Occupy Wallstreet Thoughts

[SHHDlove]

What are your thoughts about the movement? I think a lot of anger because of the recession, and are going after some of the people they think caused it. I'm interested in what other Fastlaners are thinking.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/nyregion/wall-street-occupiers-protesting-till-whenever.html

 

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[365]

Glad I don't live on Wall St. anymore. Heard it was a real hassle for residents in the beginning (though I think the cops forced the protesters to move down a few blocks).

 

[SHHDlove]

I didn't even realize this was going on until a few weeks ago. I mean, I'm starting to read some stories about how people are in financial straits and don't know what to do. But... what the F*ck does that have to do with Wall Street? And is the protesting actually going to accomplish something?

 

[Pete799p]

SHHDlove I agree. I think they might be hoping that wall street will give them another handout since protesting is easier then entrepreneurship.

It comes down to the fact that somebody else is always at fault :smxB:. 99% of people will do everything in there power to not take responsibility for their action, situation, even health.

 

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[77startup]

From what I've seen so far it's a bunch of misguided young people that just don't understand the way life works mixed in with a few nutjobs that just want to yell at something. I was handed one of their rally forms today as I made my rounds.

 

[SHHDlove]

I saw an interview with some of the people protesting the other day in DC (part of the same movement). I was expecting a lot of down-on-their-luck blue collar workers who were angry at Wall Street.

What I found was a bunch of college students. Like, from very expensive universities. Who seem to be able to afford decent clothing and a decent education.

» Occupy Wall Street Protesters Call For Totalitarian Government, Re-Election Of Obama Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!

WTF?!?

 

[Z5 FILMS]

They are just a bunch of clueless hippie kids that know nothing.

This about sums it up.......TOTALLY CLUELESS.

[video=youtube;SfwTK0BBrV8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfwTK0BBrV8[/video]


PS: sorry, you can't get your 1.5 minutes back : ) it is comedy gold though.

 

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[Z5 FILMS]

I like this one with all the chicks doing Yoga in the background.

Check out :54

[video=youtube;GRQ6xk5AMfo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRQ6xk5AMfo&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

 

[Likwid24]

They are just a bunch of clueless hippie kids that know nothing.

That's exactly what it is. A bunch of young college hippies that have nothing better to do with their life. They are brainwashed in college then sent out into the world without a clue. Most of them don't even understand why their there. Living in NY, I see a lot of the B S protesting. It gets them no where. All it accomplishes is disrupting the lives of the honest tax paying citizens of the city. These bums need to get JOBS!

 

[Kak]

They are coming to houston. Here are a list of some of their totally unrealistic, communistic demands....

- A 'living wage' to be paid to everyone, regardless of employment status

- 100% unchecked free borders- Expungement of all personally owed debts
- Free Mumia Abu Jamal
- All businesses in the USA are required to be unionized
- Abolish all credit reporting agencies
- Outlaw the use of fossil fuels

I guess their primary meains of transportation is sailboat. Sidewalking dumbasses hopeing to get a check from the government.

 

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[CarrieW]

I have to say I disagree with many of the people posting in this thread! this is america ffs.

for 1 that gives them the right to protest anything they want to!

I may not agree with everything they think I do believe in the right to say whats on your mind.

I dont even know what else to say but wow.

Just because you want to dismiss them as brainwashed hippies doesnt mean that you are right and they are wrong.

I cant even go on for fear I will get banned.

 

[SMGrandSlam]

This kind of reminds me of the story of the gold rush. Those who got rich were the ones who sold the picks and shovels, right?

So how does one make money off of these people?

 

[Ska2free]

I'm going to have to disagree...I am kind of proud of those kids for being there. Let's be honest, the system that wrings 40-80 hour work weeks out of the typical worker in return for paltry vacation time, insufficient health coverage for most, and a retirement investment system that may keep pace with inflation if they are lucky...I think that's what they are angry about. And isn't disenchantment with that system that brought all of us to MJ's book?

I certainly think a more active approach, as most here are interested in, is a better answer for those suited to it. But the majority are not, and I don't think it has to be that folks on the slow lane must be doomed to corporate servitude...we live in a country where we can (if enough people want to) force societal change. Even if the protest may be more event than process, at least they are taking some action and not sitting on their butt watching tv. And it could (maybe) lead to real change. I think giving corporations less power over politicians is a good goal, even as a business person.

Are they clueless rich college kids? Maybe. But so were lots of equal rights and antiwar protesters in the past. They have the luxury of time to protest and education to know things could improve. The people that could benefit from stock market reforms that protect 401k participants or low income parents of students who could benefit from student loan reform...they are too busy working to do it themselves, and should be grateful.

 

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[Likwid24]

I think arguing about this is pointless. Its going to cause senseless bickering back and forth. This thread should probably be deleted.

 

[MediaMonty]

I agree that they have all the right to protest on the streets.

Will it amount to anything besides wasted effort? Nope. They way they protest and what they're protesting for is just ridiculous and absurd, nobody else besides themselves would take them seriously.

I looked at their list of demands:

Proposed List Of Demands For Occupy Wall St Movement! | OccupyWallSt.org Forum

and I can tell that these people have zero idea on how the real world works. They basically want everything given to them.

Free eduaction? Why don't people just learn to go to community college instead?

Debt forgiveness and abolishing of credit agencies? Are you kidding me? If somebody piles on a massive amount of debt that they can't get out of, it's their fault, and their responsibility to fix it.

 

[CarrieW]

I think arguing about this is pointless. Its going to cause senseless bickering back and forth. This thread should probably be deleted.

I agree...

 

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[77startup]

Honestly I don't see how anyone who isn't pro socialism or pro communism can seriously support their movement and Idea's when they really sit down and think about it carefully.What they are demanding simply isn't possible without doing away with capitalism.

I'm all for their right to protest but imho this is no different from fat people arguing that getting fat should be impossible and we should all have free government sponsored personal trainers, free weight loss surgery, and an unending supply of 0 calorie chocolate, chips, and icecream.

 

[Ska2free]

I looked at their list of demands:

Proposed List Of Demands For Occupy Wall St Movement! | OccupyWallSt.org Forum

and I can tell that these people have zero idea on how the real world works. They basically want everything given to them.

Free eduaction? Why don't people just learn to go to community college instead?

Debt forgiveness and abolishing of credit agencies? Are you kidding me? If somebody piles on a massive amount of debt that they can't get out of, it's their fault, and their responsibility to fix it.

I agree that list is ridiculous, especially worldwide debt forgiveness (WTF?)...but for the record, that list is not a consensus list, it's just one person's list that is getting media hype. It states that pretty clearly at the top.

 

[Rickson9]

I think that this kind of discontent stems from the widening gap between the haves and have nots. This needs to be addressed in a meaningful way or our society is doomed to experience the consequences of the past.

 

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[SHHDlove]

Glad to see people are actually talking about this. I don't agree with anything these people are doing, but at the same time, I have a very good friend who is actively participating in these protests. I think it's misguided, but he has a good heart, so I know he's in it for the right reasons, whatever they may be.

 

[Z5 FILMS]

The problem with the protest is it's unorganized and they are not united with one or two agendas. It's a big mash up, and what one protester of for, the person next to them against and I think a large portion are there just to make noise but don't really know why they are there. I have seen a few videos where people are 100% pro Obama and say they will do everything to make sure he gets reelected. WHAT???? Where do they think Obama gets his campaign money from? He gets it from the very corporations these people are protesting against.

They are so clueless that's it embarrassing.


They need to pick one or two things to protest. Like "no more fat bonuses for companies that got bailouts", and stick with it. Right now nobody is on the same page and they are just making noise.

 

[Jonleehacker]

They need to pick one or two things to protest. Like "no more fat bonuses for companies that got bailouts", and stick with it. Right now nobody is on the same page and they are just making noise.

Exactly.

I do believe they are on target with the largest problem in our current society. If I was king, I would force the banks to privatize. The current incentive system is of private profits and public losses from the banks encourages all sorts of actions by banks that are completely in alignment with their current incentive environment and almost completely destructive for society as a whole.

Trying to regulate and fix their actions is pointless, the only why to change anything is to change the incentive system that is creating the problem, so yes, the protesters are intuitively right on target, but like you said, they are clueless and it's not likely anyone with any real sense is going to straighten them out.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

This is a highly charged political topic and I appreciate you guys keeping this civil.

 

[SHHDlove]

This is a highly charged political topic and I appreciate you guys keeping this civil.

I did not realize this was that charged when I started this thread. I'm surprised there's this many people on both sides of the fence.

 

[MediaMonty]

From what I'm seeing, these protesters want bailouts for everybody that gets themselves into bad financial situations. They think its unfair when they see all these corporations get bailouts from the government.

These protesters don't understand that these corporations get special privileges because they went through a very long and hard process to get to where they are today. They went to the top and did such a good job that they make up a large part of the country's economy. That's why they are getting bailouts from the government, because they earned those privileges. And even though these corporations do get bailouts, I'm sure that their bailouts are limited.

These protesters are asking that everybody should virtually get unlimited bailouts regardless of whether or not they earned them.

 

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[kwerner]

Let's be honest, the system that wrings 40-80 hour work weeks out of the typical worker in return for...

You know, in my opinion, the greatest thing about the Declaration of Independence is this little line right here:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."


Note in particular the two words LIBERTY and PURSUIT...

LIBERTY |ˈlibərtē|
noun ( pl. -ties)
1. the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views

PURSUIT |pərˈsoōt|
noun
1. the action of following or pursuing someone or something


Here in America, people have the CHOICE of what they want to DO with their lives - that is LIBERTY and PURSUIT. They are not FORCED to work the 40-80 hour work weeks like you mentioned above. It is THEIR CHOICE.

So blaming "the system that wrings 40-80 hour work weeks out of the typical worker" for someone's lack of vacation time, health coverage, retirement, et cetra is, in my opinion, really just an EXCUSE. The company they went to work for didn't put a gun to their head and say you will work for me or DIE. No. It was their choice. A series of choices led to what has become of their life.


You know, I tried to look up one last word (phrase) in the dictionary, "PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY", but it wasn't there. ...Maybe it's a sign of the times.

 

[Likwid24]

I'm starting OPERATION OCCUPY MIAMI BEACH. Who's with me! I'm protesting whatever dude! Meet me on the beach @ Ocean ave and 8th street!

 

[Komelika]

I have to say I disagree with many of the people posting in this thread! this is america ffs.

for 1 that gives them the right to protest anything they want to!

I may not agree with everything they think I do believe in the right to say whats on your mind.

I dont even know what else to say but wow.

Just because you want to dismiss them as brainwashed hippies doesnt mean that you are right and they are wrong.

I cant even go on for fear I will get banned.

You sound a little hypocritical. They have the right to say what they want and they are, but it doesn't make them right. We have a right to see their obvious flaws and chat about what we think. We aren't out there billy clubbing them over the head and telling them to STFU or anything.

While some of the people may have valid points and chose to protest, it is usually the nut jobs that make the news. Particularly if the news organizations are against the cause of the protestors. What better way to debunk their argument than to showcase the idiots in the crowd. Regardless, it seems to me like a shitload of victims playing the part.

 

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[Komelika]

EUREKA! I see a fastlane opportunity! MJ, do you sell your books at a discount in bulk orders? I want 10K copies for $10-$12 a piece. I can sell them to these protestors for $20 as a better way to make their statement! If you can't beat them join them! Take control instead of handouts and when you use the principles in this book to become a millionaire then you can handout all of your money to the sidewalkers just like you are asking them to do for you!

 

[Komelika]

You know, in my opinion, the greatest thing about the Declaration of Independence is this little line right here:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."


Note in particular the two words LIBERTY and PURSUIT...

LIBERTY |ˈlibərtē|
noun ( pl. -ties)
1. the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views

PURSUIT |pərˈsoōt|
noun
1. the action of following or pursuing someone or something


Here in America, people have the CHOICE of what they want to DO with their lives - that is LIBERTY and PURSUIT. They are not FORCED to work the 40-80 hour work weeks like you mentioned above. It is THEIR CHOICE.

So blaming "the system that wrings 40-80 hour work weeks out of the typical worker" for someone's lack of vacation time, health coverage, retirement, et cetra is, in my opinion, really just an EXCUSE. The company they went to work for didn't put a gun to their head and say you will work for me or DIE. No. It was their choice. A series of choices led to what has become of their life.


You know, I tried to look up one last word (phrase) in the dictionary, "PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY", but it wasn't there. ...Maybe it's a sign of the times.

Bingo! Just like the WalMart protestor in MJ's book. Walmart can only offer subpar wages because there is an army of people in line to take the job.