Quote:
Originally Posted by Daradon
Hmmm, a baby boomer arguing against new protests saying they are cliche... Saying they are nothing like past protests. Saying they are ill founded and don't mean much.
How unexpected.
'Don’t be fooled by the clichés of protest movements past. The most radical people today are the ones that look the most boring. It’s not about declaring war on some nefarious elite. It’s about changing behavior from top to bottom. Let’s occupy ourselves.'
I wonder what writers in the 60's said about Vietnam protesters. I wonder how important the old white people set in their ways thought about the civil rights movements for African Americans and women.
It's a good article Cow, but how do YOU feel about it?
|
I agree with David Brooks.
The Occupy Wall St. movement seems to be unfocussed, appears to be thinking small and narrowly and seems to be more interested in unlikely revenge or spite on a select few - including wealthy matrons of Palm Beach - who probably aren't the right targets or even guilty of anything, suggesting a certain illiteracy amongst the participants.
As an example, most appear to have no clue that financial institutions have largely repaid the emergency liquidity loans given them in 2008, with a profit to taxpayers.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/mone...d-bancorp.html
I am impressed that certain elements of the Federal Reserve and some titans of business have stepped forth to offer public support for Occupy Wall St., although, like me, they admit they're kind of confused as to what the end game is supposed to be. You're seeing more and more business leaders stepping forth - including the Presidents of Cisco and Starbucks in the last week - to complain about the rudderless political establishment and its role in making the difficult economic stretch even more so but, unlike the Occupy Wall St. protesters, they're offering specific solutions on the regulatory and taxation front. They've got ideas to agree or disagree with, as does David Brooks in his column.
Occupy Wall St. doesn't seem to have that contribution. Its simply an outlet for frustration.
Given 47% of Americans don't pay taxes and roughly 20% of all taxpayers put up roughly 80% of all taxes collected . . . . . don't be surprised if those are the guys influencing policy.
"Corporations are people too" got a lot of laughs at the expense of Mitt Romney but there's an element of truth there. People forget that there was a time, even in Canada I believe, when only landowners could vote.
I've also seen another apt quote from the President of a large multinational . . . . "I'm not an American corporation. I'm a global corporation" which is a new factor in the mix.
Occupy Wall St has pretensions of populism but is gradually gravitating to the shrill left . . . . . as the Tea Party is dominated by the shrill right. That doesn't help the crediility of either.
Someone earlier in the thread said I would be opposed to protesting. That's not the case. Knock your brains out. I think I've been pretty clear that the fight would be better focussed on the campaign trail, at legislatures and at the White House. The placards should be there instead. My only perceived role is to pressure the group to do something useful with its time, namely contribute something to the debate.
Being burdened with age and a long memory, it seems to me people come out to complain when economic times are rude and then disappear when times are great . . . . . which makes you wonder about how deeply held the Occupy Wall St. principles might be.
Because Occupy Wall St. doesn't appear to stand for much beyond vague frustrations, a return to better times - without systemic change - would probably cause it to dwindle of life and disappear.
We've seen periods of deleveraging before. On average, they take seven years to unwind, unemployment typically averages about five percet higher than normal and usually, economic growth isn't very sustainable, making it easy to slide back into shallow recessions. Sounds very familar.
We've probably got another three or four years to go. Then the movement dies. Unless you've actually got a cause you're fighting for.
Cowperson