Yes We Camp
Arab Spring, European Summer…and American Fall. Get ready, here we go.
On September 17, 2011, Operation Occupy Wall Street goes into action. We will descend on Wall Street with tents, communal kitchens and a message.
DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY
We will come in peacefully and respectfully. We will come armed with optimism and determination. We will stand up for the liberties that made America…America. Free and fair elections! Rule of the people, by the people, and for the people. For too long the power of this country has shifted away from the floor of congress and the halls of the White House. For too long the power has been shifting to Wall Street, and big business.
Remember when Obama said “YES WE CAN?” Well he was right. We can. We absolutely can. But while he was saying that to us — God only knows what he was saying to our nation’s big business leaders in order to secure the corporate half of the $750 million he raised for his presidential campaign. Well, he may have sided with Wall Street and big business in every important economic decision since his election — but that doesn’t change the fact that we still CAN.
But why occupy Wall Street?
Well, sometimes you have to go to the belly of the beast. And sadly America’s political belly is no longer in Washington. It’s moved to Wall Street. And so that is where we must go to take a stand against the union of politics and big business. By occupying Wall Street we will be able to rally our voices and scream to the powers that be that the citizens of this country will no longer support the twisted mixed economy we have now. Private ownership of corporate profits and public responsibility for corporate losses.
The corporatocracy budget crisis…
If there is any doubt that our federal government is looking out for big business, just look at the policies of the past three years. When Wall Street’s ticker ticked further and further down, some companies were deemed too big to fail. And without any hesitation (ok a week of hesitation), Congress decided to bail them out. Big specialty lenders got billions, big auto makers got billions, credit card companies got billions and big banks got mega-billions. To further help business, we got QE2 in 2009.
In 2011 when S&P threatened to downgrade our credit rating if we didn’t raise the debt ceiling and cut spending, Congress acted (oddly — but never the less, they acted). They raised the debt ceiling, and cut spending. (The fact that we got down-graded anyway is a post for another day — stay tuned dear readers!)
And what did our leaders choose to cut? Not taxes for the super rich; they didn’t even close loopholes. Subsidies to big businesses weren’t cut. New corporate taxes? Nope. So what’s getting cut? The American middle class.
So mark September 17 on your calendar. I’ll see you on Wall Street!
Occupy the N.Y.S.E. itself!