start getting turned off. IMO
CB....that is what we thought about the Tea Party with their cut cut cut spending (but no clear objective of what and how much) and their no no no no to everything both the Democrats and the Republicans were doing (to the point they wanted to bring our government to a halt, and damn the consequences). I think people are getting tired of it, and their influence will wane, IMHO. The Tea Party members may be better dressed, have more professional signs, (although I never did see tea bags hanging from straw hats as particularly professional) and the certainly have big money backers, but the OWS has the hearts of the little guy behind them, and there is strength in numbers, even if those numbers represent people and not dollars.
You completely bypassed my point...what's their objective? If they could "fix" the problem, what would that fix look like?
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
Gandhi once said of growing movements of social protestation, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." The trajectory of the ever-evolving and growing Occupy Wall Street movement follows the same pattern almost to a "T," with slight variation.
In order for them to "win", they first need to have an coherent objective. If they just continue to scream and make a mess, people will just get tired of it all and start getting turned off. IMO
CB....that is what we thought about the Tea Party with their cut cut cut spending (but no clear objective of what and how much) and their no no no no to everything both the Democrats and the Republicans were doing (to the point they wanted to bring our government to a halt, and damn the consequences). I think people are getting tired of it, and their influence will wane, IMHO. The Tea Party members may be better dressed, have more professional signs, (although I never did see tea bags hanging from straw hats as particularly professional) and the certainly have big money backers, but the OWS has the hearts of the little guy behind them, and there is strength in numbers, even if those numbers represent people and not dollars.
You completely bypassed my point...what's their objective? If they could "fix" the problem, what would that fix look like?
No, I explained that like the Tea Party, they really have no clear cut objective, other than to say what we have now isn't working. Sure they published a list of demands, and they are as pie in the sky as the Tea Party's demands. IMO
