A few days ago, I happened to catch a TV
interview of two participants in the New York City "Occupy Wall
Street" movement. I don't know their
names, or if they were movement "leaders." They were both male - one black and one white
- and both appeared to be in their early
to mid-thirties. Both were articulate
and thoughtful. They were asked by the
interviewer why they were there, and both gave similar answers. They were there because they thought that
ordinary people - the 99% - no longer
had a voice in government; one said we
needed to change the balance of power; the other, that he thought there needed
to be a paradigm shift.
Lately, media people have been saying that
the "Occupy Wall Street" movement has no central message. I disagree.
The message - loud and clear - is that 1% of the households in this
country have most of the money and most of the power, and the rest of us - the
99% - have what's left over; that this
is out-of-whack, imbalanced, and that something has to give.
In the early to mid 2000's, our financial
institutions were imbalanced: companies
and their stocks were overvalued; houses
were overvalued by bank appraisers, and banks made loans to people who, in a
more balanced environment, would not have qualified for them. Something had to give...and, ultimately, it
did. The banks, Wall Street, and the
housing market went down like a house of cards.
The "Occupy Wall Street" movement is saying that something has
to give...and it does. The balance needs
to be shifted.
In its usual rush to oversimplify, sensationalize,
and sell something, some in the mainstream (and not so mainstream) media have
been comparing "Occupy Wall Street" to the "Tea Party"
movement. Nothing could be further from
the truth. While both groups are
grassroots movements of primarily middle
class people who are seeking empowerment,
that's pretty much where the similarities end. The Tea Party is a group of largely white, older
Americans who, being political conservative extremists, distrust and dislike
"big government," and favor
the same deregulation mentality that perpetuated the economic imbalance we are
now experiencing.
On the other hand, Occupy Wall Streeters (or OWLLS as I like to refer to them for Occupy WaLL Street and for their wisdom),
are a racially, ethnically, chronologically (although primarily younger) and
politically diverse group. While they
tend to be more left of center, they are primarily folks who realize that our economic
and political systems need fixing, and think
that the ordinary guy and gal in the street should have more of a voice in fixing
them - "one person, one vote,"
as one of the interviewed men stated - and that this means, above all else, that the
balance of power needs to be shifted back from the 1% and more in the direction
of the 99%.
There are several things that can be done
to enhance the process of shifting the
balance. Of primary importance, of
course, is putting more of the 99% back to work. This is even more urgent in light of the approximately
40,000 troops who will be returning home from Iraq by the end of the year. The American
Jobs Act (AJA) will help to do that. Like
all things fashioned by humans, the AJA is not perfect. One can always find fault with anything if
that is one's focus. However, it would
put Americans back to work, and put them back to work in constructive ways:
repairing , renovating, and rebuilding roads, bridges, rail, airports and schools. In addition, more teachers, firefighters, police,
and other first responders would be retained or rehired to teach our kids and
keep our neighborhoods and families safe; government loans for small businesses would be more accessible; payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits
would be extended, and hiring and retraining programs would help veterans from the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars find work. The AJA, in
fact, as forecasted by nonpartisan economists, would create approximately 2
million jobs.
The AJA is not an end in itself, but a
step in the right direction in shifting the balance. Once it's in place, it can be refined and
adjusted as needed. The AJA needs to be
passed; the balance must be shifted.
*****************************We create and keep U.S. jobs when we demand, promote, and buy Made in USA
goods and products.
Is your breakfast choice the quick, convenient, portable toaster pastry? If it is, choose a competitively-priced "Made in USA" brand for your next purchase. Check labels before buying, and feel free to post your own research to this blog. Remember, "distributed by" or "manufactured by" does not mean it was made here, regardless of the company address!
This week's
recommended products:
·
Nature's Path Toaster Pastries -
Product of USA by Nature's Path Foods, Inc.,Blaine, WA
·
Pantry Essentials Toaster Pastries - Product of USA by Lucerne Foods,
Inc., Pleasanton, CA
NOT Recommended (made elsewhere):
·
Kellogg's
Pop Tarts
Blog
Sources:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/08/fact-sheet-american-jobs-act
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-protests-on-ge-ceos-lawn/
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