The 99%

Occupy Wall Street moves into its third week.  Have you been shrugging it off? Complains about the lack of a coherent message have plagued the movement. Yet, one Tumblr blog consisting of people speaking of their struggles and nearly all ending with the rallying cry I AM THE 99% is capturing the hearts of both pundits and the public. Read a few posts and see if the day to day struggle of real people doesn’t touch your heart whether you would consider yourself liberal or conservative.

Attached to the photo above is the post:

I’d never been unemployed, until the company I worked for tanked a month ago. Up until then, I was living paycheck to paycheck, sharing a small apartment with my elderly, unemployed mother, making just enough to pay rent, grocery bills and medical insurance.

Now we have no jobs, no savings, no health care and no furniture in our apartment; we sold almost everything we had to pay for food and rent. We both have extensive medical problems and are wondering how we’re going to pay for the medications we need to keep functioning.

I don’t want sympathy, or handouts. I want a job, affordable rent and the restoration of the “American Dream.”

I AM THE 99%!!!

 

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Uti
Guest
Uti
12 years ago

The lack of a cohesive message is a good sign to me. It is indicative of the widespread decay caused by the greedy that has reached into all social strata.

Uti
Guest
Uti
12 years ago

The lack of a cohesive message is a good sign to me. It is indicative of the widespread decay caused by the greedy that has reached into all social strata.

Joe Blow
Guest
12 years ago

Remember what I said about what was happening in this world when the so-called Arab Spring started? Probably not. Well, it’s here just like I said it would be. American demonstrators haven’t yet figured out yet that all they’re going to get for asking (“All I want …”) is beaten and jailed.

Joe Blow
Guest
12 years ago

Remember what I said about what was happening in this world when the so-called Arab Spring started? Probably not. Well, it’s here just like I said it would be. American demonstrators haven’t yet figured out yet that all they’re going to get for asking (“All I want …”) is beaten and jailed.

Joe Blow
Guest
12 years ago

It’s not the “wide-spread decay” caused by “greed.” The decay is caused by a particular way of thinking that’s lead to total lawless corruption. “So much evidence, there’s no need to show it” – This article defines this reality fairly succinctly.

Joe Blow
Guest
12 years ago

It’s not the “wide-spread decay” caused by “greed.” The decay is caused by a particular way of thinking that’s lead to total lawless corruption. “So much evidence, there’s no need to show it” – This article defines this reality fairly succinctly.

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago

Speaking of the 99% and the 1%, check out these three charts:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/how-obamas-tax-hikes-will-really-impact-the-rich-in-three-easy-charts/2011/03/03/gIQAmbbLIL_blog.html

These three charts illustrate both (1) how huge the average after-tax income of the top 1% is, and (2) how little they are being asked to sacrifice even if the current proposals to raise their taxes were to pass.

Of course these facts will not stop the super-rich from squealing like stuck pigs…but knowing the facts does make it easier for those of us in the 99% to realize just how ridiculous that squealing is.

Tracy
Guest
Tracy
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

Thanks for the link Tra. It is an easy way to SEE the numbers!

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago
Reply to  Tracy

My pleasure. Glad someone you found them useful!

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago

Speaking of the 99% and the 1%, check out these three charts:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/how-obamas-tax-hikes-will-really-impact-the-rich-in-three-easy-charts/2011/03/03/gIQAmbbLIL_blog.html

These three charts illustrate both (1) how huge the average after-tax income of the top 1% is, and (2) how little they are being asked to sacrifice even if the current proposals to raise their taxes were to pass.

Of course these facts will not stop the super-rich from squealing like stuck pigs…but knowing the facts does make it easier for those of us in the 99% to realize just how ridiculous that squealing is.

Tracy
Guest
Tracy
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

Thanks for the link Tra. It is an easy way to SEE the numbers!

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago
Reply to  Tracy

My pleasure. Glad someone you found them useful!

G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
Guest
G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
12 years ago

This is such an important topic. Maybe one of the most important. For America it is THE topic. I’m so very glad it has come up here. Write in people and tell each other what you think.

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago

And here are four easy-to-understand charts that demonstrate the outcome of decades of “class warfare” (waged by the super-wealthy against the rest of us):

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/03/334156/top-five-wealthiest-one-percent/

According to the last chart:

From 1960-1969, about 10% the nation’s income gains went to the top 1%, while about 65% of the nation’s income gains went to the bottom 90%.

From 2002-2007, about 64% of the nation’s income gains went to the top 1% and only about 12% of the nation’s income gains went to the bottom 90%.

The only other time period in American history that had a comparable level of disparity was in the decade leading up to the Great Depression (when the top 1% were pulling in 70% of the nation’s income gains).

Brings to mind this oldie-but-goodie:

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

– George Santayana

Scob Do
Guest
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

Tra , show me the stats for your figures. the 64 % to the 1 % at the top. Where did you get that ?

Scob Do
Guest
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

I just went to the link you provided. That has been debunked already. That site
Think Progressive is a Liberal, Socialist propaganda site. Not useful for real facts.

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago
Reply to  Scob Do

Dig a little deeper, Scob Do. Those charts summarize the findings of a pair of economists, Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, and are based on data from the IRS.

For details on their methods, see Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, “Income Inequality in the United States: 1913-1998,” Quarterly Journal of Economics [Oxford University], February 2003 or, for a less technical summary, see http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2007.pdf.

But maybe Income Inequality Denialism is like Climate Change Denialism and the willfully ignorant will use any excuse to ignore the facts and try to pretend that the rich aren’t getting richer faster, while leaving the middle and the poor farther and farther behind. I guess that’s worked pretty well for a few decades so far, but I’m not sure how much longer that charade can last.

Tracy
Guest
Tracy
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

Thanks again for another set of clear graphics, Tra!…Let’s all hit Occupy SF sometime soon!

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago
Reply to  Tracy

And again, you’re quite welcome.

Scob Do
Guest
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

My beef with this issue is the blindness on the 99% side. Why do the people think there is only a finite amount of wealth ? for example a apple pie. They assume the 1%
have more slices than the others. So they want the 1% to give up their slices to them to even it out. But wealth is not finite. Everybody can have wealth if they work for it. You want your neighbor to have wealth so you can learn and do what he does. Wealth is infinite. it is created everytime you do labor. What we have now is increasingly higher taxes on work and we subsidize non-work. Does this sound right to you ?
Those stats you use, listen to the language ” Inequality of income ” No , it is just different . Why does everything in life have to be equal ? Then you throw in Climate Change into the mix. using words like Denialism, Like people who do not agree with you have some mental condition. I hope your not working on the school board

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago

And here are four easy-to-understand charts that demonstrate the outcome of decades of “class warfare” (waged by the super-wealthy against the rest of us):

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/03/334156/top-five-wealthiest-one-percent/

According to the last chart:

From 1960-1969, about 10% the nation’s income gains went to the top 1%, while about 65% of the nation’s income gains went to the bottom 90%.

From 2002-2007, about 64% of the nation’s income gains went to the top 1% and only about 12% of the nation’s income gains went to the bottom 90%.

The only other time period in American history that had a comparable level of disparity was in the decade leading up to the Great Depression (when the top 1% were pulling in 70% of the nation’s income gains).

Brings to mind this oldie-but-goodie:

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

– George Santayana

Scob Do
Guest
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

Tra , show me the stats for your figures. the 64 % to the 1 % at the top. Where did you get that ?

Scob Do
Guest
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

I just went to the link you provided. That has been debunked already. That site
Think Progressive is a Liberal, Socialist propaganda site. Not useful for real facts.

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago
Reply to  Scob Do

Dig a little deeper, Scob Do. Those charts summarize the findings of a pair of economists, Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, and are based on data from the IRS.

For details on their methods, see Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, “Income Inequality in the United States: 1913-1998,” Quarterly Journal of Economics [Oxford University], February 2003 or, for a less technical summary, see http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2007.pdf.

But maybe Income Inequality Denialism is like Climate Change Denialism and the willfully ignorant will use any excuse to ignore the facts and try to pretend that the rich aren’t getting richer faster, while leaving the middle and the poor farther and farther behind. I guess that’s worked pretty well for a few decades so far, but I’m not sure how much longer that charade can last.

Tracy
Guest
Tracy
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

Thanks again for another set of clear graphics, Tra!…Let’s all hit Occupy SF sometime soon!

tra
Guest
tra
12 years ago
Reply to  Tracy

And again, you’re quite welcome.

Scob Do
Guest
12 years ago
Reply to  tra

My beef with this issue is the blindness on the 99% side. Why do the people think there is only a finite amount of wealth ? for example a apple pie. They assume the 1%
have more slices than the others. So they want the 1% to give up their slices to them to even it out. But wealth is not finite. Everybody can have wealth if they work for it. You want your neighbor to have wealth so you can learn and do what he does. Wealth is infinite. it is created everytime you do labor. What we have now is increasingly higher taxes on work and we subsidize non-work. Does this sound right to you ?
Those stats you use, listen to the language ” Inequality of income ” No , it is just different . Why does everything in life have to be equal ? Then you throw in Climate Change into the mix. using words like Denialism, Like people who do not agree with you have some mental condition. I hope your not working on the school board

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago

THESE young NYC folks are organized, wired in, and in this for the long haul.

They’re between committed, dedicated, and thoroughly irritated– in 99% unity. I don’t think this is going away anytime soon. Especially if the widening rift between the Haves and Have-nots deepens further.

THE Occupy Wall Street General Assembly meeting is held twice a day, coordinating the Legal, Direct Action, Internet, Media, Food Kitchen, Arts and Culture, Donations and Supplies, Sanitation, Medical, Outreach, Tactical, and Town Hall working groups. I don’t know how long the protesting will last– but the events calendar extends beyond June 2013.

2013? Can this be even remotely realistic?

TAKE a look at their New York General Assembly website to see what this it’s all about: the coordination, working groups, videos, and, of course, their meeting minutes for any given day. Or, glance at their other site, OccupyWallSt.org for updates and information like the sending of money orders and food, here:

MAIL
The UPS Store
Re: Occupy Wall Street
118A Fulton St. #205
New York, NY 10038
Money orders only please, cannot cash checks yet. Non-perishable goods only. We can accept packages of any size. We’re currently low on food.

THIS Occupy Wall Street protest has the potential of being nothing short of prolonged and amazing depending on how the economy, the anger— and the weather– hold out.

ONE can argue that they don’t have solutions or focused ‘demands’ other than outrage. They are, however, pointing the 99% finger squarely at both inequality and Wall Street while corporations, Democrats, Republicans, the Tea Party, and the uber-wealthy have been conveniently looking the other way. I’ll toss Sarah Palin in there, too.

G.I.B.
Guest
G.I.B.
12 years ago
Reply to  skippy

The Tea Party too? According to their charter, they’re sympathetic to the 99 % club.

The Tea Party is an independent nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to restoring America’s government at all levels—federal, state, and local—to one that is fiscally responsible, allows free market economics, and is constrained by the limits of our constitution. We are people of all colors, creeds, and socioeconomic levels. We are the spiritual heirs of the American patriots who filled Boston’s harbor with tea in 1773 in response to government tyranny. We are the Tea Party Patriots.

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago
Reply to  G.I.B.

My apologies, G.I.B., if untrue. I’ve never seen the Tea Party a/o affiliated politicians address this issue and Wall Street’s influence– or as some have noted– the corruption, greed, and the widening inequality at hand the 99%ers have been pointing out.

G.I.B.
Guest
G.I.B.
12 years ago
Reply to  skippy

Skippy…Wall Street coruption and greed was discussed at the last Tea Party I attended. They want all entrenched, corrupt, incumbants out. If the two groups get together they might find more common ground than they realize.

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago

THESE young NYC folks are organized, wired in, and in this for the long haul.

They’re between committed, dedicated, and thoroughly irritated– in 99% unity. I don’t think this is going away anytime soon. Especially if the widening rift between the Haves and Have-nots deepens further.

THE Occupy Wall Street General Assembly meeting is held twice a day, coordinating the Legal, Direct Action, Internet, Media, Food Kitchen, Arts and Culture, Donations and Supplies, Sanitation, Medical, Outreach, Tactical, and Town Hall working groups. I don’t know how long the protesting will last– but the events calendar extends beyond June 2013.

2013? Can this be even remotely realistic?

TAKE a look at their New York General Assembly website to see what this it’s all about: the coordination, working groups, videos, and, of course, their meeting minutes for any given day. Or, glance at their other site, OccupyWallSt.org for updates and information like the sending of money orders and food, here:

MAIL
The UPS Store
Re: Occupy Wall Street
118A Fulton St. #205
New York, NY 10038
Money orders only please, cannot cash checks yet. Non-perishable goods only. We can accept packages of any size. We’re currently low on food.

THIS Occupy Wall Street protest has the potential of being nothing short of prolonged and amazing depending on how the economy, the anger— and the weather– hold out.

ONE can argue that they don’t have solutions or focused ‘demands’ other than outrage. They are, however, pointing the 99% finger squarely at both inequality and Wall Street while corporations, Democrats, Republicans, the Tea Party, and the uber-wealthy have been conveniently looking the other way. I’ll toss Sarah Palin in there, too.

G.I.B.
Guest
G.I.B.
12 years ago
Reply to  skippy

The Tea Party too? According to their charter, they’re sympathetic to the 99 % club.

The Tea Party is an independent nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to restoring America’s government at all levels—federal, state, and local—to one that is fiscally responsible, allows free market economics, and is constrained by the limits of our constitution. We are people of all colors, creeds, and socioeconomic levels. We are the spiritual heirs of the American patriots who filled Boston’s harbor with tea in 1773 in response to government tyranny. We are the Tea Party Patriots.

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago
Reply to  G.I.B.

My apologies, G.I.B., if untrue. I’ve never seen the Tea Party a/o affiliated politicians address this issue and Wall Street’s influence– or as some have noted– the corruption, greed, and the widening inequality at hand the 99%ers have been pointing out.

G.I.B.
Guest
G.I.B.
12 years ago
Reply to  skippy

Skippy…Wall Street coruption and greed was discussed at the last Tea Party I attended. They want all entrenched, corrupt, incumbants out. If the two groups get together they might find more common ground than they realize.

Eugene
Guest
Eugene
12 years ago

Glad to see the 99%ers. I hope they turn their attention to the D.C. Sewer too.

Eugene
Guest
Eugene
12 years ago

Glad to see the 99%ers. I hope they turn their attention to the D.C. Sewer too.

Scob Do
Guest
12 years ago

The children at the Wall St. protest and their older handlers want the Federal Government to mandate sharing the wealth.
Look , if you put the Federal Government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there would be a shortage of sand.
You talk about the 1 % , When is it true that political self-interest is somehow more nobler than economic self-interest ?
So these young people and their older handlers, want the government to protect them as consumers, more urgent is the problem of protecting them from their own Government .

Scob Do
Guest
12 years ago

The children at the Wall St. protest and their older handlers want the Federal Government to mandate sharing the wealth.
Look , if you put the Federal Government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there would be a shortage of sand.
You talk about the 1 % , When is it true that political self-interest is somehow more nobler than economic self-interest ?
So these young people and their older handlers, want the government to protect them as consumers, more urgent is the problem of protecting them from their own Government .

Elk Ridge
Guest
Elk Ridge
12 years ago

Wall Street dreamed up a method where unsecured real estate loans were allowed to be packaged as investments and traded and the rest was history. The bubbble was just that and the collapse of the market trickled down to everything resulting in trickle up poverty. Then the bailouts came from important levels of corruption of the US Govt. to reward ceo’s and hide failures and missing investor monies. At the same time, China has been engaged in massive stealing and copying of patent technology and the wholesale destruction of U.S. manufacturing by greedy companies having Chinese companies manufature their goods for pennies on the dollar while charging the same prices for the goods here. The trademarks that were American legends were sold off to greed and corruption and the goods made in China with a resulting drop in quality at unbeliveable levels. If all trade agreements can be cancelled they should be, and we need to start over with tariff protection of U.S. manufacturing and at least 20% taxes on imported goods. If we can’t keep our jobs here, then what was the middle class is doomed to disappear within a few years.

Elk Ridge
Guest
Elk Ridge
12 years ago

Wall Street dreamed up a method where unsecured real estate loans were allowed to be packaged as investments and traded and the rest was history. The bubbble was just that and the collapse of the market trickled down to everything resulting in trickle up poverty. Then the bailouts came from important levels of corruption of the US Govt. to reward ceo’s and hide failures and missing investor monies. At the same time, China has been engaged in massive stealing and copying of patent technology and the wholesale destruction of U.S. manufacturing by greedy companies having Chinese companies manufature their goods for pennies on the dollar while charging the same prices for the goods here. The trademarks that were American legends were sold off to greed and corruption and the goods made in China with a resulting drop in quality at unbeliveable levels. If all trade agreements can be cancelled they should be, and we need to start over with tariff protection of U.S. manufacturing and at least 20% taxes on imported goods. If we can’t keep our jobs here, then what was the middle class is doomed to disappear within a few years.

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago

AN UPDATE

YOU won’t find much about the protests in the mainstream media news, some of whom were characterizing the protesters as “young and misguided,” “unclear and unfocused,” “dirty and unkempt,” and “behaving like spoiled brats.” Some working on Wall Street were quoted as saying they were “confused” by the protesters’ intentions or direction.

LET’S see what happens Wednesday, October 5th, during the Occupy Wall Street protests. Despite the negative portrayals, here’s what’s on tap:

THE 4:30 p.m. march from City Hall to Wall Street is expected to be the biggest and largest march of all. Several unions have endorsed their support marching for the cause Wednesday: the New York United Federation of Teachers with a membership of 200,000; the New York Amalgamated Transit Union having 20,000 members; and the Transport Workers Union Local 100.

ADDITIONALLY, 2,231 other individuals have signed up to march with the participating labor and community organizations that include the Coalition for the Homeless, Working Families Party, MoveOn.org, The Job Party, Communication Workers of America, United Auto Workers, Writers Guild East, Greater NYC for Change, and many more.

JOHN Samuelsen, president of the local transit workers union, filed for a federal injunction to stop the city and NYPD from commandeering city buses to transport arrested protesters. The injunction, however, was denied by a Federal District judge several hours ago.

SIMILAR demonstrations are popping up in Boston, Atlanta, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and… well, Boise? Meanwhile, activists have begun organizing outside the U.S.in Prague, Frankfurt, Toronto, Melbourne, Tokyo, and Cork, Ireland. More than 1,000 people signed up to march on the London Stock Exchange this Saturday.

TWICE a day, the New York Occupy Wall Street movement is getting so much mail that protesters had to designate an official “mailman.” Well-wishers and kindred spirits from across the country have been sending cardboard boxes bearing food, medical supplies, clothes and blankets to the masses who have been camped out since Sept. 14. The encampment now feeds and shelters hundreds of people each day and has a kitchen, a library, zones for first aid and sleeping – not to mention a committee putting out the trash. It’s reported the occupiers have plenty of food– but supplies such as sleeping bags are running low.

WEDNESDAY’S march has the potential to be massive. Another day, another protest?

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago

AN UPDATE

YOU won’t find much about the protests in the mainstream media news, some of whom were characterizing the protesters as “young and misguided,” “unclear and unfocused,” “dirty and unkempt,” and “behaving like spoiled brats.” Some working on Wall Street were quoted as saying they were “confused” by the protesters’ intentions or direction.

LET’S see what happens Wednesday, October 5th, during the Occupy Wall Street protests. Despite the negative portrayals, here’s what’s on tap:

THE 4:30 p.m. march from City Hall to Wall Street is expected to be the biggest and largest march of all. Several unions have endorsed their support marching for the cause Wednesday: the New York United Federation of Teachers with a membership of 200,000; the New York Amalgamated Transit Union having 20,000 members; and the Transport Workers Union Local 100.

ADDITIONALLY, 2,231 other individuals have signed up to march with the participating labor and community organizations that include the Coalition for the Homeless, Working Families Party, MoveOn.org, The Job Party, Communication Workers of America, United Auto Workers, Writers Guild East, Greater NYC for Change, and many more.

JOHN Samuelsen, president of the local transit workers union, filed for a federal injunction to stop the city and NYPD from commandeering city buses to transport arrested protesters. The injunction, however, was denied by a Federal District judge several hours ago.

SIMILAR demonstrations are popping up in Boston, Atlanta, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and… well, Boise? Meanwhile, activists have begun organizing outside the U.S.in Prague, Frankfurt, Toronto, Melbourne, Tokyo, and Cork, Ireland. More than 1,000 people signed up to march on the London Stock Exchange this Saturday.

TWICE a day, the New York Occupy Wall Street movement is getting so much mail that protesters had to designate an official “mailman.” Well-wishers and kindred spirits from across the country have been sending cardboard boxes bearing food, medical supplies, clothes and blankets to the masses who have been camped out since Sept. 14. The encampment now feeds and shelters hundreds of people each day and has a kitchen, a library, zones for first aid and sleeping – not to mention a committee putting out the trash. It’s reported the occupiers have plenty of food– but supplies such as sleeping bags are running low.

WEDNESDAY’S march has the potential to be massive. Another day, another protest?

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago

This just in… I think today’s march is gonna be big, folks

“On October 05, 2011, at 3:00 in the afternoon the residents of Liberty Square will gather to join their union brothers and sisters in solidarity and march. At 4:30 in the afternoon the 99% will march in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street from Foley Square to the Financial District, where their pensions have disappeared to, where their health has disappeared NY
to. Together we will protest this great injustice. We stand in solidarity with the honest workers of:
(a long list… skip it if you like, folks)

• AFL-CIO (AFSCME)
• United• Strong Economy for All Coalition
• Working Families Party
• TWU Local 100
• SEIU 1199
• CWA 1109
• RWDSU
• Communications Workers of America
• CWA Local 1180
• United Auto Workers
• United Federation of Teachers
• Professional Staff Congress – CUNY
• National Nurses United
• Writers Guild East
• VOCAL-NY
• Community Voices Heard
• Alliance for Quality Education
• New York Communities for Change
• Coalition for the Homeless
• Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP)
• The Job Party
• NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
• The Mirabal Sisters Cultural and Community Center
• The New Deal for New York Campaign
• National People’s Action
• ALIGN
• Human Services Council
• Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State
• Citizen Action of NY
• MoveOn.org
• Common Cause NY
• New Bottom Line
• 350.org
• Tenants & Neighbors
• Democracy for NYC
• Resource Generation
• Tenants PAC
• Teachers Unite

“Together we will voice our belief that the American dream will live again, that the American way is to help one another succeed. Our voice, our values, will be heard.”

…It seems like they gotta whole lotta peeps going on here…

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago

This just in… I think today’s march is gonna be big, folks

“On October 05, 2011, at 3:00 in the afternoon the residents of Liberty Square will gather to join their union brothers and sisters in solidarity and march. At 4:30 in the afternoon the 99% will march in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street from Foley Square to the Financial District, where their pensions have disappeared to, where their health has disappeared NY
to. Together we will protest this great injustice. We stand in solidarity with the honest workers of:
(a long list… skip it if you like, folks)

• AFL-CIO (AFSCME)
• United• Strong Economy for All Coalition
• Working Families Party
• TWU Local 100
• SEIU 1199
• CWA 1109
• RWDSU
• Communications Workers of America
• CWA Local 1180
• United Auto Workers
• United Federation of Teachers
• Professional Staff Congress – CUNY
• National Nurses United
• Writers Guild East
• VOCAL-NY
• Community Voices Heard
• Alliance for Quality Education
• New York Communities for Change
• Coalition for the Homeless
• Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP)
• The Job Party
• NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
• The Mirabal Sisters Cultural and Community Center
• The New Deal for New York Campaign
• National People’s Action
• ALIGN
• Human Services Council
• Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State
• Citizen Action of NY
• MoveOn.org
• Common Cause NY
• New Bottom Line
• 350.org
• Tenants & Neighbors
• Democracy for NYC
• Resource Generation
• Tenants PAC
• Teachers Unite

“Together we will voice our belief that the American dream will live again, that the American way is to help one another succeed. Our voice, our values, will be heard.”

…It seems like they gotta whole lotta peeps going on here…

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago

How do we make sense out of all of this?

We’re witnessing America’s first true Internet-era movement. The mainstream media seem determined in casting these folks as a random, silly blather of an ungrateful and lazy generation of weirdos. As journalists have pointed out, kids are criticizing corporate America while tweeting through their iPhones.

ARE they Communists? Anarchists? The unemployed? Union workers? College graduates left hanging without jobs, saddled in debt? The ‘99%’? Those showing up just for the fun and camaraderie? All of the above— and more.

WHILE the Tea Party movement originated from the ‘right,’ this movement centers more from the left. Their common denominator is of being disenfranchised while demanding accountability. Unlike civil rights protests, labor marches, or political campaigns, this one doesn’t take its cue from a charismatic leader, express itself in bumper-sticker-length goals, nor understand itself as having a particular endpoint. It’s not a traditional protest– or narrative arc– as we’ve seen in the past.

AS one protester explained, “As far as seeing it end, I wouldn’t like to see it end. I would like to see the conversation continue.

YES, there are a wide array of complaints, demands, and goals from the occupiers: the collapsing environment, labor standards, housing policy, government corruption, World Bank lending practices, unemployment, increasing wealth disparity, corporate excess and bailouts, and so on. Are they ready to articulate exactly what that problem is and how to address it? No, not yet. But neither are the Congress, the President, corporate America and Wall Street.

ANYONE who says they have no idea what these folks are protesting is not being fully truthful. Whether we agree with them or not, we all know what they’re upset about. Occupy Wall Street is a social movement spreading through contagion, creating as many questions as it answers, and aiming to force a reconsideration of the way the nation does business. Yes, it’s as unwieldy, paradoxical, and inconsistent as those of us living in the real world. Precisely. This movement is merely pointing the way.

And we watch it because it offers hope to those of us who previously felt alone in our belief that the current economic system is broken.

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  skippy

Well said, Skippy.

skippy
Guest
skippy
12 years ago

How do we make sense out of all of this?

We’re witnessing America’s first true Internet-era movement. The mainstream media seem determined in casting these folks as a random, silly blather of an ungrateful and lazy generation of weirdos. As journalists have pointed out, kids are criticizing corporate America while tweeting through their iPhones.

ARE they Communists? Anarchists? The unemployed? Union workers? College graduates left hanging without jobs, saddled in debt? The ‘99%’? Those showing up just for the fun and camaraderie? All of the above— and more.

WHILE the Tea Party movement originated from the ‘right,’ this movement centers more from the left. Their common denominator is of being disenfranchised while demanding accountability. Unlike civil rights protests, labor marches, or political campaigns, this one doesn’t take its cue from a charismatic leader, express itself in bumper-sticker-length goals, nor understand itself as having a particular endpoint. It’s not a traditional protest– or narrative arc– as we’ve seen in the past.

AS one protester explained, “As far as seeing it end, I wouldn’t like to see it end. I would like to see the conversation continue.

YES, there are a wide array of complaints, demands, and goals from the occupiers: the collapsing environment, labor standards, housing policy, government corruption, World Bank lending practices, unemployment, increasing wealth disparity, corporate excess and bailouts, and so on. Are they ready to articulate exactly what that problem is and how to address it? No, not yet. But neither are the Congress, the President, corporate America and Wall Street.

ANYONE who says they have no idea what these folks are protesting is not being fully truthful. Whether we agree with them or not, we all know what they’re upset about. Occupy Wall Street is a social movement spreading through contagion, creating as many questions as it answers, and aiming to force a reconsideration of the way the nation does business. Yes, it’s as unwieldy, paradoxical, and inconsistent as those of us living in the real world. Precisely. This movement is merely pointing the way.

And we watch it because it offers hope to those of us who previously felt alone in our belief that the current economic system is broken.

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  skippy

Well said, Skippy.

Tracy
Guest
Tracy
12 years ago

Occupy San Francisco is happening too…at 101 Market St., front of Federal Reserve building…

Tracy
Guest
Tracy
12 years ago

Occupy San Francisco is happening too…at 101 Market St., front of Federal Reserve building…

G.I.B.
Guest
G.I.B.
12 years ago

It seems there might be a more appropriate and effective use of the occupy movement protesters. It’s true message is disconnected because of the distances involved even with the internet and logistics. Seems we 99%ers need to remove the head from the snake of corruption and that would be D.C. Wall Street and many corporations are too blame but the main focus should be directed against our pandering, feckless and entrenched elected officials. They pull the strings too.

Occupy Congress!!!, the White House and every state capitol bldg. So far the media focused on Innocent folks that have have been injured, raped, and the millions in property damages to folks that are just barely making it like us..

Occupy D.C. and a million vets will probably join the 99%ers downrange.

We know D.C. is a sewer but please check this out if you have a second.

“Insider trading laws and Congress”

Guests: Steve Kroft and Peter Schweizer

On the subject of “throwing them out,” The Factor welcomed CBS correspondent Steve Kroft and author Peter Schweizer, whose book “Throw Them All Out” is a searing indictment of Congress. “The headline of the book,” Schweizer said, “is that we have in Washington a permanent political class that enriches itself with insider information and access to taxpayer dollars. Part of the reason we are not getting much movement in Washington is because they are doing very well and they like the status quo.” Kroft, who has investigated questionable stock trades by powerful members of Congress, singled out former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “A lot of people were upset over the fact that Nancy Pelosi took a very lucrative initial public offering from Visa when there was a major piece of legislation moving through the Congress that would have affected the credit card companies. You can’t do this stuff if you are a federal judge or if you’re in the executive branch, but somehow the laws don’t apply to Congress.”

And a Happiest Thanksgiving to one and all.

G.I.B.
Guest
G.I.B.
12 years ago

It seems there might be a more appropriate and effective use of the occupy movement protesters. It’s true message is disconnected because of the distances involved even with the internet and logistics. Seems we 99%ers need to remove the head from the snake of corruption and that would be D.C. Wall Street and many corporations are too blame but the main focus should be directed against our pandering, feckless and entrenched elected officials. They pull the strings too.

Occupy Congress!!!, the White House and every state capitol bldg. So far the media focused on Innocent folks that have have been injured, raped, and the millions in property damages to folks that are just barely making it like us..

Occupy D.C. and a million vets will probably join the 99%ers downrange.

We know D.C. is a sewer but please check this out if you have a second.

“Insider trading laws and Congress”

Guests: Steve Kroft and Peter Schweizer

On the subject of “throwing them out,” The Factor welcomed CBS correspondent Steve Kroft and author Peter Schweizer, whose book “Throw Them All Out” is a searing indictment of Congress. “The headline of the book,” Schweizer said, “is that we have in Washington a permanent political class that enriches itself with insider information and access to taxpayer dollars. Part of the reason we are not getting much movement in Washington is because they are doing very well and they like the status quo.” Kroft, who has investigated questionable stock trades by powerful members of Congress, singled out former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “A lot of people were upset over the fact that Nancy Pelosi took a very lucrative initial public offering from Visa when there was a major piece of legislation moving through the Congress that would have affected the credit card companies. You can’t do this stuff if you are a federal judge or if you’re in the executive branch, but somehow the laws don’t apply to Congress.”

And a Happiest Thanksgiving to one and all.

G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
Guest
G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
12 years ago

The stinking nabobs!! Turn Congress In-Side-Out. Just do it, NOW.

G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
Guest
G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
12 years ago

The stinking nabobs!! Turn Congress In-Side-Out. Just do it, NOW.

G.I.B.
Guest
G.I.B.
12 years ago

An 8% approval rating of congress is criminal. You and I would be fired for that job performance but congress doesn’t care. If not for the 2nd Amendment, which congress is chipping away at, government would ignore us completely and walk all over us. Nabobs is right.

OCCUPY CONGRESS NOW !!! The heart of our nation’s problems and most dangerous gang in the nation.

G.I.B.
Guest
G.I.B.
12 years ago

An 8% approval rating of congress is criminal. You and I would be fired for that job performance but congress doesn’t care. If not for the 2nd Amendment, which congress is chipping away at, government would ignore us completely and walk all over us. Nabobs is right.

OCCUPY CONGRESS NOW !!! The heart of our nation’s problems and most dangerous gang in the nation.

G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
Guest
G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
12 years ago

About the United States Congress (bloody) members G.I.B. says:

…”the most dangerous gang in the nation”. NO JIVE homey!

Crips $ Bloods are nothing compared to the damage, vice, greed, waste and violence these criminals put on. If so many millions of American patriots were not armed the Congressional Crew would roll us all in a minuet and, by God, they may anyway. Is it a pipe dream to think that just voting can change this? ( I’m really trying to keep the faith.) So then, be a patriot: Occupy something. Strike a blow of any kind against the evil. Be conscious. Live free.
… and thats all i have to say about that.

G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
Guest
G Dog (AKA occupy everything)
12 years ago

About the United States Congress (bloody) members G.I.B. says:

…”the most dangerous gang in the nation”. NO JIVE homey!

Crips $ Bloods are nothing compared to the damage, vice, greed, waste and violence these criminals put on. If so many millions of American patriots were not armed the Congressional Crew would roll us all in a minuet and, by God, they may anyway. Is it a pipe dream to think that just voting can change this? ( I’m really trying to keep the faith.) So then, be a patriot: Occupy something. Strike a blow of any kind against the evil. Be conscious. Live free.
… and thats all i have to say about that.