On the Occupy Movement

As 2011 draws to a close, the financial districts of out greatest cities find themselves occupied.  Not by troops carrying weaponry, but by large groups of people who feel disenfranchised by our economy.  These people blame the pillars of capitalism, banks and major corporations, for their woes.  They also feel that our elected representatives have become nothing more than lackeys of these powerful interests.  Their battle cry is powerful and incredibly inclusive: “We Are The 99%”.

Beginning with a mere 1000 protesters in New York’s Zucotti Park on September 17^th, the protests in New York swelled to 40,000 just two months later with similar protests occurring in every major US population center.

There is good reason for their anger.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, incomes of the top 1% of Americans grew by an average of 275% between 1979 and 2007. During those same years, the 60% of Americans in the middle of the income scale saw their income rise by 40%. Over the last 30 years, the average pre-tax income for the bottom 90% of households has decreased by $900, while that of the top 1% increased by over $700,000, as federal taxation became less progressive. From 1992-2007 the top 400 income earners in the U.S. saw their income increase 392% while their average tax rate reduced by 37%.  In 2009, the average income of the top 1% was $960,000 with a minimum income of $343,927.  In 2007 the richest 1% of the American population owned 34.6% of the country's total wealth, and the next 19% owned 50.5%. This means that the 20% of Americans with the largest incomes own 85% of the country's wealth, and the bottom 80% of the population own only 15%. 

The most recent recession, which started in 2007, saw the share of total wealth owned by the top 1% of the population grow from 34.6% to 37.1%, and the share owned by the top 20% of Americans grow from 85% to 87.7%.  During the economic expansion between 2002 and 2007, the income of the top 1% grew 10 times faster than the income of the bottom 90%. During that period 66% of total income gains went to the 1%, who in 2007 had a larger share of total income than at any time since 1928.

New York Times columnist Anne-Marie Slaughter described pictures on the "We are the 99" website as "page after page of testimonials from members of the middle class who took out loans to pay for education, took out mortgages to buy their houses and a piece of the American dream, worked hard at the jobs they could find, and ended up unemployed or radically underemployed and on the precipice of financial and social ruin.”

The conservative right has been quick to call these protesters bums.  Fox news has attempted to paint them as homeless troublemakers and drug addicts.  Fox went so far as to put up a picture of a bunch of hypodermic needles that the NYPD had seized from the medical tent at Zucotti park, claiming it was proof that they were a bunch of drug users.  They failed to mention the “drugs” found with the hypodermics were antibiotics, insulin and other injectables used for medical purposes.

Respect for the heartfelt position of others, rational discussion and willingness to compromise are core requirements for finding solutions to widespread problems within a society.  The numbers quoted here show unequivocally that there is something wrong within the system.  The only discussion should be how to fix it.

The far right sees all the occupy protesters as bums who just want to take a share of the pie they don’t deserve and didn’t earn.  To be fair, there is also a radical element on the left that thinks dismantling the corporations and the banking infrastructure and ruining every “rich” executive will somehow make everyone live better.  Both sides need to pull away form these extreme viewpoints.

The most common criticism of the occupy protests seems to be its lack of message concerning solutions.  The movement has not thus far promoted specific legislation or politicians.  The truth is, this may be its greatest strength.  What they have done is start a national debate about income disparity and the role of banks and corporations in our society.  Dialogue leads to popular awareness, and that is never a bad thing.