Occupy Wall Street DiscussionEssay Preview: Occupy Wall Street DiscussionReport this essayOccupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began in 2011 in Manhattans Financial District. The movement has spread to over 100 cities in the U.S. and over 1,500 cities worldwide. The movement was created to fight back against the power that is held by major banks and multinational corporations, and the role that Wall Street has had in creating an economic collapse.Occupy Wall Street believes that Wall Street has caused the greatest recession in generations. “The movement is to fight back against the richest 1% of people that are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future.” Arguments for Occupy Wall Street include, Wall Street’s priorities have hurt workers and the middle class. Wall Street’s primary focus on “shareholder value” has undermined American workers and middle class by justifying cost-cutting measures to boost earnings. This cost cutting can be seen in foreign outsourcing, breaking apart unions, and eliminating benefits. Another argument for Occupy Wall Street is people believe Wall Street caused the financial crisis. Wall Streets want for more mortgages that they could then bundle into securities helped fuel the irresponsible lending that led to the financial crisis. The influence that Wall Street had on credit rating agencies caused the agencies to turn a blind eye to the huge risks that accompanied the securities backed by subprime loans. Wall Street was basically making over leveraged bets backed by assets and these bets served no economic productive purpose. Therefore, Occupy Wall Street believes the investment firms laid the groundwork for the global financial disaster. Occupy Wall Streets goal to bridge the gap between class income levels is a great sounding movement, but will we see change?
It is easy to hate Wall Street because of movies and other things, but is it really their fault? The Occupy Wall Street movement’s anger is directed towards bankers, and investors that they feel are out to rob the poor and feed the rich. That is not the case. They are doing real work that holds together the global financial industry. Wall Street feels that the protestors are misunderstanding of what they do. Even if the majority of the U.S. accepted the message of the protestors, Congress would not act because of practicality. New financial transaction taxes or more regulation may not be good for the economy in the short-run. Many Democrats are even worried that such aggressive actions threaten the recovery. As the banking industry is fragile right now, the government is not likely to add on new fees and taxes just because a few thousand protesters are making noise. The last thing we need is another financial crisis.
The Occupy Wall Street demonstration was organized by New York-based group FOMC, which is also opposed to Wall Street and opposes the Obama administration’s actions as a consequence.
FOMC argues that the protesters are not interested in change and are simply acting to “take an active stand against Wall Street” because “political considerations that might have allowed them to resist at first point in time are now outweighed by legal and public pressure and fear.”
The organization’s national media arm, Media Matters for America, issued the following statement:
The anti-Wall Street protesters have the right to peacefully dissent, but not the right to be silenced. The political and social pressures and concerns that have been raised can no more prevent the protest from taking place by acting on those interests. The current actions of the Occupy Wall Street organization only serve to reinforce one of many concerns we have about the administration of the current administration. We do not want to see this as a last resort. We want the government that takes over this country to do what it is supposed to do: act with justice, dignity and a sense of fairness on our behalf. If Congress wants to do more, it needs to act with an even greater capacity to stop Wall Street, not as a force multiplier, it’s just too complicated.
The press release says the protesters are opposed to banks and that they are motivated by anger. The statement ends with a quote from the organization’s executive director, Peter Levitt, telling the Washington Examiner, “There is no greater rallying cry than to tell our nation that Wall Street has hijacked our financial system – and there is no greater rallying cry than to tell us that that’s the way that we get off the island of Wall Street.”
The protests are happening in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin on Friday and are being held as protests are underway. They are not being supported by any government office or by Wall Street. You can read more about the protests on Occupy’s blog here.
In addition to The Associated Press, ABC and CBS began reporting the protests on Monday, and there has not been an independent investigation of the event.
Occupy News has contacted the New York City Department of Financial Services on Wednesday regarding the status of the protestors. They have not yet responded. You can read the report here.
The Occupy Wall Street demonstration was organized by New York-based group FOMC, which is also opposed to Wall Street and opposes the Obama administration’s actions as a consequence.
FOMC argues that the protesters are not interested in change and are simply acting to “take an active stand against Wall Street” because “political considerations that might have allowed them to resist at first point in time are now outweighed by legal and public pressure and fear.”
The organization’s national media arm, Media Matters for America, issued the following statement:
The anti-Wall Street protesters have the right to peacefully dissent, but not the right to be silenced. The political and social pressures and concerns that have been raised can no more prevent the protest from taking place by acting on those interests. The current actions of the Occupy Wall Street organization only serve to reinforce one of many concerns we have about the administration of the current administration. We do not want to see this as a last resort. We want the government that takes over this country to do what it is supposed to do: act with justice, dignity and a sense of fairness on our behalf. If Congress wants to do more, it needs to act with an even greater capacity to stop Wall Street, not as a force multiplier, it’s just too complicated.
The press release says the protesters are opposed to banks and that they are motivated by anger. The statement ends with a quote from the organization’s executive director, Peter Levitt, telling the Washington Examiner, “There is no greater rallying cry than to tell our nation that Wall Street has hijacked our financial system – and there is no greater rallying cry than to tell us that that’s the way that we get off the island of Wall Street.”
The protests are happening in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin on Friday and are being held as protests are underway. They are not being supported by any government office or by Wall Street. You can read more about the protests on Occupy’s blog here.
In addition to The Associated Press, ABC and CBS began reporting the protests on Monday, and there has not been an independent investigation of the event.
Occupy News has contacted the New York City Department of Financial Services on Wednesday regarding the status of the protestors. They have not yet responded. You can read the report here.