Occupy Wall Street Fail
- Thread starter Locutus
- Start date
Ooooo kaaaaaay.
It sounded nothing like a representative democracy. Not even remotely. But you knew that.
You just went all Flossy.
Here's a thought. If all these people, and I use the term loosely are so concerned with greed how about the millions their favorite movie star or sports hero rake out of the system every year for producing nothing of any tangible value?
Come on - that would be like saying Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are typical of the Tea Party. Oh wait... Sorry I believe they are.
Can you tell me the difference between Wall Street rabble and Tea Party rabble - other than the strong possibility that the the Wall Street protesters probably have IQs averaging about 20 points higher? I just find it amusing that the right wing media in the US is all over people protesting the great inequities in US society while regarding Tea Party protestors as good solid Americans. The fact is if you have even the remotest understanding of how democracy works both are good solid Americans. I realize that in a society that is so strongly chauvinistic (this is the way the word should be used) that criticizing any aspect of US society may seem treasonous, but that is not the way democracy works.
Here's another thought. What about if the protestors include mutimillionair entertainers in the group of people who should be contributing a bit more to US society? I certainly do, and I expect many of them do as well.
What an idiot but then he is a side show and shall remain so. Yes this is much like
the sixties and there are many serious people there demonstrating. It is kind of silly
to feature lotion man as the poster boy. People that really believe everyone is like
this one person are as shallow as lotion man in my view.
This could become an event documented in history before its over. If it should catch
fire, like the anti Vietnam War protest movement, it could make d difference in how
people view investment and the brokers who manipulate they entire system.
It should be remembered these were the people who nearly destroyed the economy
of the world and the markets have still not stabilized.
If this current round of protests grow governments could be impacted by public opinion
and yes lotion man will have had his fifteen seconds of fame and be gone and forgotten.
the sixties and there are many serious people there demonstrating. It is kind of silly
to feature lotion man as the poster boy. People that really believe everyone is like
this one person are as shallow as lotion man in my view.
This could become an event documented in history before its over. If it should catch
fire, like the anti Vietnam War protest movement, it could make d difference in how
people view investment and the brokers who manipulate they entire system.
It should be remembered these were the people who nearly destroyed the economy
of the world and the markets have still not stabilized.
If this current round of protests grow governments could be impacted by public opinion
and yes lotion man will have had his fifteen seconds of fame and be gone and forgotten.
That's fine if you think Palin and Beck are typical of the Tea Party, because now that the left has finally left their parent's basement we can see who is typical for the "Occupy Wall St." protesters - Lotion Man. A mentally ill thief. I pointed out in a later post that NO ONE so far from we've seen has told him to leave the "Occupy Wall St." protest. In fact, in the video of Lotion Man yelling at the Jewish fella you can clearly see people standing with him - silently. If they consider him to be a nut case, why aren't they saying anything? Because they IDENTIFY with him.
The "Occupy Wall St." protests are good for the reason that now we can see what the left is all about:
Occupy Wall Street - YouTube
This is such a tired tactic of the left. Why make the unproven claim that your adversaries have a lower intelligence when you could nail them every time with the facts and reasons why you're right? Oh, because the left can't satisfactorily defend their views with any logical reasons or facts. Newsflash: Intelligence doesn't have anything to do with it. If you look around you'll notice that there is intelligent people and morons on both sides of the political spectrum. Why don't you give us some reasons to why the Wall St. protesters have a more legitimate cause than the Tea Party, a challenge for once, instead of the same old "lower intelligence" assertion? Waiting...
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Cracking down on Assholes Without Borders isn't a partisan trip. We're all being held responsible for debts and liabilities we never created.
Money is just a symbol for resources and labour. It doesn't grow in trees. It's not even material. The only reason US money is worth more than monopoly money is because we all believe it. But in the end, with nothing left to drink eat and burn, your paper money's only worth is that to start a little fire. And shiny gold will perhaps act as a good mirror for you to contemplate how skinny you've become from lack of food.
A jug of drinkable water has true value because without water, you'll die. Humanity has arisen from nature in which money has no reality. Money is a social construct and when you ask ''where does the money come from'' the answer is that it comes from both people who work and harvested resources.
I'm not saying we should get rid of money. It's clearly a useful tool to exchange goods and services. The problem arises when we forget that our system should first and foremost be based on a smart, wise, efficient and dare I say ethical way to manage human and natural resources.
When we start believing that our system is based on financial resources, money has already taken on a role it shouldn't have and become a cancer that serves its own interest rather than the organic whole from which it originated.
Occupy Wall Street to me is just one more symptom of the whole reacting to a financial system that serves only itself (a cancer).
I don't disagree with what you are saying. Cash is merely an accepted representation of 'value' that can be easily exchanged for other goods/services of 'value'.
What I was driving at in the post you quoted related to the notion that "something" ought to be done to develop renewables.. Let's be practical here - that "something" is the development of a process or technology that will satisfy the demands of those screaming for this technology... My point: As is human nature, no one is going to participate in providing this good/service without the expectation of receiving the applicable 'value' (ie money or gold, or chickens or jugs of water).
Wall Street and the entire financial services business is simply a mechanism in which the exchange of that 'value' will occur. That said, if you want to get rid of the brokers, financial houses and/or the stock exchanges, you had better be prepared to replace them with something else in order to affect those transactions.... So, are you prepared to replace Wall Street with Pine Avenue? In effect, that is all you will be doing.
Tea Party people probably have jobs and aren't saying "gimmee gimmeee gimmee".
I think they are Americans. I never said they weren't
Then what is the problem with the Tea Party then? That is exactly what they are doing. Why does the left want them silenced and considers their message hate speech.
Typical double standards.
You mean take a lot their wealth away because they have more stuff?
True, but that issue is an aside to what we're talking about. You can work for food/shelter if you like and the same variables affecting valuation will still be in play.
I think all the political spectrum will agree that working for nothing in exchange isn't very interesting. Even in community work, one expects to benefit from the community at large.
What I think IS possible is to change human habits. But some form of political will is needed. Take any large metropolitan city with traffic problems. Think of all the money spent by individuals for cars all jammed up burning up fuel uselessly. If all these people spending money on cars put their money in common to invest in a decent and efficient transit system, there would be less time wasted for everyone AND less wasted fuel. I'm not saying cars should be banned. I'm just saying cars are clearly not very efficient in the context of a large metropolitan city. Traffic jams are a crystal clear example of pure inefficiency and of our failure to work together for the common interest of all.
A heck of a lot of food is transported in trucks that destroy roads and burn fossil fuels. If all that food was transported by train instead wouldn't that be more efficient? But of course, we would need to invest in a decent railway system. Again, some form of political will is needed.
Quebec right now is stuck with a big corruption problem specifically linked to the construction industry. When it comes to building roads and taking care of them, Quebec is hopelessly inefficient. The ministry of transportation has gradually lost its expertise in the domain of road building by granting more and more contracts to private companies who have been secretly working together to share contracts and boost up the prices. In the end, the taxpayer's money is used to build poorly constructed roads because face it, all these companies want is to maximize profit, not serve the collectivity. If these companies can save money by putting a few less meters cube of concrete that would be needed for a job well done, they will do it. They save money AND the road will need to fixed sooner. That's the concept of planned obsolescence and it is widely used throughout the capitalist system.
My point here is that a system based on ''making money'' simply cannot serve the collectivity. It will inevitably crystallize into a savage race for personal gain and profit. I'm not against business and money but it ought to be regulated in the least.
If I may use an analogy. I see money as blood circulating through a body. If the body is healthy, there isn't too much blood or not enough blood. There simply is enough blood flowing so that all the nutrients reach their appropriate destinations. But the ultimate function of the blood is to serve the wellbeing of the body. Not to create more blood. Blood doesn't exist for its own sake.
It's a complex issue and I don't pretend to have a solution for a healthy relationship between human economy and ecology. But some things seem clear to me. Financial speculation has gone out of hand. Capitalism in itself as a philosophy of capital gain does not have human welfare as a core value. It's a world I don't fully understand but somehow it seems clear that Wall Street has simply become a very large casino where ALL that counts is making money, not creating jobs.
Ecologically speaking, we simply need to learn (not that simple) that our ecosystem is literally our own flesh and blood. We destroy it, we destroy ourselves. It's as simple as that really. Taking care of our environment is mandatory, not a hippy utopia.