The Wall Street Occupation: What Do They Actually Want?
THE usual band of hippies and crusties is trying to occupy Wall Street at the moment. I was wondering what they wanted, you know, is it the usual ban capitalism, Maaan, stuff?
Fortunately, the Guardian has a piece where they detail what it is that they are demanding:
Their message is very clear and simple: get money out of the political process; strive for equality in taxation and equal rights for all regardless of race, gender, social status, sexual preference or age. We must stop poisoning our food, air and water for corporate greed. The people on Wall Street and in the banking industrial complex that destroyed our economy must be investigated and brought to justice under the law for what they have done by stealing people’s homes and savings.
Jobs can and must be created. Family farms must be saved. The oil and gas industry must be divested of its political power and cheap, reliable alternative energy must be made available.
Bit of a rag bag really: for example, to get money out of the political process you’re going to have to get the political process out of deciding who can make money how. The only reason people bribe politicians make campaign donations is because they can make, or avoid losing, money that way. Remove the political power over money and you’ll remove money from politics. Equal rights of course we’re all in favour of but equal taxation seems a very odd thing for a progressive to be arguing.
We all pay equal amounts of tax? That’s a poll tax and we really weren’t all that happy when we had one. We all pay an equal percentage of income in tax? That’s a flat tax….just an odd thing for this type of person to be arguing for.
We don’t actually destroy anything for corporate greed: we do so because we consumers are too cheap to pay the production costs of doing it without destruction. The Wall Street thing? Justice under the law, eh? Well, first you have to prove what law they broke, don’t you? Not what law there ought to be in future even, but law was there that already existed that they broke?
But my greatest amusement is reserved for “cheap, reliable alternative energy must be made available”.
Well, yes, OK, Climate change is a problem, we need to do something about it, sure. But this is our problem. There isn’t actually any form of cheap and reliable alternative energy. If there was then we wouldn’t have a problem: but all of them, windmills, solar PV, dams, tidal, whatever, all of them aren’t cheap or they’re not reliable: and some of them aren’t either.
This is just wishing for a pony. And as such, is going to have about as much effect as doing so.
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A painter produces signs for the protest movement Occupy Wall Street in New York's Zuccotti Park, Monday, Sept. 26, 2011. The group of hundreds of protesters has been demonstrating in the financial district since Sept. 17. Two other protesters, right, rest on a mattress.(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Posted: 3rd, October 2011 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
