Where We Live: #OccupyWallSt

Wall Streeters Mission statement

The current lists of wants and ideas is too much of a wish list and will if not fixed by a collective PRIMARY Mission statement repeated by all involved as the Tea party largely did and quite sucessfully at the time.
Concentrate where there's a chance of making the movement the majority of the 99% ( =including independents and some Republicans)
the Agenda then looks like:-
1) Re balance temporarily for now taxes on the the rich and corporates by Higher taxes on millionaires, and withdrawing all tax loopholes.
2) Vote a jobs plan the CBO sees as the same if not better than the Obama AJA. It's no use Republicans Wall Street saying wait wait for full reforms of taxes. They take too long to come into effect, while we most of the 99% continue to suffer.
3) Debt commission,stop pussy footing around and hit the $4 trillion ( 3 spending cuts 1 taxes ratio) of cuts via spending and Tax increases now, simple to impose for 2 years with a rider that once the debt commission is over they form a Bi partisan commission for full tax reform. This avoids a further debt down grade.
4)Financial reforms especially the consumer protections must go ahead now and stay. Health care not total repeal sensible and reasonable amendments.
5) Get out of wars Iraq and Afghanistan and reduce the size ( moth ball hangars and fixed facilities (if needed) of overseas bases sooner rather than later and save money.
6) Make Education, Infrastructure investment, alternative energy development and Research; key areas of budget spending from 2012, or earlier and onwards.
Come on guys/gals get your manifesto's together and protest and argue consistently as one coherent movement.
Dont need a leader just consistent major goals, that the media should be asked politely to publish
Regards
Just one voice Hodgson.

History shows Protest Is Good!

bruary 17, 2011 at 7:25 pm

Protest is good. The United States has a proud history of protests that resulted in change:
* 1964 – New York City 1964 race riot, July 18–23
* 1964 – Rochester 1964 race riot, July 24–25
* 1964 – Jersey City 1964 race riot, August 2–4
* 1964 – Elizabeth 1964 race riot, August 11–13 (Elizabeth, New Jersey)
* 1964 – Philadelphia 1964 race riot August 28–30
* 1965 – Watts Riot, August 1965, (Los Angeles)
* 1966 – Benton Harbor Riot, August–September 1966 (Benton Harbor, Michigan)
* 1966 – Atlanta riot of 1966, Sep. 6 (Atlanta, Georgia)
* 1966 – Sunset Strip curfew riots (Los Angeles)
* 1967 – Tampa Riots of 1967, June 1967 ( Florida)
* 1967 – Buffalo riot of 1967, June 27 (Buffalo, New York)
* 1967 – 1967 Newark riots, July 12–18, 1967 (Newark, New Jersey)
* 1967 – 1967 Plainfield riots, July 14–20, 1967 (Plainfield, New Jersey)
* 1967 – 12th Street Riot, July 23–29, 1967 (Detroit)
* 1968 – 1968 Washington, D.C. riots, April 1968 (Washington, D.C)
* 1968 – Baltimore riot of 1968, April 6–12 (Baltimore, Maryland)
* 1968 – Kansas City riot of 1968, April 1968 (Kansas City, Missouri)
* 1968 – Louisville riots of 1968, May 27, (Louisville, Kentucky)
* 1968 – Martin Luther King jr. riots(related: 1968 Chicago, Illinois riots, 1968 Washington, D.C.
* 1968 – 1968 Democratic National Convention riot, August 1968, (Chicago, Illinois,
* 1969 – Stonewall Riots, June 1969, (New York City, New York)
* 1969 – Days of Rage, Oct. 1969, (Chicago, Illinois)

1970s

* 1970 – Augusta Georgia Riot, May 1970
* 1970 – Kent State shootings, May 1970, (Kent, Ohio)
* 1971 – Camden Riots, August 1971, (Camden, New Jersey)
etc., etc., etc., often involving the US National Guard.

Wealth for none

As defined by Wikipedia, "Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions." Profit-seeking corporations and Wall Street have done everything to accumulate wealth however, to 1% of the population. So you are correct, the profit driven motive achieved this result. You seem happy with this result, I presume you are among the 1% that has benefited from this system. Congratulations, so why bother coming here to gloat and spit on everyone else that is among the 99%? One flaw in your argument is that you said that "wealth can be created." This is a misnomer. Wealth is not created, it is only redistributed. In our recent history leading up to present day it has been redistributed upward, to you, apparently. Again, congrats.

Occupy Wall Street

It'd be very helpful if you told us how to help from afar. How do we donate food, perhaps money for buying food.

Occupy Hartford?

Finally, something to get suburbanites back into the City! Could someone please ask the protest folk to pick up some trash and contribute to the overall wellbeing of Hartford while they are there?

I was intrigued by your

I was intrigued by your guests this morning. Paraphrasing, "We need to deconstruct the existing system where companies are focused on profits." So, the alternative is an organization that focuses on distributing wealth. This is called a charity. Excellent, I agree with charities and I actively give and volunteer. However, wealth can only be CREATED by profit-seeking companies. Without the profit motive, there would be no wealth to distribute. So, does your guest propose forced charity? That's an unsustainable path. Too bad this discussion is dominated by those with enough free time to protest, because those of us creating wealth are too busy doing so.

Listener Email from Dave

I just wanted to raise the point, that we should be careful not to pigeonhole our protests into the 2 establishment political parties. I think we all know that while the Tea Party started as true grassroots fury against the collusion between Washington and Big Banking that brought us our Financial Crisis, it was soon shrewdly co-opted by the establishment GOP who wanted that voter base.

Likewise, this Wall St protest should not be co-opted by the Democratic Party.

We know that our financial crisis was delivered to us by the status quo of both parties, from the Fannie Mae shenanigans and Rubin era of Clinton, through the war spending and bank bailouts of Bush/Obama administrations.

Their has been alot of interest in the Progressive-Libertarian alliance of Ron Paul and Ralph Nader, as they both stand against the corporatism and crony capitalism that has so corrupted our economy for the benefit of the well connected.

We should support a unified message like this, outside of the establishment political parties, to avoid sleepwalking right back into the same old, same old.

Listener Email from Doug

This fellow succinctly captures the heart of this burgeoning movement from the perspective of me and people I know.

howhttp://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Book-Living-Dying/dp/B000KLTS84

Listener Email from Joe

I am appalled of the lack of media coverage of this peaceful protest. Consider the reasons for the protest.
Fewer than 20% of pensions are direct benefit, i.e. you work for a company and when you retire you know in advance what your pension will be.
This is, no argument , the most expensive for employers and has largely been replaced by the defined contribution pension. This option tells you what contribute, matching employer contributions and other terms. It can be tax advantaged now, with taxes being deferred until as late as 70 1/2 . This is a huge saving for employers AND, it requires intimate knowledge of the financial market and it's operations by ALL it's participants.
What does a garbage collector know about mutual funds ? What are type A, B or C funds? what is loading vs no-loading?
Now our ENTIRE retirement fund is dependent on a Wall Street that pooh-poohs regulation, enjoys the benefit for huge bonuses whilst being essentially responsible for the need for the Bail Out and are unapologetic, whilst our government , senators and congressman alike stand idly by and let the regulators, SEC, FINRA etc, be undercut, undermined and shunted aside as irrelevant.
Elizabeth Warren should have been confirmed!
Back in 2005, the Financial Times produced an article that stated the earnings of Senators & Congressmen beat the S & P 500 by, on average ( arithmetic mean) of 12% whilst the market gained 6-8 %. Newly elected officials, according to public records, did between 18-25% better than the S & P 500. Please don't insult our intelligence by suggesting they did not get insider information. They are corrupt and THAT needs to HIGHLIGHTED at EVERY opportunity.

Listener Email from Cameron

In the movies, angry mobs are always ready with rotten fruits and vegetables to throw at the disinterested elite. Why haven't we seen any video of hedge fund managers being pelted with rotten tomatoes?

Listener Email from Todd

I just wanted to share with you and your listeners that there was a community meeting Sunday evening at the Charter Oak Cultural Center which decided to begin "Occupy Harford" tomorrow, Oct 5th at 8:30 am. There will be general assemblies daily at 8:30am and 5pm in Bushnell Park, on the Assylum St side.

Listener Email from D.N.

I think it is extremely important that we pay attention to the language that Wall Street and Corporations are using. The words to describe themselves are our of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Their playbook, let the infrastructure fail and they go on strike is the books goal. Could someone speak to this

Listener Email from Phil

Great show John.

My hope is this this movement is not dismissed as a rejecton of Capitalism.

The key issue is the corrosive influence of special-interest money on our politicians.

They are no longer servants of the people, and examples of their refusal to address our needs occur daily.

It's good to see the disenfranchised stepping up. I pray that this movement flourishes.