Occupy Wall Street

I almost stayed away from the cottage this weekend in order to attend the "Occupy Victoria" event due to happen today in Centennial Square right next to City Hall. I wish them a huge, peaceful, coherent and articulate turn-out for that rally. But, as my husband pointed out, we have only a few more weekends at the cottage this year, and he gets a bit weary from all the stuff there is to be angry about in the world.

I am excited and worried about the "Occupy" movement - it is in such danger of faltering, and is at such high risk of being successfully portrayed (by the "1%" and defenders of the "1%") as something it is not.

The "Occupy" protestors are getting accused of trying to generate "class warfare" but, as Bill Maher said on his October 14th "Real Time" show - the 1% is not a class, it's a club!

It is sublimely ridiculous that 1% of the US population - "The Club" receives most of the annual income generated in the US, controls the majority of the wealth (and political system), and pays little to no taxes (between 1998 and 2005 the Government Accounting Office of the US government determined that 2/3's of corporations actually paid NO taxes).

When the topic is raised of the obscenely rich perhaps paying a fairer share - the 99% get accused of trying to "steal from the rich" - which is what Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal said on CNN this morning; and he went further to say that what is needed is "a rising (economic) tide that will float all boats" and to not bother with looking at "dividing up the pie differently." I completely disagree. That pie totally needs to be divided differently! The 1% are not going to give up their stranglehold unless they are forced to (hopefully through appropriate legislative/regulatory and tax changes).

The problem is that since about 1980 (Reagan) the 1% have gone about systematically unravelling all the middle class gains and protections achieved since the stock market crash of 1929. Through cronyism, lobbying and political contributions, they have been busily influencing/dictating the dismantling the very legislative mechanisms and structures that enabled the rise of the middle class post-WWII, while also introducing measures, earmarks and loopholes etc. that favoured the lining of the 1%'s pockets. The 1% have been busy "stealing" from the 99% for decades.

The "financial services" industry has grown from about 8% of the US economy to 40% and many of the 1%'ers who work in it make BILLIONS when the stock market goes up OR down. The 2009 bonuses of the top 25 hedge fund managers would have paid the salaries of 458,000 teachers for a year! These players can and do manipulate the market to make sure they make oodles no matter whether stocks rise or fall - they are gaming the system they perverted. It is not a "free market" - it is a manipulated market controlled by 1% insiders who created the evils knows as Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) and Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) - all of which is still going on!

I wouldn't care except their unbridled power and extensive financial tentacles now mean they are capable of bringing about total global economic financial collapse. And the greed they have demonstrated to date proves they will preside over such a collapse. I believe it is coming and the people in a position to stop it (President, Congress, Senate etc.) are ineffective and doing nothing. Hence, Occupy Wall Street springs up.

Those who dismiss and poo-poo the Occupy Wall Street movement do so at their own peril. They are hoping and wishing it will go away, but how can the 99% who are suffering be made to shut up and go away? They can't and they won't. Just sayin'.

Todo bien. (It's all good).