What are these people bitching about?

[DarkishFriend]

To quote one of my favorite movies; Head of State.

Spoiler

They had a speech written for me
about what the people need.
But you guys are the people.
You know what you need.
Better schools...
better jobs...
Less crime.
How many of you, right now...
work two jobs
just to have enough money to be broke?
That ain't right.
If you work two jobs,
and at the end of the week...
you got just enough money
to get your broke ass home...
Let me hear you say, "That ain't right!"
That ain't right!
How many of you have children
that they call stupid?
Don't be ashamed! It ain't your fault.
I asked my niece the other day,
"What's four plus four?" She said, " ."
But that ain't her fault!
That's the school's fault.
If your child's school has old-ass books...
and brand-new metal detectors,
let me hear you say, "That ain't right!"
That ain't right!
It ain't right.
And now we got these corporations
stealing all the money.
They ain't stealing their money,
they stealing our money!
The pension.
You work for years.
You thought you'd leave your kids
a will, now you'll leave them a won't!
You show up to get your pension,
they give you a pen!
A damn pen! What in the hell
am I supposed to do with a pen?
I should stab you in the neck
with this pen, Mr. Pension Taker.
Get your hand out of my pocket!
Taking everybody's pension,
and nobody going to jail.
That's some bullshit. Ain't it?
Meanwhile, we steal a Big Mac with cheese...
next thing you know, we on Death Row!
That ain't right!
How many of you work in a city
you can't afford to live in?
That ain't right!
How many of you work in a mall
you can't afford to shop in?
That ain't right!
How many of you clean up a hotel...
you ain't never gonna be able to stay in?
That ain't right!
We got nurses that work in hospitals
they can't even afford to get sick in.
It ain't right!
It isn't right!
That shit is wrong!
It's dead wrong!
I'm Mays Gilliam...
and I'm running for President
of the United States of America.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

[HEADING=1]What OWS wants:[/HEADING]
as told by Reddit's candre23

"Remove corporate/wealth influence from the government. This includes lobbying and campaign finance reform.

Adjust tax laws to require the wealthy to pay more, and eliminate existing loopholes that allow them to pay less.

Massive reforms to investment banking laws to prevent the sort of rampant gaming that brought about the mortgage crisis. This includes closing the revolving door between regulators and the boards of the companies they regulate.

Actually prosecute the people and corporations responsible for the collapse of 2008. Dozens (if not hundreds) of CEOs should be broke and in prison, not rich and free. The companies involved, when punished at all, were only given token fines of fractions of a percent of the money they stole. That needs to be remedied.

Stop throwing money away on unnecessary wars against non-threats and spend it on education and infrastructure instead.

Fix the health care system. Not the half-assed "obamacare" bill, but legitimate, meaningful changes that will save the country (though not necessarily the insurance companies) money and ensure that nobody dies simply because they couldn't afford not to.

Stop dicking around with subsidies for fossil fuel companies and get serious about sustainable alternative energy. This includes new, safe nuclear plants and any renewables that make sense. For the ones that don't make sense, fund research until we can make them make sense.

Legalize, regulate and tax drugs, prostitution, and internet gambling. Putting people in jail for non-crimes wastes money and ruins lives. We could be making money from these things instead of giving it to criminals.

Renovate the law enforcement system. Stop using SWAT teams for dangerous (often deadly) no-knock raids for petty crimes. Legally affirm the right to record cops in public. Actually prosecute cops for gross violations of citizens' rights. Reinforce privacy rights and require actual warrants for electronic wiretapping and remind them that their job is "to protect and serve", not be a bunch of paramilitary asshats.

Legally enforce net neutrality and find some way to make our internet infrastructure competitive. We're at the bottom of the list of industrialized countries for internet speed and availability, and the top of the list for price. We've already paid the telecoms tens of billions to provide cheap fiber to the curb for most of America, and instead they've raised prices and reduced service. They sue local governments who try to provide a cheaper, faster alternative. This shit has to end, one way or another."

That sums it up pretty well, too. Not offering a personal opinion, just answering the OP's question. Carry on, folks

 

[JochemDude]

On wall streets, not a clue.
In Amsterdam it's about dumping money into the banks. In special, dumping billions into Greek banks that we need too. That's why I was there yesterday, beer, party and complaining about corperate creed, can we get anymore Cliché.

 

[XT inc]

I have no Idea something about corperate responsibility, the Bailouts given to people who make tons of cash because their about to crash, then go and pay out millions in bonuses previously promised to other people who work for them.

Something about people not facing jail time for stuff they did and got away with it, those trollsy bank loans that cost people their houses, giving breaks to companies who creat jobs... in third world countries.

that kind of stuff?

 

[Zorg Machine]

Because there are a couple of massive asshats doing whatever they want and they just so happened to destroy the economy and royally screw people over every day. People are mildly pissed about that but since nothing seems to happen, they decide to protest.

 

[Hollock]

Occupy Wall Street is a horizontally organized resistance movement employing the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to restore democracy in America. We use a tool known as a "people's assembly" to facilitate collective decision making in an open, participatory and non-binding manner''

that's from their website. So they really just have been fucked, or have seen people get fucked through community/news and want people to know that things should change in finance and government. Particularly in how business and government are making out while they only let us watch. And something they all have a problem with is the fact that rich people pay much less in taxes, and that we're basically making their cushy situations cushier. That's why it's on wall street and that's why they're always railing against 'the 1%'
They should have clearer goals, but to say they're just 'bitching' and want to be handed jobs is really messed up. They aren't getting arrested, beat, and pepper sprayed for the lolz.

 

[iFail69]

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?

But... you just summed it up nicely...

 

[orangeban]

Seems to me that, in America at least, people have finally got sick of the economic system. I think the idea they don't like the fact the government seems to be more on the side of the rich and the companies than of the poor, you know, the people who actually need help.

 

[jawakiller]

Good god, all these intellectuals. I thought my end all view on this would have cleared things up but it clearly hasn't done a goddamn thing. You guys are taking them waaay to seriously. Non-violent protests will never work when there is that much fucking money and power involved. The haves will look at the have-nots and tell them to go fuck themselves. Thats how the real world works. Fucking hate all this idealism.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

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.

Sorry but this is just false. Im actually a bit appauled. Also you trotted out the "youre better off than some so you cant complain about anything ever" arguement that my parents used to use when i didnt want to eat my peas. It was bullshit then and its bullshit now.

Id like to deal with this now. Lets imagine i punched you in the face. Upset? No youre not, someone somewhere just stabbed. So its worse for him. Dont complain then, you have it better so you cant be angry or call the police. What? Im sick of this arguement. Its hollow and downright annoying.

Id like to tread lightly here, you ignored someone rather violently and id like to have a serious discussion with you.

First off you seem to have no idea what these people want. They do NOT want free money handouts. They want to change a system in which large corperations back political leaders for their campaigns so when the campaign is won the political leaders cut them huge breaks and favors to keep the backing for the next campaign. It stinks of corruption and corperate back scratching while keeping everyone else out of the picture.

Second the idea that these people had the same chances as the 1% gave me this reaction:
Im not sure if youre joking. Seriously? The son of a rich oil tycoon totally has the same chance as me, a kid with good grades but a looming 60K debt to attend a biomed course because i want to help people in healthcare. Where ill likely be payed little, appreciated less, forced to work in a bloated NHS that barely run in a job market where frankly starbucks is a fucking light at the end of the tunnel. The only thing keeping me going is that if i land a job at least i can be proud of it, actually helping people not die of easy to treat illnesses. Ill get to this later.

Third: When you are doing three jobs and you cannot feed yourself and have heating and medical insurance something is wrong. In a country where spewing hate toward gays is a right and denying them the right to love is a right but not dying horrifically of cancer in the street is a privilage something is VERY wrong. Id say a country where simple diseases kill people that could be treated because of poverty doesnt even count as a first world country. Thats thrid world standard right there. Can you not see something wrong here? Wages get smaller, pentions get smaller, jobs are harder to find, houses are MORE expensive, degrees become LESS usefull and MORE expensive i mean COME ON. Something here is VERY wrong. And at the same time the parties bend over backwards to help their previous funders and dont give a shit about a single mum pulling 4 jobs just to survive.

The banks went down, they got bailed out. I lose my house, wheres my fucking bail out. In fact listen to this. This is nice.

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?

I always looked at it as the Hipster movement of 2011.

I want to punch every single one in the face.

Smug fucks.

"IM BETTER THAN THESE FILTH! THEY SO SMUG!"

Hypocritical much?

Go on punch this single mother of one pulling 2 jobs to get by. Keep that morale highground you so dearly believe you have. I weep for the future full of people like you.

 

[Eve Charm]

Ok for all you get a message or I can't get behind this without a message, understand please, this movement is in it's BABY phase. It just started, of course their isn't a clear message and what not, people are still coming in and leaving every day, Tea parties and other movements have been around for years, they didn't just wake up one day and have a list of demands to change the country

It's gonna get better and more organized in time. And it's not going to stop because everything they are fighting for is getting worse. The REAL American rate is about 20% not the rate they go by that only includes people that have been out of work for less then 6 months. I'd say double that is under employed.

Something is going to give sooner or later in this world, and this Wall street thing is going to be known as what started it. You can't have kids coming out of high school or college not being able to find work. You can't have more and more jobs being lost or sent over seas. You can't bail out a bank so they can stay in business and take peoples home, and you CAN'T KEEP TAXING AND STEALING FROM PEOPLE THAT CAN'T EVEN AFFORD TO LIVE ANYMORE.

 

[Smagmuck_]

MY FIRST STARTER POKEMON WAS A BULBOUSAUR, I AM THE 1%.

OT: You know, having them be tear gassed wouldn't be too bad of an idea right about now.