Thursday, October 13, 2011

What do the "Occupy" protesters want?

Some pundits and talking heads, especially on the conservative side of things, claim to not understand what the thousands of folks involved in the new mass movement of "Occupy - 99%" want. Others are not yet paying attention. But it isn't hard to figure out the truth, and it certainly isn't rocket science. Here are some points that many are making, including those grass-roots folks planning "Occupy Ferndale - 99%! which is now coming together, set for Friday October 28th at Woodward and Nine Mile beginning at 4 pm.

* End Corporate Greed Companies in the US are sitting on piles of money, refusing to hire workers while giving CEO's huge million dollar bonuses. We dont want to return to the era of robber barons.

* Accountability from Wall Street and the Big Banks After they wrecked the economy in 2008 with their mortgage fraud scandals, there were no prosecutions and little accountability. Now they continue to use their billions to prevent real government oversight.

* End the Wars The trillion dollar wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the longest in American history, and they are bleeding us dry. Enough is enough.

* Stop giving tax breaks to the billionaires and giant corporations. Decrying the giant deficits while pandering to the super rich is blatantly wrong and Un-American. Cutting support to the working poor and middle class will ruin our country and everything that America stands for. 1% of the richest Americans are getting much more wealthy, while everyone else is suffering.

* Stop partisan bickering and dysfunctional government Deadlock in Congress is failing the American people. Republicans and Democrats are elected to serve and protect the American people. Refusal to compromise and seek solutions is killing us. Plotting to destroy the "other" party is not what we elected them to do.

* Halt attacks on labor unions As the middle class shrinks and loses resources and income, and more people fall into the ranks of the unemployed and working poor, blaming unions and working Americans is cynical and makes matters worse. Unions helped create the great American middle class.

* Accept the end of prejudice and discrimination Remaining vestiges of racism, homophobia, religious intolerance, and all forms of prejudice must be relegated to the dustbins of history. Most Americans, particularly young people, understand and embrace diversity. Unite us, stop trying to divide us.

* *Protect the social safety net Balancing the budgets on the disabled, those without health insurance, children, homeless, and unemployed people fails America. This is not who we are.

* Stop the buying and corruption of our elected leaders Millionaires and billionaires, along with corporate allies, now buy elections and control our elected leaders. Middle class and working people are losing their voices. Reform the way money controls elections.

* Fix America's infrastructure, protect her environment Young people today not only can't find jobs or pay off their college loans, but they are going to be handed an America with crumbling bridges and roads, exhausted land, poisoned air and water, and no modern transportation options. How cynical and wrong to do that to the next generation.