Sunday, October 9, 2011

Occupy Wall Street Critque

This is a response to the Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
 By the Occupy Wall Street Folks found at this link.
"http://nycga.cc/2011/09/30/declaration-of-the-occupation-of-new-york-city/

I created it as an intellectual exercise for myself in order to test my assumptions and knowledge.  I have placed my comments and links inline with their declaration. My overall view of their position is that, surprise, the world is not perfect. What specifically they want to do to make it "perfect" is not known at this time as this is only a list of grievances. My answer to that question would be
  • Smaller government that lives within it's means
  • Less onerous regulations so that anyone (these folks for example) can easily start businesses.
  • Break up the big banks so that they are no longer "to big to fail".
  • A simpler tax system (9,9,9 perhaps) that makes everyone pay into our government.

Declaration 

of the Occupation of New York City

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
  • > 99% of foreclosures are for not paying the mortgage regardless of what process there is for filing the paperwork. 1% may be wrong and that, with check copies, is easily righted.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
  • > The government created the bailout problem by
  • 1) Cutting rates to near zero to stave off deflation and inflating money by bond purchases. This sent banks on a search for better returns hence the AAA low prime investments.
    2) The unintended consequences of HUD (Housing and Urban Development) policies which by 2002 required banks to make 50% of all loans to low and moderate income borrowers, and pushed GSEs (Government Sponsored Entities) to underwrite hundreds of billions of non-standard loans despite having only 1% in capital.
    3) Allowing banks to mix trading with their standard business in order to compete with European banks.
    4) The US government requires pension funds to invest in AAA rated securities and anoints only a few rating agencies with that power. Again more interference with the marketplace.
  • >They could have let the banks fail. Most people agree we would have entered into a full scale depression without the bailouts.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
  • > This is inaccurate. There have never been more laws to prevent discrimination than today. If you are a productive worker you can be assured that your differences will not matter.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
  • > The food supply has never been so bountiful. Small farmers lost their farms due to price controls instituted by the Government during the depression. Agricultural subsidies are what keep large farms in business as dealing with all that paperwork is easier for large corporations. These subsidies must slowly end. This problem was created by the government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farming#Modern_agriculture
  • Modern Agriculture requires the use of chemicals to grow enough food for our growing population. This effect will not change unless you want to cause mass starvation.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.
  • > Some people are vegetarian and some are not. The choice to purchase from companies that harvest animals is yours.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
  • > Every business has the right to unionize and people have the right to work or not work where and when they want to. Open shop (voluntary to join a union in a company) versus closed shop (must be a member of a union) is the crux of the matter. When left to their own choices most people opt not to pay union dues. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_shop
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
  • > Students have the choice to go into debt or not for their education. If they choose to then they should pay. Now the US Government now does all student lending so the US taxpayer is on the hook for any defaults. This easy US backed credit is another reason why our education costs are sky high and rising.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
  • > It's a global marketplace and Americans work for much more at the same job as other people in other parts of the world are willing to work for. Part of this is due to our high labor costs which are never lowered by unionizing.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
  • > Not sure what contracts where but insurance always seems to have lots of loopholes however companies that pursue those loopholes get a reputation for doing that and then loose either customers, employees or both. More competition would bring these back actors to light.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
  • > Again it is a matter of free choice whether you want to have a Google account or Facebook account. We have gained a few things from this privacy issue as well.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
  • > This is not accurate. The US enjoys much more freedom of the press than say Russia.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
  • > The legal profession works overtime in the USA to sue manufacturers of faulty products. This makes our products cost more or perhaps not even get to market. Our FDA holds back promising drugs and devices for years that are already in wide use in Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_liability
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
  • > We operate under a free market economy that grew as a natural result of the free movement of material, labor and capital towards it's best and highest use. As long as the market place decides we are safe. As soon as the government decides we are in deep trouble. The United State still leads the world in GDP with $14 Trillion, China is a distant second with 5 Trillion. Not exactly catastrophic.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29
They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
  • > As do the Unions and Environmental groups and others. This is all part of free speech and the lobbying that comes from it. It isn't pretty but at least everyone has a chance to influence legislation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbyist
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
  • > There are stringent requirement for oil spills to be reported. I believe that the penalty for a cover up is much higher than a spill in the first place. Oil is a natural product and occurs in nature. Spilling oil is not good but it is something we have to live with if we want to live our lifestyle.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
  • > See arguments for a free press above.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
  • > I need to see an example but I doubt this is widely true. Prisoners in the USA enjoy perhaps the best system of justice in the world however it is not perfect. The death penalty should be abolished and is currently used in only 35 states (since 1976 when the US Supreme Court left it up to the states) and internationally in 23 countries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_penalty
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
  • > I am not sure that corporations do this but our government has sadly instituted "enhance Interrogation" in the aftermath of 911. Amnesty International estimates that at least 81 world governments currently practice torture. Wars, by their nature, create the loss of innocent lives.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*
  • > Contracts vetted and approved by our democratic government.
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
*These grievances are not all-inclusive.
  • > They seem quite enough however with that statement the goalposts can continue to move.
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