It's been a while since I last posted mainly because I've been trying to sort out some kind of coherence in what is happening with the economy, and what kind of impact the Occupy Wall St. movement may have, if it all. I think I've pieced together some of the most relevant bits here for you. Please feel free to leave comments and add to the discussion.
On September 6th, President Obama announced his jobs bill to both chambers of congress, asking for political solidarity for the sake of the country's economy. This was long overdue, as no net jobs were created in August and the unemployment rate held fast at just over 9%. Despite the call for bipartisan cooperation, Republicans were quick to accuse the president of waging class warfare. Though I would hardly call the jobs bill 'class warfare', it seems to have struck a chord with a class of people just aching to get their opinion heard. Within a week, a group of protesters organized by the anti-consumerism group Adbusters had camped out in Zuccotti Park, about three blocks away from the New York Stock Exchange and begun demonstrating against social inequality.
The group, calling themselves the Occupy Wall St. movement, has picketed daily since September 17th with signs that accuse the top 1% of income earners in America of, among other things, the economic disenfranchisement of the other 99%. Though economic inequality is the chief issue surrounding the protests, other issues such as green energy and reproductive rights for women are also addressed.
The broad scope of the topics addressed, the lack of specific demands from the protesters, and its leaderless organizational structure have led to criticism by those on the right. Rep. Eric Cantor calls the protestors a "growing mob" while former Gov. Mitt Romney calls the movement "dangerous class warfare". This isn't surprising given that the Republican party has traditionally been sympathetic to business interests. What is surprising, however, is that momentum the movement has created, despite not having much to offer in the way of specific policy demands.
The gist of the message seems to have gotten through, though. Former Rep. Alan Grayson sums up the demands pretty succinctly on Real Time with Bill Maher:
As the protests spread to other cities, labor groups and teachers' unions, even Ben & Jerry's among others, have thrown their support behind the protesters. I personally like the idea of this protest movement. At first I thought it seemed a little misdirected, picketing an area that has no direct authority over fiscal economic policy decisions. But wait, that's the whole point. Wall St. bankers DO have a direct effect on the policy of Washington, and that is what the movement is all about.
