He Said:
What began as an Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City, has developed into a movement all across North America.
Protesting is an important part of a democratic society. It's the people's one chance to really be heard by the powers that run our countries, outside of an election, but I don't think a politician has ever paid much attention to my vote.
The Occupy protests are about the poor majority who feel the system is being gamed by the rich few in order to keep the middle class poor and get the wealthy, wealthier. Some of that is because a lot of government money is going toward multi-billion dollar companies instead of going into social programs that benefit those in need of programming.
I love listening to Warren Buffet, who pays into the United States tax system, talk about the problems with taxation right now. Buffet is one of the most well-known billionaires on the planet and he has been very outspoken in the last few years about all the benefits he gets as a billionaire that I don't get as a bottom-feeding leech. He says he should absolutely be paying more taxes than his maid but doesn't. Jon Stewart quipped that his maid is probably a millionaire anyway.
Buffet has provided some insight into the ways the uber-wealthy can get around paying taxes and in some cases don't pay any tax back into the system, and that has in turn made him my favourite billionaire, were I to have such a thing.
The Occupy protests were inspired by the Arab Spring, in which a number of dictators were thrown down by mostly peaceful protesters. While there seems to be some swift change coming in those countries, I think that was because they really cared about what they wanted.
I would love to see the Occupy protesters be successful in initiating some change, but I don't think these marches are the beginning of any kind of large-scale change unless people stick it out. They will have to protest for months, maybe even years, before anybody in power really pays any attention, and let's face it, these people are not rich and will have to go back to their jobs so they can continue getting by.
Many of the wealthy elite may say that being poor is a choice, and they're completely right. I chose to be a reporter, fully aware that the pay scale is just below that of a slave.
They chose to be CEOs, so why don't we all just be CEOs? Then everybody would be rich and happy, and no streets would require occupying.
She said:
The Occupy protests are awesome, and I will definitely be participating in Occupy Regina, which is taking place this weekend.
If you're still reading, it means 1) you haven't written me off as a hippie; 2) you've written me off as a hippie but will continue to read this until you find my e-mail address or a way to contact me and give me a piece of your mind; or 3) you possibly agree with me, or are at least interested in the notion.
To continue, the Occupy Wall Street protest isn't against the people who work at Wall Street, at least not how I understand it. It's a movement meant to draw attention to that fact that our middle class is disappearing, and the wealthy are just getting wealthier - at the expense of everyone else.
The protests want to get the attention of the media and the public and make them aware of the problem, which I've heard described as "trickle down economics." They want the government to step up and stop giving the wealthy stupidly huge tax breaks. They want jobs to stay in the country, rather than being moved to other countries. They want the middle class back.
Personally, this all sounds great to me. I'm only two years away from graduating into a world where I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to afford a home, where jobs are scarce, and where my (potential) offspring (seriously, potential) may grow up without music programs in their schools because of cuts to government spending. If these protests have even the slightest chance of creating change in this world and giving my generation an opportunity to move out of our parents' houses, then I'm all for it.
I'm not saying we need to spread the wealth around evenly; I'm not a socialist. I'm just saying it's unfair that the rich, the tiny one per cent of the population with all of our wealth, seem to be getting richer at our expense. I don't understand why they're exempt of some taxes that the rest of the population is forced to bear.
And I guess a part of me wants to believe in the good of the human race, in which there aren't hundreds of people who are happy to watch millions of other struggle to survive each day. I want to believe that we care about one another and are willing to help one another out when we can.
So I'll be Occupying Regina tomorrow. Call me a communist if you want, but I want something better than this.
