Do you ever wonder how different opinions would be if media simply reported facts without commentary?
People are so influenced by political slants and ideology that many cannot even think for themselves. It is truly sad when you think about it. But of course, if you are one of the influenced, you won't think about it - and that's just what "they" want.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters have been labelled as being "anti capitalism". Upon hearing this label, many people will not even listen to their message. They are "anti capitalism" and therefore "anti American". Hogwash!
First off, these people are NOT against capitalism. What they are against is corporate greed. They are not welfare recipients looking for bigger hand outs. They are hard working, everyday people - they represent the other 99% of the population. You know, the percentage of people who are not wealthy.
Does not being in the top 1% really equate to looking for a handout? How on earth did we become so brainwashed by that 1% that we can't even recognize who we are anymore?
The reality is that the wealthy 1% are the ones taking the handouts. They are the ones deemed "too big to fail" and bailed out... bailed out by whom? That's right ...the other 99%.
The folks out there demonstrating are not looking for a handout or even a hand up. They simply want the 1% to start paying their own way!
If everyone removed any political ideology from the discussion, few would argue the actual reality. If we removed the emotional connection to terms such as "distribution of wealth", which really is just a term to express who has what in terms of net worth, we would likely ALL agree that the disparity is huge - and that it is getting bigger - and that cannot be right! Check out the stats in this eye opening article: http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
A Republican politician was reported to have said that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are blaming Wall Street for their own failure rather than taking responsibility for it themselves. He said these people should look in the mirror if they want to find someone to blame for their financial condition. According to him (and other Republicans), every American has an equal opportunity to achieve great wealth. Perhaps that is so, perhaps not, (probably not) but that is not the issue.
The issue is that those in the top 1% - those who hold the greatest wealth, pay the least in terms of taxes, and they take the most in terms of benefits.
By making the protesters out to be welfare recipients and beggars, these ultra conservatives are able to divide the 99%, and that is what they want to do because if we were to unite, their power would diminish.
In Canada, they tell us that we have nothing to protest about because our banking systems did not fail as they did in the USA. "They" attempt to make us feel that we are jumping on a band wagon we have no business being on. "They" tell us that we did not experience the same downturn that our neighbors to the south did. And that is all true. But just because we did not see the same degree of economic hardship does not mean that our middle class is not supporting the upper class.
Tax laws here in Canada are unfair. The middle class carries the majority of the tax burden.
As an example (and something to protest about), how many of our seniors do not have enough retirement income to actually retire? How many of our seniors lost all their retirement income when the markets crashed in 2008? At that time, our prime minister didn't have a clue how serious the issue was.
Many seniors saw their income wiped out entirely. They were forced to go back to work - if they could find work. Those that could find temporary work had their pensions reduced in the following year. Figure that one out. Because of their income this year, their pensions are reduced next year - even though they may no longer be working, their government pensions are reduced.
Before my ultra conservative friends get bent out of shape about government pensions - bear in mind that most seniors paid into those government programs all their working lives.
The bottom line is this. The benefits paid to the wealthiest either in actual money or in tax rebates, actually out weigh the welfare benefits paid to the poorest, but our conservative politicians and their brain washed minions complain about increasing welfare rates by 1 or 2 percent. When protesters complain they are accused of being lazy and jealous looking for a handout... the ultimate in hypocrisy!
