I’m Not Sure What ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Is Protesting, But We Could Come Together On One Thing

The Occupy Wall Street Crowd is finally getting the media coverage it wanted when hundreds were arrested crossing over the Brooklyn Bridge a few days ago. On twitter many conservatives have been making fun of the protesters who seem to be young people not sure of what they are protesting. They know they are “anti corporatism,” just not sure what that means exactly. People have been making fun of the protesters for shouting about corporations while on their Apple laptops and drinking Snapple, while listening to their I-pods and talking on their I-phones. As I pointed out to a few on twitter, Pres. Obama gave the bailouts, that were a part of the big bonuses for AIG and others. Where are the signs protesting Obama? They tell me on twitter that Pres. Obama is corrupt too. They say all the politicians are. I said to them, that may be true, but we all know if Bush were still President, you would have signs about him everywhere. Why none of those signs on Obama if you disagree with his policies? No answer.

So, I get to tweeting with one guy from the protest leadership who seems passionate, reasonable, and willing to discuss. He tells me that they have many of the same goals as the Tea Party had in the beginning. He says he believed the media lies about the Tea Party, and he wants to make sure we don’t believe the media lies about the Occupy Wall Street Protesters. I show him this proposed list of demands from the protesters. I tell him that many are absurd. $20 an hour minimum wage? You know, when a hamburger now costs $15 because of a minimum wage like that, that $20 bucks doesn’t really go as far. See what I mean? People would make more money, but the cost of everything goes up because of it. That doesn’t really help the working poor. Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment? So, we pay people regardless of whether they work or not? How has that worked for Europe? We kind of have that with welfare. We can see how well that has turned out. Free college education? And who exactly is going to pay for everyone’s education? When you take away the incentive in the free market to make money, those who make lots of money, don’t anymore. Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand? Do you think someone is just hiding alternative energy that works and is cost effective? Alternative energy will happen when that happens. Not before. How do we fast track the end of fossil fuel? Require that people stop driving and heating their homes? Good grief. I can hope for flying cars that run on human waste, but until that is developed and cost effective, it ain’t gonna happen. Open borders? Have you lost your mind??? Do you have any idea what would happen?? We would be FLOODED by the poor of the world. None speaking english. Where would they live? We would have tent cities much like Somalia. They would bring diseases that we have eradicated here, causing a health crisis like America has never seen. This kind of thing shows immature Utopian thinking that has no basis in the real world.

The tweeter tells me that list has been updated, with many of those demands voted down. He shows me this list.Certainly more sane, but with it’s own problems. One cannot keep saying that the rich must pay their fair share, when it’s been made clear that they already pay more than their fair share. Households making more than $1 million pay an average of 29.1 percent of their income in federal taxes. The top marginal tax rate for wages is 35 percent. Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 pay 15 percent of their income in federal taxes. Households making between $40,000 and $50,000 pay an average of 12.5 percent of their income in federal taxes. Households making between $20,000 and $30,000 pay 5.7 percent. That’s the data. That’s the facts. We don’t have a tax problem. We have a spending problem. Anyone with a family budget understands that.

There is something to be said for too much corporate money in politics. But in a free society, I don’t really see how we can change that and remain free. If they can come up with a way to do that without suppressing free speech and individual rights, I’m all for it. The problem with getting government to regulate anything, is that it cannot regulate itself, why should we trust it with more and more power??? A reasoned amount of regulation is never enough for the government. No, it must have more and more regulation to increase the power of the government over private enterprise. And that strangles business and the economy.

I asked the Occupy Wall Street tweeter to take a look at The Tea Party’s Contract From America here.I told him if his protesters could agree with our contract, then maybe we could come together on a few key issues. I told him that as long as there are so many signs saying “Down With Capitalism” and “Death To Capitalism,” they won’t get much support from the Tea Party. We kind of like Capitalism. A lot. Plus, there are many on Wall Street with signs advocating Socialism and even Communism. That isn’t going to fly either. He said they don’t represent the whole. I should hope not. But I’m not convinced.

The problem, as I see it, is that there is anger because of some cases of Wall Street greed. Although there are victims of this (Bernie Maddoff and AIG comes to mind), I think most of can say that a corporation has never taken one dollar from us. I know that no company has ever taken money from me, but the government does. It takes my money and it wastes it on programs that don’t work, and on fraud and abuse. It uses my money to expand when it is mostly, except for a few exceptions, ineffective and wasteful. I understand the protesters protesting greed on Wall Street, but they might think about the greed of our government. They might focus on the lavish and power hungry lifestyle of our government officials, including the President. They might focus on Nancy Pelosi using military aircraft (and taxpayer money) for her ride home to California when she was speaker, instead of using her own massive fortune. They might focus on Michelle Obama requiring her own plane to fly home from lavish vacations (multiple ones at that) so she can stay one day longer then Obama. I say to him, maybe you should support new Tea Party Congressmen (33) who decide to sleep in their office instead of renting a high rent apartments is D.C. These are people who understand what everyday Americans go through to pay bills. The Tea Party Congressmen are not corrupted hand picked Republicans from the establishment. They are hard working Americans, not rich or socially connected, who stepped up to the plate because they were passionate about what was happening to our country. Maybe you could support them?

Maybe if a high end corporate PR firm helps you with your image, you might consider that all business is not evil. That all corporations are not evil. Maybe if you really think about what is destroying our country, greed within government, as well as outside of it, then you can get the millions of Tea Party people supporting you.

First rule of order? Getting rid of Obama. You say that you don’t want another career politician who is probably corrupt? I suggest you look to Herman Cain.

We could come together on making sure Obama is a one term President. I know that.

Your move.

Share this!

Enjoy reading? Share it with your friends!