At first glance, I liked the idea of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests. I agree that Wall Street currently has way too much power (in a previous post, I compared Wall Street to Orren Boyle, the conniving crony capitalist villain from Atlas Shrugged). However, it seems that the protesters are completely misinformed about the source of Wall Street's power, and some of the "solutions" they proposed were fairly frightening.
Journalist and anti-war activist Adam Kokesh interviewed several of the protesters in DC. Many of them called for additional government regulations and the re-election of Obama. This seems a bit odd, considering the number of Wall Street operatives in Obama's cabinet, and the fact that one-third of the money he has raised so far for his 2012 campaign has come directly from Wall Street. These protesters seem to think that somehow a candidate that is bankrolled by Wall Street can effectively check Wall Street's power. They fail to understand that Wall Street has so much power largely because they have bought off so many people in government--and have received lots of sweetheart deals, loopholes, and bailouts in return.
While that is puzzling, this sign that was being carried at the protest is disturbing. It reads: "A government is an entity which holds the monopolistic right to initiate force." One of the protesters that Kokesh interviews also says that he supports the use of force by government if it will "maximize social justice...maximize freedom...and improve the lot of everyone." I believe that is very similar to the argument used by Hitler to pass the Enabling Act. And besides, how can people rail against Wall Street having excessive power...and then call for an even more powerful institution, the government, to use force? Do they actually want a totalitarian government?
Good post. They really are showing the world how little they know about things.
ReplyDeleteHere is an article by Daniel Foster about the demands of these protesters
ReplyDeleteHere’s a “proposed list of demands” from one poster at occupywallst.org.:
Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending “Freetrade”, re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.
Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.
Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.
Demand four: Free college education.
Demand five: 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.
Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.
Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America’s nuclear power plants.
Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.
Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.
Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.
Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the “Books.” World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the “Books.” And I don’t mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.
Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.
Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.
These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy.
Wow, that's a lot of demands. It's obviously someone just spitting out soundbites without any understanding of how economics actually works. A guaranteed living wage income, free college education, and a minimum wage of $20/hr? I'd like to see the money tree this person must have in their backyard.
ReplyDeleteI got a chance to see these people in New York yesterday. What a bunch of confused dirty people who are wishing they were the Woodstock. Really sad.
ReplyDeleteWent by and it's getting worse. Here's what the Post says.
ReplyDeleteNew York Post takes Occupiers to task for drug use, strewing litter and copulating in the out of doors. "Zuccotti Park," says the paper, smells "like an open sewer—with people urinating and defecating in public. "
Say what ever you like about us, but we will not leave the part or be tricked into leaving. If the NYPD want a fight then bring it on
ReplyDeleteHey man, where'd you go? On vacation again. We miss your stuff.
ReplyDeleteNothing for three weeks, maybe this blog is out of business or the guy is at the OWS
ReplyDelete