grizzmoose
Very Active Member
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All of these signs seen at the Occupy sites continue to reference the 99%. We know that they are protesting against the wealthiest 1% of the world. They are also protesting pretty much everything else all at the same time. Their credo is "We are the 99%", or rather, we are the other 99%. Monetarily, I suppose I fall into that 99% category. But I am not one of them. They do not represent me, my beliefs, or my desires for our country. Where did they get the right to include me in that 99%? Those that are not the wealthiest people in the world spans a huge amount of people. The 2% are part of the 99%, and the 98th% are also part of the masses. I think I'm probably somewhere in the middle. I have really wanted to know exactly who these people are that are camping out in front of buildings. Where in the 99% do they fall? At the top or at the bottom. And for heaven's sake, what do they want???? I've looked at thousands of pictures of these people and their signs and have seen a multitude of demands. Among them are:
* They have too much debt in student loans and their job doesnt pay enough.
* Cant afford health care.
* Take corporate money out of political campaigns, or at least limit it.
* They are "working for cash they already spent". (Uhhh, so you have deep credit card debt?)
* High prison populations.
* Change in general.
* They aren't making enough money.
* They want the rich to pay more in taxes.
* They don't like greedy people.
* Life isn't fair.
* Their vote doesn't mean anything.
* The rich are too rich and the poor are too poor.
(BTW, these reasons for protest were all gathered from folks around the world in different Occupy movements. Their comments about why they are protesting were given to and published by CNN. Thank you CNN! (http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2011/10/world/hires.occupy.irpt/index.html?hpt=hp_c1)
If I could say something to these folks, or address their complaints, here is what I would tell them:
1. I'm sorry you have student loans. I worked my way through school so I had money and was the benefactor of a tuition reimbursement program. . . that my EMPLOYER had in place. I'm sorry you don't get paid enough. What do you consider to be "enough"? Or, perhaps you chose to go to a school where tuition costs are ridiculous and received an education in something that really isn't desired in our economy. Those anthropology, history, and philosophy degrees don't look that great anymore do they?
2. Health care is expensive. I know. I pay a ton for it myself. I wish I paid less too. But I dont expect it to be free, and I especially don't expect the government to pay for it. If I were to protest this, I'd probably be standing out in front of my health care provider's office, or maybe my local hospital, or maybe in front of Harvard Medical where these doctors who demand so much money come from.
3. Limiting corporate donations to political campaigns. This one is pretty interesting. I think it is a pretty good idea, but the protesters are leaving out a lot of info, or most likely they are just ignorant to them. From 1989 to present, of the top 20 all time donors to campaigns, Democrats received more money than Republicans in 14 of those donors. Four donors gave close to equal, and only ONE gave mostly to republicans. I also found it interesting that Goldman Sachs has donated more to Democrats than Republicans. I also find it pretty interesting that only corporate donations are being protested, but the Union donations are not spoken of. According to the donations, Unions pretty much own democrats. If we are going to limit contributions to campaigns, lets limit donations from ALL organizations. . . not just corporations.
4. "They are working for cash they already spent." That is not Wall Street's problem. That is your problem. Learn to budget. Try cash budgeting. Live within your means.
5. So you are mad about prison populations. I wish they were lower too. I wish there weren't any criminals at all. I guess if you are really mad about it, we could just hand out smaller sentences to child molesters, drunk drivers, murders and rapists. Or heck, lets just let some of them walk. That would fix the prison population. But, Im confused, what does Wall Street have to do with this?
6. Most of these signs really talk about "change". I would expect that most of them voted for Obama's "Change and Hope". What kind of changes are you wanting to see? Can you please be more specific? I'd like change too. I'd like too. I wish the Cowboys could lose their owner. That would be a nice change. I also wish people would change their filthy language habits. Maybe Wall Street can fix that for me.
7. You're not making enough money, huh. I read some comments from a girl that is among the protesters about this. She is upset about only making 30k a year between two part time jobs. She works at a library and is a barista. So you put books away and pour coffee. Let's start paying anyone who pours drinks like baristas, bartenders, and little girls at lemonade stands six digit salaries. That's a great idea. And the librarians. . . that is a good, honorable job. We could pay them better. That is up to your city though. Go stand in front of your city offices and protest there. Tell them you want to pay more taxes. For anyone not satisfied with their wage, make yourself more marketable so you can get a higher paying job. Not everyone can make 100k a year, especially pouring coffee. For those of you making 50k a year, feel blessed you have a job and roof.
8. So you want the rich to pay more in taxes. The vast majority of them do. Go do some research. 1,470 earners of more than one million dollars paid nothing in taxes. That sucks. They should pay their fair share. I concur. So let's fix that. These 1,470 people, or .000004% of the population, paying their taxes will not fix our problems. It really wouldn't even dent our economic problems. Ok, so what about the rest of the 1%ers? They pay an average of 29% in federal income tax. Those earning between 50k-70k pay about 15% in taxes. For the most part, you are protesting against something you already have. But yes, lets get those 1,470 folks paying.
9. They are against greed. Greed is a difficult word to define. I guess they are defining the greedy people by how much they make. . . the 1%ers. Ahhh, but this is a global effort isn't it? Aren't these protests happening all over the world? They are. So let's look at the top 1%ers, but this time let's look at it from a global perspective. According to the World Bank Development Research Group, the top 1% of the world make $47,500 dollars a year. The top 10% of the world make around $25,400 a year. My hunch would be that almost all of those "We Are the 99%"ers are really in the top 10%. So the top 10% want the top 1% to pay more in taxes, which they already do. I bet if we told them we would gladly raise taxes for the top 10% of global earners, and then watch it hit them when they realize they are in this group, they would scatter like roaches in the light. When you look at it from a global perspective, which we should because everyone is equal, those complaining about greed are really the greedy. If you fit into this top 10%, what are you personally doing to better the lives of those that are in the 90%? How much of your money are you giving them?
10. Life isn't fair. It's not. Sorry. Go protest on God's stairs. If you are an atheist, then deal with it.
11. Your vote doesn't count huh? It counts just as much as mine, and just as much as anyone else's. We could get into a discussion about electoral votes, but let's not. So what do you want to happen as a result of your protest? Do you want the poor people to get extra votes the poorer they are, and maybe the richest folks get a quarter of vote? The winner of any public election wins by getting the most votes, not the most money. Well, I guess that's not totally true. Obama raised 745 million dollars in 2008, while McCain raised 368 million. I guess money does buy a presidency.
12. The rich are too rich and you are too poor. What do you want to do about that? Just come out and say it already. Stop disguising the real reason you are holding your sign! Just hold out your hand and say, "Gimme!". Everyone knows what you really want.
They all want their voice to be heard. I guess I do too. I'd love to be out there protesting about not being one of them. About being pretty dang happy in my country. About being grateful for my education and my job. As much as I'd like my voice to be heard and gather with like minded people, I can't. I just don't have the time. I leave for work at 7am and get back at 5pm. I usually play with my kids for an hour or so and then have dinner with my family. On weekends you would probably find me doing yard work, driving all over town trying to get all my kids to their soccer games, or helping a neighbor move or lay sod. On Sunday you would find me at church and then spending some down time with my family. I just don't have time.
P.S. I know hardly anyone will read this, but it made me feel better.
* They have too much debt in student loans and their job doesnt pay enough.
* Cant afford health care.
* Take corporate money out of political campaigns, or at least limit it.
* They are "working for cash they already spent". (Uhhh, so you have deep credit card debt?)
* High prison populations.
* Change in general.
* They aren't making enough money.
* They want the rich to pay more in taxes.
* They don't like greedy people.
* Life isn't fair.
* Their vote doesn't mean anything.
* The rich are too rich and the poor are too poor.
(BTW, these reasons for protest were all gathered from folks around the world in different Occupy movements. Their comments about why they are protesting were given to and published by CNN. Thank you CNN! (http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2011/10/world/hires.occupy.irpt/index.html?hpt=hp_c1)
If I could say something to these folks, or address their complaints, here is what I would tell them:
1. I'm sorry you have student loans. I worked my way through school so I had money and was the benefactor of a tuition reimbursement program. . . that my EMPLOYER had in place. I'm sorry you don't get paid enough. What do you consider to be "enough"? Or, perhaps you chose to go to a school where tuition costs are ridiculous and received an education in something that really isn't desired in our economy. Those anthropology, history, and philosophy degrees don't look that great anymore do they?
2. Health care is expensive. I know. I pay a ton for it myself. I wish I paid less too. But I dont expect it to be free, and I especially don't expect the government to pay for it. If I were to protest this, I'd probably be standing out in front of my health care provider's office, or maybe my local hospital, or maybe in front of Harvard Medical where these doctors who demand so much money come from.
3. Limiting corporate donations to political campaigns. This one is pretty interesting. I think it is a pretty good idea, but the protesters are leaving out a lot of info, or most likely they are just ignorant to them. From 1989 to present, of the top 20 all time donors to campaigns, Democrats received more money than Republicans in 14 of those donors. Four donors gave close to equal, and only ONE gave mostly to republicans. I also found it interesting that Goldman Sachs has donated more to Democrats than Republicans. I also find it pretty interesting that only corporate donations are being protested, but the Union donations are not spoken of. According to the donations, Unions pretty much own democrats. If we are going to limit contributions to campaigns, lets limit donations from ALL organizations. . . not just corporations.
4. "They are working for cash they already spent." That is not Wall Street's problem. That is your problem. Learn to budget. Try cash budgeting. Live within your means.
5. So you are mad about prison populations. I wish they were lower too. I wish there weren't any criminals at all. I guess if you are really mad about it, we could just hand out smaller sentences to child molesters, drunk drivers, murders and rapists. Or heck, lets just let some of them walk. That would fix the prison population. But, Im confused, what does Wall Street have to do with this?
6. Most of these signs really talk about "change". I would expect that most of them voted for Obama's "Change and Hope". What kind of changes are you wanting to see? Can you please be more specific? I'd like change too. I'd like too. I wish the Cowboys could lose their owner. That would be a nice change. I also wish people would change their filthy language habits. Maybe Wall Street can fix that for me.
7. You're not making enough money, huh. I read some comments from a girl that is among the protesters about this. She is upset about only making 30k a year between two part time jobs. She works at a library and is a barista. So you put books away and pour coffee. Let's start paying anyone who pours drinks like baristas, bartenders, and little girls at lemonade stands six digit salaries. That's a great idea. And the librarians. . . that is a good, honorable job. We could pay them better. That is up to your city though. Go stand in front of your city offices and protest there. Tell them you want to pay more taxes. For anyone not satisfied with their wage, make yourself more marketable so you can get a higher paying job. Not everyone can make 100k a year, especially pouring coffee. For those of you making 50k a year, feel blessed you have a job and roof.
8. So you want the rich to pay more in taxes. The vast majority of them do. Go do some research. 1,470 earners of more than one million dollars paid nothing in taxes. That sucks. They should pay their fair share. I concur. So let's fix that. These 1,470 people, or .000004% of the population, paying their taxes will not fix our problems. It really wouldn't even dent our economic problems. Ok, so what about the rest of the 1%ers? They pay an average of 29% in federal income tax. Those earning between 50k-70k pay about 15% in taxes. For the most part, you are protesting against something you already have. But yes, lets get those 1,470 folks paying.
9. They are against greed. Greed is a difficult word to define. I guess they are defining the greedy people by how much they make. . . the 1%ers. Ahhh, but this is a global effort isn't it? Aren't these protests happening all over the world? They are. So let's look at the top 1%ers, but this time let's look at it from a global perspective. According to the World Bank Development Research Group, the top 1% of the world make $47,500 dollars a year. The top 10% of the world make around $25,400 a year. My hunch would be that almost all of those "We Are the 99%"ers are really in the top 10%. So the top 10% want the top 1% to pay more in taxes, which they already do. I bet if we told them we would gladly raise taxes for the top 10% of global earners, and then watch it hit them when they realize they are in this group, they would scatter like roaches in the light. When you look at it from a global perspective, which we should because everyone is equal, those complaining about greed are really the greedy. If you fit into this top 10%, what are you personally doing to better the lives of those that are in the 90%? How much of your money are you giving them?
10. Life isn't fair. It's not. Sorry. Go protest on God's stairs. If you are an atheist, then deal with it.
11. Your vote doesn't count huh? It counts just as much as mine, and just as much as anyone else's. We could get into a discussion about electoral votes, but let's not. So what do you want to happen as a result of your protest? Do you want the poor people to get extra votes the poorer they are, and maybe the richest folks get a quarter of vote? The winner of any public election wins by getting the most votes, not the most money. Well, I guess that's not totally true. Obama raised 745 million dollars in 2008, while McCain raised 368 million. I guess money does buy a presidency.
12. The rich are too rich and you are too poor. What do you want to do about that? Just come out and say it already. Stop disguising the real reason you are holding your sign! Just hold out your hand and say, "Gimme!". Everyone knows what you really want.
They all want their voice to be heard. I guess I do too. I'd love to be out there protesting about not being one of them. About being pretty dang happy in my country. About being grateful for my education and my job. As much as I'd like my voice to be heard and gather with like minded people, I can't. I just don't have the time. I leave for work at 7am and get back at 5pm. I usually play with my kids for an hour or so and then have dinner with my family. On weekends you would probably find me doing yard work, driving all over town trying to get all my kids to their soccer games, or helping a neighbor move or lay sod. On Sunday you would find me at church and then spending some down time with my family. I just don't have time.
P.S. I know hardly anyone will read this, but it made me feel better.
