Forum Post: OWS Protesting the Wrong Issues
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 11, 2011, 1:53 p.m. EST by fsi001
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I believe in what these people are doing, but they are protesting the wrong issue. You know protesting the rich and wall street won't get them anywhere. What they should be doing is protesting a solid issue and that is the huge gasoline companies and their huge profits. The high cost of gasoline is killing this country. No one sees it. They just live with it. What the people and the government should do, is take gas and oil OFF the stock exchange and sell both as a product you buy in a grocery store. Set a fixed price and that's it. That is what's killing out economy and jobs.
If you want to create jobs, lower the price of gasoline. That would put more money in everyones pocket; then people would be buying more products therefore creating more jobs. It's so simple, but no one sees it. This same thing happened in 2006-2007 when gas started going up. Everyone screamed about it, but now that gas is over $3.00 no one is complaining. These gas companies are making billions of dollars every quarter on the public. So protest the gas prices and get the gas back down to $1.00, that will create jobs everywhere and solve our economic crisis.
Well, believe it or not, volatility in energy prices is a contributing factor in the return of some manufacturing jobs to the United States. In particular, volatility in maritime fuel has played a contributing factor in a return of some manufacturing jobs, from China to the USA. Still, continuation in maritime fuel volatility, along with wage and benefit costs, swings in prices for ocean containers and other factors, will also add to pressure, within China, to become a more self reliant country, less dependent on exporting to the United States.
Well, believe it or not, volatility in energy prices is a contributing factor in the return of some manufacturing jobs to the United States. In particular, volatility in maritime fuel has played a contributing factor in a return of some manufacturing jobs, from China to the USA. Still, continuation in maritime fuel volatility, along with wage and benefit costs, swings in prices for ocean containers and other factors, will also add to pressure, within China, to become a more self reliant country, less dependent on exporting to the United States.
Press Release Operation Occupy October 10, 2011 Many have inquired as to the specific aim of Operation Occupy. In fact it has been unclear as to the purpose behind the movement. It is important to know that Operation Occupy is not affiliated with any political party or special interest group. The sole mission of Operation Occupy is to let the current government and financial establishments know that all Americans are tired of the economic and fiscal irresponsibility. It is time to stand up and let our voices be heard. The mission of Operation Occupy is as follows: In 2007 America was promised “hope” and “change”. Instead we saw hundreds of billions of dollars poured into our banking system. This “stimulus” left our country with upside-down mortgages and people forced out of their homes at a rate greater than in any time in our country’s past. If this was not bad enough, continued use of “stimulus” packages have been crippling the value of the US dollar globally. The most recent Obama Jobs Act will again funnel “stimulus” money, hundreds of billions of dollars that really do not exist, into our economy to create jobs that are going to be temporary at best. It is obvious that there is a clear effort from within the White House to disassemble America by destroying our economy. America is not being fiscally responsible and more and more citizens are becoming financially disabled. The US banking system is being used as the catalyst to produce this outcome. If we continue on this reckless path, it will only take four more years under this current regime to bankrupt America.
Operation Occupy represents an opportunity for Americans to stand up for economic responsibility and let the current leadership in Washington DC know that our votes in 2012 will just be the beginning of putting our country back on track. The only true “hope” and “change” will not come from one man, but will come from a unified effort of all Americans. Increasing Government and the power of our banking system will never be successful. America must invest in private industry and developing corporate growth within our own borders. It is only through these fundamental investments that the US dollar will once again strengthen and our citizens will prosper. If we truly want to provide support to our country’s disabled, elderly, veteran, and other indigent citizens; we must have economic strength. If we want to create jobs and insure individual financial security; we must have economic strength. If we want to invest in education on all levels; we must have economic strength. If we want to have quality teachers, firefighters, police, social workers, and other public servants; we must have economic strength.
Operation Occupy has one clear unified message that can be summarized with our battle cry, “Our Banks Are Murdering America. Obama is in bed with the banks!”
Do away with income tax. Go with straight sales tax on everything. Sweet and Simple.
This isn't an attack on the rich. There is nothing wrong with being rich. There is a problem with being rich and stealing from the poor. There is a problem with few people controlling the wealth, and to that end there is a problem when those who control the wealth are not helping their country and society progress.
David Walker, former US Comptroller General and chief of the GAO, warned before the 2004 election that if large economic changes were not made, by 2009 the United States and its taxpayers would not be able to afford the interest payments on the national debt. A study authorized by the US Treasury in 2001 found that in order to keep servicing the debt at its current rate of growth, by 2013 income taxes would need to be raised to 65%.
If the United States cannot afford to pay the interest on its debts, that would be the final stage of economic collapse and hence result in a total textbook bankruptcy. The systematic crisis would in turn spread to the rest of the world.
How did this happen? Why is the US national debt $14,819,350,000+? Of the 203 countries in the world today, only four (!) do not owe others money. The collective external debt of all the governments in the world is now above 40 trillion dollars and this number doesn’t include the massive about of household debt in each country.
The whole world is basically bankrupt. But how? How can the world as a whole owe money to itself? Obviously, it’s all nonsense. There is no such thing as ‘money’. There are only planetary resources, human labor and human ingenuity. The monetary system regulated by Federal Reserve is nothing more than a game… and an outdated and dysfunctional one at that. Those in positions of social power alter the rules of the game, at will. The nature of those rules is guided by the same competitive, distorted mentalities that are used in everyday “monetary” life, only this time the game is rigged at its root to favor those who run the show. For example, if you have 1 million dollars and put it into a CD at 5% interest, you are going to generate $50,000 a year simply for that deposit. You are making money off of money itself… paper being made from other paper … nothing more - no invention - no contribution to society – no nothing.
That being denoted, if you are a lower to middle class person, who is limited in funds, and must get interest based loans to buy your home or use credit cards, then you are paying interest to the bank, which the bank is then using, in theory, to pay the person’s return with the 5% CD! Not only is this equation outrageously offensive due to the use of usury (interest) to ‘steal from the poor and give to the rich’, but it also perpetuates class stratification by its very design, keeping the lower classes poor, under the constant burden of debt, while keeping the upper classes rich, with the means to turn excess money into more money, with no labor.
That reality aside, there are other games in the system which have worked for decades, but are just now starting to bloom into the inevitable mathematic disasters that should have been anticipated 100 years ago. The point is, our system is broken. Simple policy change will not solve our debt problem. We need to alter the governmental paradigm if we wish to repay our debt. First step: our government must fire the Federal Reserve Board.
As much as I could argue various aspects of oil companies in the same way as below, total profit levels are kind of a poor argument. Oil companies make huge profits only because they deal in huge volumes. Their actual profit MARGINS - how much they make per unit sold - are relatively small. That is, if you were to take an Exxon/Mobil and break it up into 10 smaller companies, the amount of profit made by each would be fairly small. The actual profit margin is dwarfed by a wide range of other commodities and companies (e.g., as a familiar example, Apple kicks their asses as far as its profit goes).
And if you want to be entirely consistent in your argument looking at from the perspective of total dollars ignoring the percentage, then by the same line of thinking you shouldn't be upset about the taxes paid by the 1% since regardless of the percentage they still pay a huge amount of money relative to the rest of the base.
woW thats abrasive. protest what you want. besides, lowering gas prices alone will not do it, it would help for sure. you have a good start and i won't go over all of what won't work but the idea with brush up is worth spreading. if you want to be taken seriously by decision makers it needs to be better than it is now.
Appreciate the post, fsi...but it's not that easy. The Federal Reserve has a HUGE influence on the price of gas. That's where to start.
Gas is the wrong issue, too.
The economy is a symptom of the problem, not the cause. It's like the Occupy movement itself: it's just another sign that Something is Wrong.
totally agree. ;-)
even climate change is a symptom of a deeper underlying problem. it has to do with what we value.
Yes, agreed.
That said, we are not ready for the philosophical debate - there's a lot of groundwork that needs to be laid down before we can get there without a lot of violence and rage.
You know - and tell me if I'm being too coy, here - but there is a system laid out that theoretically allows for the philosophical debate to be held in a reasonable manner. That system in practice isn't working too well. Maybe that's really the underlying problem. Maybe we need to figure out why the system isn't working in practice, and fix that.
Agreed - Trying to cure symptoms will not cure the diseases...
you are bass ackwards. we need to end the fossil fuel subsidies.
the fossil fuel subsidies were put in place by corporations who control the government. OWS is about ending this influence.
what's more important, cheap gas or having a planet without runaway climate change, a planet where we can grow food and have stable societies many generations into the future?
try thinking of someone besides yourself for a change... this selfish desire for the cheapest possible commodities is at the expense of our children and future generations. your selfishness is killing the planet
To be honest, they're both important; I would resist framing the issue as an either-or proposition.
The reason fuel subsidies should be combated is not because "they were put in place by corporations." That may be true, but that's not a good reason in and of itself. After all, fiber optic cable was also put in place by corporations.
The reason fuel subsidies should be combated is because - unlike fiber optic cable - they don't work. Look at how Iran is doing with their gas subsidies.
you're absolutely right... it's not a reason in and of itself.
the reason is that it's stifling the change to a new energy economy. it's a major reason why fossil fuel consumption continues to increase by about 3% per year, when we need it to decrease.
give me one good reason for lower gas prices? do you really think it will solve our economic woes? I highly doubt it... and at best that's completely theoretical. But we KNOW climate change is happening and needs to be addressed.
I idealistically agree with you, but I pragmatically caution moderation. So in that vein, here is my one good reason for lower gas prices: so my parents can afford to drive to the supermarket today. So my parents can pay for heating next month. Not next year, when there are affordable hybrid cars - a goal that I also support. Not in ten years, when the infrastructure is in place for green energy - a goal that I also support.