Just kidding.
There are 1%ers who have joined the Occupy Wall Street protests across the country. In case you've been living on the moon for the past few weeks, I'll get you up to speed. In the third week of September a Canadian group called Adbusters (I know it's a stupid name...but they're Canadian, give them a break) started a protest in the park that is closest to Wall Street in New York City (can't remember the name of the park). Although the protesters were adamant and there were a hand full of arrests, they weren't getting the press coverage they wanted. A couple weeks after the first night of protesting, a NYC cop blasted a group of women protesters with pepper spray. Now the media had a human interest story to talk about so press coverage exploded. The protest grew, got more crazy, then got more organized and has now spread throughout the nation. Protesters occupy the uptowns of dozens of US cites.
First of all I'd like to applaud the leaders of the protests. There have been minimal arrests and trips to hospitals. It also seems to me the largest and most complex single issue protest since Vietnam. The protesters are speaking out against corporate greed and more importantly the influence corporations and lobbyists have over government officials. They are asking for social and economical equality. (I know it sounds a lot like Communism...and maybe it is...but we're Americans and the cold war ended, so get over it.) These people have a good point. I think a lot of people forget exactly how our public officials become elected and how they get re-elected. When you pull the leaver on election day, you are certainly lending your voice to democracy, but you're not doing it voluntarily. You haven't exactly been brain washed, but the candidate with the most money can buy the best political support staff, the most drive time radio ads, the best produced TV commercials, the prettiest pamphlets, etc. The one with the most money can have the most influence.
If you've read my blog before you know that campaign finance reform has come up already. I'm not sure if most of the protesters know it, but this is exactly what they want. Campaign finance reform is an idea that has been around for decades. We saw it coming 36 years ago when congress founded the Federal Election Commission. This is an independent organization that is supposed to police how federal campaign war-chests are filled. Well now the occupiers of the FEC are influenced by money too. Not only that, but there are gaping holes in the litigation regarding the policing of staggering amounts of money.
As of October 2010 foreign investors can donate as much money as they want to a campaign. No regulation. No limit. Yes, foreign investors can influence who your elected official is. Does that sound like democracy to you? President Obama said, "this ruling strikes against our democracy itself." and added "I can't think of anything more devastating to the public interest." Then again, Winston Churchill said, "the best argument against democracy is 5 minutes with the average voter." Would he be a proponent of this unlimited and unmonitored exchange of cash? The people pushing the cash aren't exactly average.
It is unreal to me that we allow this to happen. But then again, we should have seen it coming. It's a double edged sword. Everyone can be tapped. The people with the money will always make the decisions. The protesters are helping us move toward a national debate and opening a discussion that we must have. There needs to be litigation on this. Solid, concrete, unbreakable rules and regulations with genuine disincentive. We simply cannot allow 1% or even 10% or 20% of the people make the decisions for everyone. This idea changes the very definition of who we are. Or have we forgotten already?
I think we're still a generation away from making this happen. We need more 1%ers on the side of the 99%ers and that's not going to happen for a while.
In the mean time, God be with you protesters of the country. Keep the discussion rolling and make us proud.
There are 1%ers who have joined the Occupy Wall Street protests across the country. In case you've been living on the moon for the past few weeks, I'll get you up to speed. In the third week of September a Canadian group called Adbusters (I know it's a stupid name...but they're Canadian, give them a break) started a protest in the park that is closest to Wall Street in New York City (can't remember the name of the park). Although the protesters were adamant and there were a hand full of arrests, they weren't getting the press coverage they wanted. A couple weeks after the first night of protesting, a NYC cop blasted a group of women protesters with pepper spray. Now the media had a human interest story to talk about so press coverage exploded. The protest grew, got more crazy, then got more organized and has now spread throughout the nation. Protesters occupy the uptowns of dozens of US cites.
First of all I'd like to applaud the leaders of the protests. There have been minimal arrests and trips to hospitals. It also seems to me the largest and most complex single issue protest since Vietnam. The protesters are speaking out against corporate greed and more importantly the influence corporations and lobbyists have over government officials. They are asking for social and economical equality. (I know it sounds a lot like Communism...and maybe it is...but we're Americans and the cold war ended, so get over it.) These people have a good point. I think a lot of people forget exactly how our public officials become elected and how they get re-elected. When you pull the leaver on election day, you are certainly lending your voice to democracy, but you're not doing it voluntarily. You haven't exactly been brain washed, but the candidate with the most money can buy the best political support staff, the most drive time radio ads, the best produced TV commercials, the prettiest pamphlets, etc. The one with the most money can have the most influence.
If you've read my blog before you know that campaign finance reform has come up already. I'm not sure if most of the protesters know it, but this is exactly what they want. Campaign finance reform is an idea that has been around for decades. We saw it coming 36 years ago when congress founded the Federal Election Commission. This is an independent organization that is supposed to police how federal campaign war-chests are filled. Well now the occupiers of the FEC are influenced by money too. Not only that, but there are gaping holes in the litigation regarding the policing of staggering amounts of money.
As of October 2010 foreign investors can donate as much money as they want to a campaign. No regulation. No limit. Yes, foreign investors can influence who your elected official is. Does that sound like democracy to you? President Obama said, "this ruling strikes against our democracy itself." and added "I can't think of anything more devastating to the public interest." Then again, Winston Churchill said, "the best argument against democracy is 5 minutes with the average voter." Would he be a proponent of this unlimited and unmonitored exchange of cash? The people pushing the cash aren't exactly average.
It is unreal to me that we allow this to happen. But then again, we should have seen it coming. It's a double edged sword. Everyone can be tapped. The people with the money will always make the decisions. The protesters are helping us move toward a national debate and opening a discussion that we must have. There needs to be litigation on this. Solid, concrete, unbreakable rules and regulations with genuine disincentive. We simply cannot allow 1% or even 10% or 20% of the people make the decisions for everyone. This idea changes the very definition of who we are. Or have we forgotten already?
I think we're still a generation away from making this happen. We need more 1%ers on the side of the 99%ers and that's not going to happen for a while.
In the mean time, God be with you protesters of the country. Keep the discussion rolling and make us proud.
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