Some argue that those in the Occupy Wall Street Movement are a disorganized, chaotic, baseless bunch of crazy liberals who should stop camping in the streets and start blaming themselves. These people, rather, are united in one common belief that our country is run by, geared toward, and favors the richest 1%.
This separation of wealth is hard to ignore as the numbers show that the bottom 80% of Americans own only 7% of the nation’s wealth, and “the richest 1% of Americans take home almost a quarter of national income”, a number that has “nearly tripled in roughly three decades” (finance.yahoo.com). This wealth gives these people increased power over our government’s decisions concerning economic and social policies. The money and the power in the hands of the few forces “we the people” into the margins, unable to make our voices heard and subject to the greedy corporate strategies which caused the current recession.
The Occupy Wall Street Movement acts as a platform from which all Americans, left and right, can say to Democrats and Republicans alike that we’ve had enough of this plutocracy and want our democracy back.
Capitalism and free markets have proven to be extremely valuable and part of the foundation of our country, but the rungs on the ladder of upward mobility need to stay within reach. Current trends show the gaps becoming too wide, and the Occupy Movement simply points its finger at this separation. As columnist Paul Rogat Loeb says in his article “From Occupy Wall Street to Occupy the Neighborhoods”, the movement is “putting a human face on how they and so many others have been made expendable by a country that seems to care only for the wealthiest” (truth-out.org/occupy).
Until the 99% are supported, the systems which caused economic failure will remain in place, and the people will continue camping in the streets and screaming at the skyscrapers on Wall Street.
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