What are these people bitching about?

[chadachada123]

The participants are mainly protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, as well as the power and influence of corporations, particularly from the financial service sector, and lobbyists over government.

That. Corruption, not debt, not whinging, not your stupid right wing fucking fantasies, it's a protest about the corruption of governments and said government being in the pocket of big business. Denying this is like denying the earth is round. Anything else while im here? Or have the tea party chimpanzees gone?

Thank God you came, I thought I was the last liberal on the Escapist!
Jokes aside, although I may be a 15 year old Canadian boy with a 65% average and who hasn't kept up with the news for a month due Dark Souls, I don't think this thing is only bitching hippies. Maybe if it were 100 of em, but there are thousands! Although their answers may be different, that all feel like they belong there, and they probably DO have something to complain about.

Whoa there, I'm a very strong Libertarian (classical Liberal, if you'd prefer), and I agree with you both completely. Government and business should not mix (at least where it is not needed) and should certainly not be bailing out and lining the pockets of assholes and their companies that are using flawed business practices.

 

[Jegsimmons]

They are pissed about the economy and instead of going after the root cause they decided to screw around and protest.

unfortunately for everyone, we all kind of contributed to the bad economy, not one class, not one person, EVERYONE.

after all it takes two to tango.

 

[Mediteral]

Clegane]
I think it was there low IQ, or maybe they are the needs who are saying we shouldn't pay taxes because the economy will wok better? Actually I distinctively remember hearing that they wanted the government to buy 99% of everything in the world and then hand it out for free. TBH from what I've heard from various protesters they don't even fucking know themselves.

My money is on the low IQ.

Speaking of low IQ, it's "their" not "there" ... And "Work" not "wok"

It's about the top 1% wealthiest American's control over the majority of the world's wealth and buying out the american government so they can pass the policies that only help them and screw the common citizens. Unfortunately, a lot of americans are blind to the truth because they can't stop watching Fox News.

MY money is the low IQ.

 

[spartan231490]

So I'm just wondering what exactly the people on Wall Street are bitching about, from what I've heard it's mostly people who don't have jobs who have nothing better to do or people who DO have jobs bitching about there being no jobs and that it's all just a waste of time. Could someone explain this whole mess to me?

They blame hyper-capitalism, and wall street practices for the current recession, not without reason.

 

[Char-Nobyl]

So I'm just wondering what exactly the people on Wall Street are bitching about, from what I've heard it's mostly people who don't have jobs who have nothing better to do or people who DO have jobs bitching about there being no jobs and that it's all just a waste of time. Could someone explain this whole mess to me?

Meh. It's a hollow effort with no clear agenda or infrastructure. The idea is that people are protesting the high unemployment, disproportionate wealth allocation, and general corporate lack of ethics, but they're just protesting the concepts rather than any actual issues.

If anything, they're hurting any actual causes there might be. Robert Reich [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTzMqm2TwgE&feature=player_embedded] very nicely condensed and explained the issues that the 'Occupy Wall Street' crowd should be addressing...but instead, they're just protesting that corporations are just in it to make money. And when you protest that alone, the planets align and solar radiation renders Fox News correct when they say that you're attacking the basic principle of capitalism.

 

[AD-Stu]

Obviously a big part of the problem is that there are a bunch of different agendas mixed in with the protesting group, and as as result nobody gets a clear and actionable message out. With no clear message to communicate, the media only gives it coverage when it finds other "newsworthy" angles (ie: clashes with police, public disturbance, etc).

There are probably some legitimate grievances mixed in with all the tilting at windmills, and some of them might even get some traction and action if they could be separated from the pack. With the way the whole thing has been organised though, it doesn't seem likely to happen and the longer it drags on without clear messages being communicated, the further marginalised the movement will become.

 

[Mediteral]

Snip

Everything you were saying was going great until you said "As an anarchist"

 

[Eve Charm]

Ugh wow ok the 1% of the population pretty much controls the entire government and 42% of the world's wealth, while the 99% of the rest of the world control nothing and barely fight over whats left of the wealth.

It's basically civil unrest because the economy is going down, jobs keep becoming lost or shipped over seas, taxes keep going up along with the price of food, gas, clothes everything else you'd need.

with while how bad everyone in the world is doing, and debt keeps piling up, government decide to let things like banks not pay their taxes, give companies big bail outs that are suppose to go to more jobs but go to bonuses instead, while we end up paying for these tax breaks and bail outs to cover us.

and last but not least, if you don't have 250k, you can't buy a lobbyist to say what you want for the government.

These people are a group of people that believe that enough pissed off people can get together, that they can change something. and while everyone tends to have their own message, they are all doing it together.

So get out there and join them if your pissed off at the government, or afraid you might lose your job, or think something else in unfair that you don't have a say anymore in the country you live in.

If this is really what they want, then they're doing it completely wrong. Seriously, I thought they were pro-anarchy after someone told me it wasn't a joke/art show. (I saw them the night of Nocturn, Halifax's city-wide art show) You really, and truly have the best statement regarding what these people are trying to accomplish.

It's a shame they're all fucking idiots.

See here's the thing, what do you want people to do? The world ain't gonna change cause people are bitching about it on the internets, and it ain't changing cause everything else is going to hell.

This is people, not just on wallstreet or wherever you saw them, all across not only the country, but the world coming out of there god damn houses, putting themselves into ACTUAL harm, may it be police, weather or whatever else gets thrown their way.

This is the only way, people think they can change their country, their world peacefully, with a movement like this. Probably about 30000-60000 people have been out protesting with the same movements, the same messages across the world together and more just keep coming. union and anti war protests and college walkout joining them it's growing faster.

How many people is it going to take to change the world without violence or at least friggen listen? 100,000? 500,000? hell it takes 1 guy to make everyone take off their shoes at an airport out of violence to change the god damn world!

 

[FreakSheet]

People hate the fact that the billionars who are the reason of the current recession get to keep all their money while everyone else gets fucked.

The general idea I can get behind. The fact that the people who are the cause of the recession got to keep their billions and even profited on it while everyone else got fucked is pretty fucked up. Quite a few of the people protesting seem to be pricks though.

... is that Kari Byron from Mythbusters?

 

[remnant_phoenix]

They are hippies. Dirty, whiney, pathetic hippies who expect the rich to pay for them.
I have zero respect for any of them. So they are not part of the 1%, whose fucking fault is that? They had the same chances, they did not go for it so they have no right to whine.

Besides, they piss me off talking about how bad they have it while they have food, clean water, homes, medicines and many luxuries people in other countries could not possibly dream of.

But I guess that saying "We are the lower 99% of the top 25%[footnote]Rough estimate of living standards of everyone around the world.[/footnote] of the worlds population!" just does not have the same ring to it. But then whiney peoples complaints rarely do when you phrase it correctly.

Basically they are pissed off that the top 1% is much much richer than they are while ignoring that they are much much richer than 75% of the worlds population.

Actually, its more like 10%.

So yeah, saying "We are in the 99% of the not-super-rich of America" doesn't hold much water in light of the fact that if a person has a steady job, running water, a steady diet, stable shelter that protects from the elements, and ANY amount of money in the bank, they are in the top 10% of the wealthiest people in the world.

 

[Condor219]

Stuff in and around here [http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-four-charts-that-explain-what-the-protesters-are-angry-about-2011-10] provide a good story.

 

[ccggenius12]

Currently enrolled in a business ethics course, so I'll leave these tidbits of knowledge for anyone who wants them.
1. Americans are far more likely to blame an individual's economic shortcomings on the individual, citing lack of skill/effort, poor work habits, etc. (71% of Americans, as opposed to 40% of Europeans)
2. Western Europeans are far more likely to blame the government for their economic shortcomings, citing a flawed system.
3. Because of the above, and because the majority believes that redistribution favors minorities, they support the current political system.
4. Because of this fact, an American is twice as likely to be poor than someone in Western Europe.
5. While there are in fact many jobs for those willing to work them, few provide a living wage, creating a situation where many full-time employees still cannot afford basic necessities.
6. Average salary for a Japanese CEO? 300k.
7. Contrary to beliefs about the comparative well-being of America's poor, 20 year-old US males rank 36th in the world for life expectancy. Women and infants rank 21st.

While all this is true, those protesters aren't exactly stepping up with solutions. Thus, it all comes across as an exercise in futility, as this is time that could be spent actually furthering their careers. Heck, if there truly are thousands of them, statistically, a few of them are bound to succeed.

For reference, my statistics were pulled from "Business Ethics: A Textbook with Cases (Seventh Edition)", by William H. Shaw.

 

[Aprilgold]

So I'm just wondering what exactly the people on Wall Street are bitching about, from what I've heard it's mostly people who don't have jobs who have nothing better to do or people who DO have jobs bitching about there being no jobs and that it's all just a waste of time. Could someone explain this whole mess to me?

That's pretty much the problem with it, there is no root cause they can all get behind and support.

The general gist of it is that people are angry over the incredibly ridiculous wealth distribution in the US, and the way it has basically destroyed the economy. They decided to get together with their friends and sit around on Wall Street getting run over by police motorcycles to protest it, for some reason that's still beyond my grasp.

Seems like a good cause, if we fixed it earlier, we would not be in this trouble.

People hate the fact that the billionars who are the reason of the current recession get to keep all their money while everyone else gets fucked.

Spoiler: Basically, things like this.

The general idea I can get behind. The fact that the people who are the cause of the recession got to keep their billions and even profited on it while everyone else got fucked is pretty fucked up. Quite a few of the people protesting seem to be pricks though.

And this, seriously, fuck you billionares, if you weren't playing loto with the economy, we would be A-OK and would avoid defaulting, ya' pricks.

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

Wow, there's a lot of people in this thread who don't know what the hell they're talking about.

I work hard. I have four jobs. I earn good money. I support Occupy Wall Street and I support all the local Occupations as well.

It's not just a bunch of "jobless hippies" and those that think so ought to educate themselves rather than listen to rhetoric found in the dregs of network news. There are very hardworking people in those demonstrations, as well as those who aren't finding work.

Most people don't want corporations to burn for being evil. They want corporations to put a bit more of their completely excessive wealth back into society. They aren't taxed at a rate comparable to the middle classes, while they accrue the vast sums of money we can't even fathom. Sure, let them have stupid amounts of money, that's fine. I don't want to be as rich as them because I can't imagine how boring my life would be. But I would like to know that if I got into an accident or contracted a terrible disease, I wouldn't be financially ruined. Y'know, just some basic benefits, like being able to stay alive. I work seven days a week, but if I lost my job for whatever reason, or if a major health disaster hit my family, it would all be for nothing. And I'm in one of the WEALTHIER brackets.

There are people who work even harder than I do, for a lot less money, and they are unhappy. They're unhappy to be fed a bunch of lies about working hard and going to college to earn degrees that can't get them jobs because everybody has a degree now because they were all sold the same lie.

When the folk at Wall Street were in a financial fix, our tax money bailed them out. Now that they're making more money than ever, they hike up their prices, they want to charge people simply for HAVING debit cards, and they refuse to contribute taxes to help out the people who helped them. No, people aren't just jealous of the rich. They simply want the same help we gave to them when they were on their knees, suffering from a financial crisis they helped cause.

 

[thestormsguardian]

I've been a little cut of from the news where i am but so far as i can tell it's like several people have mentioned. it's a combination of a stagnant or apparently stagnant economy (I'm not really sure at this point anymore)and bad financial decisions made by the government and corporations.

and in my personal opinion its also about the sense of entitlement we as a nation are developing. i cringe when ever i hear about the 'right' to health care or abortion or my personal favorite the 'right' to own a home which got us into this mess. while i'm slightly open to some healthcare reform universal health care is not the way to go. but many things people nowadays say they have a 'right' to is in fact a privileged that should be worked towards and that honestly not everyone will achieve.

and for the record i'm a college student making it through on student loans hard work and a shit load of prayer.

 

[THAC0]

really, at this point if you don't understand it, it is most likely because you don't want to understand it.

- most people in America are in a pretty bad spot, they are in danger of loosing jobs, houses, savings whatever.
- a few people in America are doing very very will and continue to do well.
- those few people have bought most of our political system so that these trends continue.
- the people who are not in this position of power have no other options. the game is rigged against them, there is no government system to help them since the government is owned by the same rich people who caused the problem in the first place.
-protest.

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

and in my personal opinion its also about the sense of entitlement we as a nation are developing. i cringe when ever i hear about the 'right' to health care or abortion or my personal favorite the 'right' to own a home which got us into this mess. while i'm slightly open to some healthcare reform universal health care is not the way to go. but many things people nowadays say they have a 'right' to is in fact a privileged that should be worked towards and that honestly not everyone will achieve.

What about a guy who works two jobs, let's say waiting tables and cleaning windows. If he's not waiting, he's cleaning. He does this for about ten hours a day, sometimes more. He doesn't earn great money but he's working his absolute ass off. He went to college, and he tried his hardest, but he just wasn't as academically gifted as others. Still, he's never been out of work and done what he can to keep a roof over his head.

Despite working as hard as anybody else, he can't afford health insurance. One day he goes to work, gets hit by a car, and boom!

I guess we better saw that leg off, right? Dude didn't face up to his responsibility and walk into that high paying office job they're handing out to absolutely everybody, right? Let him die, as they recently chanted in the GOP debates. Let him die.

 

[nklshaz]

I don't know the details, but I think the fact that people are leaving their jobs to protest is just stupid. I don't know how these people think that taking the gears out of a broken machine will make it start working again, but this protest needs to end soon.

 

[AD-Stu]

It's not just a bunch of "jobless hippies" and those that think so ought to educate themselves rather than listen to rhetoric found in the dregs of network news. There are very hardworking people in those demonstrations, as well as those who aren't finding work.

I'm not necessarily trying to come up with excuses for lazy journalism (I'm not American, so I'm not actually seeing the local coverage anyway), but would you not agree that the nature of the coverage on the news isn't exactly surprising given the lack of a coherent message coming from the protesters?

 

[THAC0]

and in my personal opinion its also about the sense of entitlement we as a nation are developing. i cringe when ever i hear about the 'right' to health care or abortion or my personal favorite the 'right' to own a home which got us into this mess. while i'm slightly open to some healthcare reform universal health care is not the way to go. but many things people nowadays say they have a 'right' to is in fact a privileged that should be worked towards and that honestly not everyone will achieve.

What about a guy who works two jobs, let's say waiting tables and cleaning windows. If he's not waiting, he's cleaning. He does this for about ten hours a day, sometimes more. He doesn't earn great money but he's working his absolute ass off. He went to college, and he tried his hardest, but he just wasn't as academically gifted as others. Still, he's never been out of work and done what he can to keep a roof over his head.

Despite working as hard as anybody else, he can't afford health insurance. One day he goes to work, gets hit by a car, and boom!

I guess we better saw that leg off, right? Dude didn't face up to his responsibility and walk into that high paying office job they're handing out to absolutely everybody, right? Let him die, as they recently chanted in the GOP debates. Let him die.

pretty much this.

American's are very full of themselves with their "hard work" or whatever they want to call it. the sad fact is that most of them are just afraid to demand what they actually deserve.