Occupy Wall Street Has Begun!

Originally posted by Partisanity

Hundreds of trillions of dollars in debt = richest in the world?

Yup...there are two kinds of rich people

1) those who have lots of assets, so much that they can buy anything they want.
2) those who have lots of debts, so much that nobody can afford to let them default, so keep lending to them again and again, so they can buy anything they want.

America is in category 2).

It's the people in-between these extremes that are really poor.

Originally posted by buster2010

Originally posted by Unknown Soldier

The Tea Party Defends Wall St. As US Day Of Rage Protests Corruption

www.politicususa.com...

Tea Baggers

edit on 18-9-2011 by Unknown Soldier because: (no reason given)

Forgive them for they are ignorant and easily led. Apparently the Koch brothers do not approve of this action and has issued orders to their lackeys. This tea party is nothing more than perversion of the tea party Ron Paul started.

I concur

RON PAUL 2012

Originally posted by OldCorp
I'm part of no good ol' boy network. I'm as angry as the next guy that in the richest country in the world, people are starving and losing their homes; maybe more so.

But we've seen these kind of things before. Americans are weak (as an American, I'm allowed to say that,) and just as soon as it starts raining, gets a bit too cold, or the next episode of DWTS is set to air, they will leave. When it comes to cops busting heads, fuggeddaboudit; they'll run.

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I applaud their efforts, I really do. If I weren't halfway across the country and broke, I'd be with them. People just aren't angry enough - yet.

When people really get stirred up they will really come out in force.

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This seemed too much like weekend camp to me. Not even that! Too many I-pods and cell phone chit chat texting [look at me Look at me] going on...

Originally posted by Sphota

Originally posted by Kicking2bears

History has proven that peaceful protest and demonstrations DO change things; often permanently and often for the good.

My only criticism of this comment is that the vigilance of the protest movement must not let down its guard, because if change occurs, it will just as easily swing back if not kept in check. In other words, you cannot become complacent once an objective has supposedly been attained.

I agree 100%.
Persistence, determination, willpower, dedication, vigilance and diligence are all required. These are some of what Gandhi was trying to describe when he talked about satyagraha.

The live stream is tragic.

Holding hands on a sidewalk singing coombaya isn't intimidating the central banks OR the federal reserve... (..especially on the weekend..) What exactly do they expect to get accomplished here? Hopefully they start getting louder and rougher, or they're basically just "demonstrating" that they've been defeated.

reply to post by intrptr


Didn't vote for Obama, but I think he is doing a good job dealing with an extremely brutal situation.

I don't think Obama has control over the reigns of power. Neocons have layered government bureaucracy with their ranks, and they play spoil sport all the way. Maybe at the end 8 years, Obama might start to gain some control.

I think appointing Petraeus as head of the CIA is the right start in the right direction.

I'm so glad to see this! Finally, we are fighting back! I'm glad to see that people are waking up and realizing that nothing is going to change unless we demand it. Do you know of any protests planned for Chicago?

Originally posted by poet1b
reply to post by intrptr

 

Didn't vote for Obama, but I think he is doing a good job dealing with an extremely brutal situation.

I don't think Obama has control over the reigns of power. Neocons have layered government bureaucracy with their ranks, and they play spoil sport all the way. Maybe at the end 8 years, Obama might start to gain some control.

I think appointing Petraeus as head of the CIA is the right start in the right direction.

Well, I did vote for Obama, and I regret it everyday. He is in bed with the rest of them. Do your research and you will find that he related to the crooks. He is not trying to make anything better. He's pretending. I will NOT be voting for him in 2012. In fact, I will be campaigning against him. Don't be fooled.

Originally posted by poet1b
reply to post by intrptr

 

Didn't vote for Obama, but I think he is doing a good job dealing with an extremely brutal situation.

I don't think Obama has control over the reigns of power. Neocons have layered government bureaucracy with their ranks, and they play spoil sport all the way. Maybe at the end 8 years, Obama might start to gain some control.

I think appointing Petraeus as head of the CIA is the right start in the right direction.

and back to the same old rhetoric I see.....

Obama, like the rest of them, take their orders from TPTB.

Originally posted by Partisanity

Originally posted by OldCorp


I'm part of no good ol' boy network. I'm as angry as the next guy that in the richest country in the world, people are starving and losing their homes; maybe more so.

"Richest country in the world"...

WHAT?!?!

Hundreds of trillions of dollars in debt = richest in the world?

That "debt," as some so astutely point out, is as fake as the dollars that are being printed by the Fed as fast as they can churn them out. The entire Federal Reserve system is a scam based on worthless fiat currency, so I don't consider that debt real. This country has assets, real assets, that make up our wealth. And if you compare our standard of living to any other country in the world, I think you'll find that we are right on top along with, I think, a Scandinavian country and New Zealand (forgive me if my memory is faulty.) So there is absolutely NO reason why anyone should starve or be left homeless. You can thank corporate greed for that.

A huge quantity of jobs have been "off-shored," and it's not just factory work making tennis shoes either. I had an MRI done a few years ago and when I asked when I would get the results, I was told, "As soon as the radiologist in INDIA has interpreted the films." Apparently they no longer use actual film, but instead record the images digitally. The hospital then emails the images to some half-assed "doctor" in a third world country in order to save a few bucks. In the meantime, an American who has spent the last 10 years in medical school has no job; and what do we do if the Indian radiologist misses something and you die? Can't really sue them can you?

The US CAN provide for every one of its citizens. If corporations were taxed to death on products or services made overseas, making it not worth their while, there would be enough jobs for Americans at just about every skill level, from doctors, to HDTV manufacturers, to sneaker binders. So what if the products cost a little bit more? Buying an American made product only serves to strengthen the economy, and provide jobs for more people.

One last point: If the unions have any sense at all, they will stop demanding exorbitant wages and benefits for their workers. The idea of a union is great as corporations always seek to pay as little as possible for labor, and have no problem screwing over the little guy; but over the last 30 years, unions have become just like the corporations they fought against: GREEDY. Take a look at this little snippet I found when I searched for the average wage of a UAW worker in Detroit:

According to the National Review:

Massive job cuts at General Motors, America's largest carmaker — coupled with the bankruptcy of Delphi, America's biggest autoparts maker — have provoked predictable handwringing from liberal pundits who worry that America is "losing its manufacturing base." But the wrenching change now buffeting the auto industry defies the usual press formulas. Just listen to Steve Miller a turnaround specialist who is steering Delphi's restructuring process. He exploded the myth of America's "endangered" union manufacturing jobs at his October press conference announcing Delphi's move into Chapter 11: "We cannot continue to pay $65 an hour for someone to cut the grass and remain competitive."

Take grass cutting. As defined by the current United Auto Worker contract negotiated with the "Big Five" (GM, Ford, Chrysler, and top parts makers Delphi and Visteon), an auto "production worker" is a job description that covers anything from mowing grass to cleaning the toilets. In the real world, these jobs would be outsourced to $8 an hour, no-benefit wage earners, but on Planet Big Five, these jobs get the same wages as any auto line-worker: an average $26 an hour ($60,000 a year) plus benefits that bring the company's total cost per worker to a staggering $65 an hour.

But at least the grass cutters are working for their pay. The UAW contract also guarantees that 12,000 autoworkers get full wage for doing nothing. On the heels of Miller's straight-talk, the Detroit News reported that "12,000 American autoworkers, instead of bending sheet metal, spend their days counting the hours in a jobs bank." SOURCE

I'm getting a bit off topic now, so I'll stop. I just want to say that there are MANY facets to our culture that must be changed, not just the banks. In order for everyone to have enough, the wealthiest among us need to learn to get by with a little less. That's right, you just heard a conservative Libertarian say TAX THE RICH! - Especially rich corporations. G.E. for example, the 2nd largest corporation in the WORLD paid ZERO taxes last year. In what universe is that fair?

I drove by saw and saw like 30-50 people tops...protest happen all time in NY. No media blackout, it's just that people outside of this site don't care and wont make a huge deal out of it....sorry

I'm actually embarrassed for them, they are making fools of themselves, especially for the moron girl wearing Yasir arrafat's head gear yesterday, she had no idea what the hell she was talking about, If they are going to interview people I would go for the ones that atleast look smart, so they don't ruin the image. Sigh.

Originally posted by hapablab
I'm actually embarrassed for them, they are making fools of themselves, especially for the moron girl wearing Yasir arrafat's head gear yesterday, she had no idea what the hell she was talking about, If they are going to interview people I would go for the ones that atleast look smart, so they don't ruin the image. Sigh.

edit on 18-9-2011 by hapablab because: (no reason given)

edit on 18-9-2011 by hapablab because: typo

yeah these people are so credible....
But hey they deserve to on the front page.... not..... All I see is bunch of nutjobs.

I question whether the people protesting want more of the problem (fascism in banking) or more of the solution (banking deregulation to help eliminate fascism).

The type of people who are protesting at Wall Street don't seem to understand that government regulations are not their friend. There are no two recent changes more responsible for the recent housing bubble than Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. What made those two organisations responsible is the government telling them: "Hey guys, go ahead and make a bunch of high-risk loans to people you aren't sure can't pay back. Don't worry, we've got you covered". The idea that the repealing of regulations is responsible for what is happening now is ridiculous, and yet that is exactly what the Wall Street protesters believe. These people are ignorant of the actual problems causing this mess.

The root problem is the Federal Reserve Bank being granted a government monopoly. The problem on Wall Street isn't deregulation that is the problem. The problem on Wall Street is the regulations that are out there. The one and only type of regulation that Wall Street should have is an efficient civil court system to prevent fraud and pollution. Of course nothing prevents fraud better than diligent consumers and private organizations like Consumer Reports, and nothing stops pollution better than ethical shopping practices.

The only thing the FDA does is delude a contingent of fools into thinking they are keeping food safe. Our food supply is less safe than ever, but yet people insist the FDA just isn't powerful enough. The hell it isn't... it has destroyed small business medicine entirely. So no, it has all the power in the world but uses it to crush competition of big medicine companies. You could look at every federal government protection agency and the only thing they protect is big business. Things like "fair trade" certifications will do more to ensure "fair" wages more than the US feds could ever hope to.

Hey guys,
just came home from our own protests in Greece (the cops kicked us hard, no kidding).
I 've been watching your thread since the beginning and I just wanted to tell you one thing:
Do NOT get abstracted, Do NOT let anyone deviate you from your goal. That is what happened
to us in Greece, people started telling lies, and then started saying "hey, this protest isn't right,
if you want it to be right you have to do this and that and so on.'.. That's when we got distracted. That's when the Police sent us all to hospitals. That's when the media turned against us. That's when we lost (for now, hopefully).
Do NOT let this happen to you. You have a brilliant movement on the rise, please don't let the usual suspects distract you. REMEMBER: if there is one thing in common all governments have, then it is one simple and effective quote: Divide And Conquer. Please, don't fall for that.

If anyone wants to help from afar, the food committee has set up a website for donations:

www.wepay.com...

reply to post by Troublesome


Will do, my friend. I know I'd like this to happen for us here, so I will help you guys there. And I will also notify friends that would help. Keep it going! Hope we will organise something together, one day not very far from now...
Blessings and good luck!

reply to post by dreamseeker


And who is going to provide everyone with this car and place to live? We already have unsustainable programs for housing... Now you want the Government to buy everyone a car?

You have all forgotten that you aren't promised happiness but the pursuit there of. There are still avenues to success. Why does everyone deserve a car? Do you even think about how much abuse the system ALREADY gets... Were in debt up to our eyeballs so of course the first measure should be buy everyone a house and car...

Sickening

I understand the argument that more taxes should come from wallstreet, but you guys are screaming for what appears to be damn near communism...

reply to post by OldCorp


I don't disagree at all, I just think we have different definitions of what a "country" is.

Originally posted by OldCorp
G.E. for example, the 2nd largest corporation in the WORLD paid ZERO taxes last year. In what universe is that fair?

edit on 9/18/2011 by OldCorp because: (no reason given)

They also received grants.

Steven Colbert said it best:

"You might think that zero dollars isn't very much [tax for a corporation to pay in a year], but it's still a lot more than GE payed last year"

reply to post by constantwonder


In Greece, we made up this quote: "No to capitalism, no to communism. No Right, nor left. The only thing that trully matters is Humanitarism".

Think about it.