Am I missing something? Until now, the Occupy Wall Street movement, for me anyway, has been little more than a fun recap on the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Now I understand there is a movement starting here in Myrtle Beach, with its first rally on Saturday, 10/22/2011.
I wouldn't be so shocked if the movement's purpose was so undefined. Even the information on the Occupy Myrtle Beach First General Assembly Facebook page is, besides lacking spell-check, very vague:
This will be the first meeting of the Occupy
Myrtle Beach general assembly, which will consist of anyone who shows up. At
that point decisions will be made by group concensus unless the group concensus
is to pick another method of runing things. Everyone will have a voice. Bring
your signs, because once the meeting wraps up, we hope to actually find a spot
to Occupy and protest.
"Find a spot to occupy and protest"? Protest what??
I believe the message is, or at least should be "give power to the people, not the corporations or the top 1% of earners", which would make a great sound bite for the news. It could be said, and then we could all go home.
But what I've seen and heard, and what appears to be the underlying message is, "blame the rich for our societal issues". There is a good amount of animosity pointed toward the wealthy, as if every wealthy person is culpable for the economic mess we find ourselves in these days. They are not, or at least not completely, and in fact, the vast majority of the other 99% are as culpable (how many of you have debt or purchased a more expensive house than you could afford?) This is a dangerous message to create a movement around, because unlike the Arab Spring, there is no outcome that will suffice this mass. If the elimination of capitalism in favor of socialism is the end goal, then this is the wrong place to mess with.
Everyone Needs A Little Revolution (see "Define Your Cause")
I believe we live in a great country that offers rare freedoms and privileges seldom found outside the US. Opportunity is the key word. Opportunity is what shines a light down the path for anyone seeking to be in charge of bettering his or her life. While we may all have to work harder to achieve prosperity these days, the overwhelmingly greatest opportunity for greatness exists in the US.
So, while I believe in free speech and liberty, I do not believe that disrupting the businesses of hard working entrepreneurs or loitering in a public place without following public rules is an amicable means of relaying a message. And, please stop saying that you represent 99% of the people, because if you did, then 99% of the people would be protesting with you. I am part of that 99%, and you do not represent my point of view.
Let the debate begin ...
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Agreed that the movement is a bit unorganized and without a clear message but I also feel it's necessary and long overdue. This movement shouldn't be about blame but about fairness. Corporate America has had their way with Congress for decades creating a tax code that is so complex as to only be beneficial to the rich. 1 in 4 millionaires pay less tax then us middle class folk and have all but eliminated the middle class which I'm sure most of wealthy corporate america would love that sort of class warfare. They need to start screaming about fairness, not blame, then I think this movement will get it's feet and really make some noise.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. People need to start taking responsibility for their own actions. People living beyond their means is by far one of the biggest factors in creating the current economic conditions. That, and a sense of entitlement.
ReplyDeleteThere are too many that feel it is their right to have everything... They believe they are entitled to the new iphone, the big screen tv, the designer clothes, whether they can afford these things or not.
People feel they have the right to not pay the banks on mortgages they can actually afford simply because the value of the property to others, has decreased. They expect the banks, the entities who lent them money when they asked for it, to share in the "loss." But, how many mortgage contracts contain a clause that allows the bank to share in the equity when the value of the property increases?
People, who have not suffered a financial hardship, feel it is their right to "dump" their property. In 17 states, including here in Arizona, people can dump their properties with no financial consequence. The laws do not allow the mortgage companies to pursue the remaining balance of any purchase money contract post foreclosure. Arizona, takes this one step further by applying this law even to investment properties. It's no wonder Arizona's real estate market is amongst the worst in the country.
I speak with people all day who refuse to pay on their mortgages and other debts and want to negotiate ridiculously low settlements in order to save their credit. These are people who have at least the same income level as when they purchased the property. Or, these are people that did no-doc, stated income loans and falsified their actual income. I also listen to falsified hardships all day long. People who don't pay their mortgages, but eat meals out at $1000/mo. People who claim they are taking care of their sick parent/s and we come to find those parents are deceased, priests who purchase a $550K home and make only 30K per year...
We need to enact laws so that people are held accountable to the contracts they enter into. For those that truly find themselves in a hardship situation due to the loss of a job, illness, etc. there are protections already in place such as bankruptcy, temporary modification or forbearance. If businesses were not being bombarded by those who don't truly need the protections, they would be better able to provide the assistance to those that do. And, maybe if people learned they were not entitled, they would make better purchasing choices. They would understand the difference between need and want and live accordingly!