Forum Post: Most Wall Street Employees are the 99%
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 23, 2011, 4:09 p.m. EST by Eco
(9)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I'm nowhere near the elite 1% of society in paygrade, although I do work in the financial sector and thus probably have a better idea of the mechanics by which Exchanges like Wall Street/NYSE and CME operate.
Most of those who actually work in the exchanges--the brokers and market makers you see on TV when Fast Money is doing interviews with 'pit' personnel control very little capital and have incomes well below the cigar-smoking-cognac-sipping-Goldman-Trader kind of level that OWS feels is responsible for crony capitalism and political corruption.
With that in mind, I wonder why you are actually occupying Wall Street, when the personalities you are protesting actually have very little physical presence there. If you create an atmosphere that makes difficulties for a pit broker to travel to/from the exchange, you are not reducing liquidity, nor are you putting your message into 'the face' of a 'corporate fatcat', you are simply making it more difficult for some 99% schlub to go do the thing that gets him a paycheck every two weeks... a paycheck far below the 250k/year kind of threshold. It would be akin to occupying McDonald's by preventing the minimum-wager from leaving the buildingfor smoke break while the Drive Thru and lobby keep churning out orders for dollar menu fries.
Simple fact is your odds of finding the Executive-grade individual is higher on 5th ave or at the parking garage entrance to Citi/BofA/JPMorgan than it is on Wall Street. Since the move to electronic trading, these banks and clearing firms actually have little need for the physical pit brokerage of Wall Street, and the individual you're actually getting in face time with is the equivalent of a small business owner/employee at the physical exchange--the big guys are trading from their desktop computers from remote locations.
Just thought I'd put that out there for you.
Dude there is no one here to answer bogus questions so stop asking them!
I don't care much for the 99% vs. 1% grouping. I see it more as, who is willing to protect the status quo vs. those of us who wish to challenge. I've heard people who earn $12.25 defend the so-called 1% -- they still believe that there is nothing arbitrary about these outrageous bonuses and that this disparity in wealth is acceptable. So, technically, they are with the 1%. I'd put in more at 80/20, or 70/30.
Agreed, and I particularly like the statement -- you are simply making it more difficult for some 99% schlub to go do the thing that gets him a paycheck every two weeks -- so perhaps you would consider our group's proposal of an alternative online direct democracy of government and business at http://getsatisfaction.com/americanselect/topics/on_strategically_weighted_policies_organizational_operating_structures_tactical_investment_procedures-448eo , hit the facebook “like” button if agreed, and then join our group's 20 members committed to that plan at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/StrategicInternationalSystems/
Roosevelt 2nd Bill of Rights will take care of all 99%, Wall Street employees as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_bill_of_rights
Hey Eco, you made a great point that needs extensive airing. The majority of Wall Street workers are part of the 99% And the 'low level' financial workers who might be supportive of OWS and financial change are really in a tough position. Do I risk losing my job by supporting change? I guess there are certain changes that could be made that financial workers could support by signing petitions. Going beyond that, like becoming a whistle blower, well. . . . Eco, thanks for posting.
ITA