I can save you a lot of reading if you're just willing to accept the unwritten, but widely accepted, law of nature - there will always be poor people. You can't avoid it, you can't stop it, you can't wish it away and you sure as hell can't eradicate it with government.
I hear what the protesters are saying - a small percentage of the United States' population holds the majority of the wealth. So? What are you going to to about it? Nothing, because you can't do anything about the natural instinct of humans. Some humans are winners and some are losers - it will pan out the same way no matter what you use for a scoring system (in this case it's money).
Let's take a trip down memory lane.
When humans arrived on earth after having been the outcome of successful alien genetic experiments conducted in conjunction with whichever God you happen to be hip with right now, everybody had the exact same amount of money - zero dinero. Everybody was equal for about nine and a half seconds until the first human got hungry and snapped up little bunny foo foo and put him on an ancient George Forman Grill. The second his fellow humans sought to get a piece of his little bunny foo foo, he became the world's first rich man. He had something nobody else had - food. The other humans either had to go find their own food, or pay this guy to feed them. A hierarchy of wealth was born.
Skip ahead a few thousand years and you have some real wealth being accumulated by humans. Initially the rich protected their money by building walls and armies. Today they fortify their money in highly complicated investment schemes that are then wrapped in highly complicated laws. The idea is to make the whole thing impossible to understand so that no one knows exactly what you are doing, how to stop it or how to get in on it. I'm not a fan of it and you don't have to align yourself with either party to join me in that sentiment. The bottom line is that after that first rich guy was made, the practice of protecting wealth has become our biggest obsession. However, as proved above, we came about creating this disparity naturally through our instinct for safety.
Greed is just an overreaction of your safety gland - well, it might be just the normal function of your safety gland for all I know. Some of you have a safety gland that doesn't function at all - you're known as the "not rich." You don't strive for complete safety - you like living on the edge where your next meal, your health and your general safety are in question at all times. You'd like to be the guy who lives in a safe and secure wold that wealth brings, but for whatever reason you just can't get there.
You see, if you kill every rich guy in America at noon tomorrow - you'll have a whole new class of rich people that evening. The cream always rises. There are people who are poor today that you could give a $1 million to and they'll be poor again sooner than later - they're born to be that part of society. Not everybody can be Elvis, somebody has to be the drummer, or worse - a roadie.
The idea that there's some kind of fairness to be had by requiring some humans to under perform is ludicrous. That's why you literally have to have large masses of people demand the winners in life hand over large portions of those winnings. Too bad for the losers that the winners are smart enough to eventually figure out how to keep from handing all of their winnings. Once you punish the winners into the lifestyle of the losers, you erase their desire to be winners and the whole system comes crashing down.
Now that we're done with that, let's get to what's going on today.
The problems we all face were created by us. Nobody put a gun to anyone's head and told them to make really bad investments. You can't go to the craps table, lose all your money and then blame the casino for your bad bets. Wall Street is no different. We were an entire nation hell bent on getting rich quick and it backfired. Blame whoever you want, but if you put your money into the stock market and it's now gone - IT'S YOUR FAULT. Don't go complain to the government asking for a "do over" because you played a game where the odds were stacked heavily against you. And you were playing a game with guys who were way better at it than you could ever hope to be. Basically Americans went outside and shot a few free-throws and then bet their life savings on themselves in a one-on-one match with Michael Jordan. And I'm not just talking about you wannabe Wall Street wiz kids - you real estate newbies are just as guilty.
Now I could get further into exactly why you shouldn't have taken your extra dough - whether it was savings, equity or other financial asset - and thrown it away, but I only do one life lesson per post and that was covered in the history rich people in the first section.
You can cry all you want about the disparity between the rich and the poor now, but it will do you no good. You have to take real action and that doesn't mean camping out in a New York park with a thousand of your pot smoking buddies.
If you don't like Wall Street - pull you money out. Put that money in a bank.
If you don't like banks - pull your money out and put it in a fire proof safe. You can spare the .000000000000003% you earn on that savings account if you're serious about sending a message to a major bank. However, you could put your money in a local bank seeing as how they aren't the enemy. Of course when they turn you down on your request of a $1 million loan to build your dream bar complete with a 100 foot Tecate waterfall and liver alligator wrestling, you're going to get all pissy and indignant like they're the ones who are stupid and you'll take your money out anyway... so you should probably just go get that fire proof safe now.
I'd also stop buying anything that profits anyone else. That includes everything from buying gas to computers to clothes. Grow your own food and make your own clothes - that will show corporate America who is boss.
Wait a minute... I was just thinking about the people I saw at Freedom Plaza today on my jog. They were there "occupying" the public park in the name of all the things I stated above. However, 99 percent of them were much under the age of 30, have never bought a house, invested in the stock market or even pay very much in taxes for that matter. What the hell are they pissed off about? None of this crap affected them one bit!!! In fact, they're bitching about school loans secured by Freddie and Fannie for which I'm paying my tax dollars to so that they don't make a "call" on all outstanding debts and come confiscate these filthy kid's tents! I'm the schmuck who is getting screwed!
-------------
You see, I hear the complaints from some Americans who are old enough and have a financial history that qualifies them for some outrage when it comes to the financial sector. However, I'm not buying any 23 year-olds' bullshit outrage at a system their mommy and daddy must deal with in order to support their no-job-having-asses while they get high in a park for a few months in the name of "fairness." I think the vast majority of Americans are with me.
The banks are bad, but they're voluntary.
Wall Street is bad, but it's voluntary as well.
The government is bad - and they ain't voluntary.
Amen! Love the last line.
Posted by: get a job occupiers | October 10, 2011 at 04:40 PM
get a job occupiers
1.I do not use a bank but a credit union.
2.Never played the stock market.Wallstreet is a gambling house and as in any gambling house the odds are always stacked in favor of the house.If one gambles do not expect some one to bail your ass out.
3.On the last govenment is owned by the lobbyist working for special interest of the few,it's not your government or my government is was sold and bought years ago.Sorry on this one if the truth hurts.
4.There is nothing wrong with profit but there is a problem when you fuck your nation in the name of greed.I know that greed is a good thing for most Republicans and the more unbridled greed the better for the 20%.To hell if you destroy your nation as long as it gets you your wealth.
Posted by: Thomas | October 10, 2011 at 07:41 PM
Thomas - do you know how many filthy rich democrats are out there? Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, John Kerry, George Soros - the list goes on. So don't try to say that only republicans are rich and greedy. Pelosi's family money is made off the backs of islanders; John Kerry actually married it - Heinz ketchup - do you buy that ketchup - so you are contributing to his greed. So stop with the bashing of republicans as the root of all evil. If rich is bad then it knows no party affiliation.
Just be flat out honest you despise republicans and so you think they are the root cause of all problems. Luckily you live in El Paso where republicans don't matter.
By the way - credit unions have had their failures too. They loan money to less than perfect people and businesses and loans go bad. I wouldn't brag about their stability. You talk about a secret society - look at their board of directors. Real chummy with each other and they take care of their buddies - they are no different than any bank in the world.
Posted by: get a job occupiers | October 10, 2011 at 10:02 PM
First of all I am an Independent.I have and do vote for Repubicans.Then again I have never seen a Republican that could draw a line in the sand and tell me where profit ends and greed begins.There is no line as your party goes generally.
For a group that always prides themselves on personal accountability you guys sure run when your own failures are pointed out.Also surely do not wish to hear when these facts are pointed out.
My credit Union has done right by me but than we have a good credit rating.
You said quit bashing republicans but you have no probelm bashing any others that point out big problems with your party.
Unbridled captialism is as dangerous as unbridled socialism each only enslaves the masses and work for the few.
I cannot help that you are bound and tied up in extremist Machiavelliian conservatism.And I do understand your position.Let them it cake.Yes,that has always work out well in the history of nations.Not!
Posted by: Thomas | October 10, 2011 at 11:35 PM
Fact is they are responding to the conditions brought on by the behavior of 38 to 1 levered debt, financial misconduct by wall street,banks and corporations and if in the if in a free market capitalist system they worship they would have gone under due to their screwups. They didn't. Their debt and obligations were transferred to the taxpayer with the predictable results we are experiencing today. And they got a tax deduction for their debt.
It will take at least 10 years to recover from this modern day depression and it's going to get worse before it gets better. You have about 6 to 9 months to prepare. If that.
Posted by: Texaswoman | October 11, 2011 at 09:00 AM
Texaswoman
I think it may be as late as 2013 when th shit really hit the fan.It does not matter who is elected the out comes cannot be stopped and we sure do not have the leadership in either party to deal with what is coming.See the bailouts and the other crap that was done by government only put off what we needed to deal with and made it far worse.
I will save a spot under the bridge for David and get a job occupiers if they do not kill them selves because to truth and the real world just became to much bear.
We will roast some road kill or maybe some road kill stow for their welcoming party when they show up.;0)
Posted by: Thomas | October 11, 2011 at 09:16 AM
Thomas I am under no illusions that this economy could still get even worse. I believe the banks, capitalists and generally rich people that invest in the economy are super pissed at Obama and they are purposely sitting on the sidelines just to teach that idiot a lesson. I own a business and Obama's proposals are just plain stupid. I am not motivated (even if I was bringing in record amounts of money) to help out this idiot president one iota by hiring anyone or spending any money to invest in increasing my business. Tough. Obama hates business owners - he can live with the results of his hatred by hopefully losing his re-election.
Remember under Pelosi/Reid since 2007 they have not voted on a budget. Boehner voted a budget out of the house this spring. That budget is rotting in the Senate. Reid has not allowed the Senate to vote on a budget in over 3 years. And everyone thinks its the Republicans that are causing this problem. The Democrats are too chickenshit to take the heat by actually VOTING on something that means something. And clueless Obama keeps saying its the do-nothing Republicans. Not so Mr. Idiot-in-Chief - its your party - the Democrats.
Posted by: get a job occupiers | October 11, 2011 at 03:57 PM
get a job occupiers
Your wrong on what party I belong too.I belong to no party.I'm looking at Romney right now.If I cast a vote in that race it will be for him unless some real leadership show up between now and the election. As to blaming this all on the Dems simply non-senes.Same old crap from a Republican not wanting to take any blame for the mess over the last decade for your party's failures.
Posted by: Thomas | October 11, 2011 at 04:22 PM
the best example of this is lottery winners: 2/3 of them that took the lum sum have lost almost all or all of the money within 5 years.
why did this happen? because they stayed the person they were before they won OR, in some cases, got worse in the mismanagement of their lives.
Posted by: Mike Armstead | October 12, 2011 at 05:25 PM