Occupy Wall Street

[stroguy]

Don't think they are the smartest, how did they know it weighed 50#?

[Tamie]

Me and many people I know worked in college and lived frugally during and after college and paid off our student loans quickly. We were responsible.

Now President Osama wants us to pay higher taxes to subsidize people who weren't responsible. People who lived beyond their means. People who went to parties instead of class. People who squandered their opportunity.

[The Mad Moderate]

I cannot believe what I am reading here, you people of all people should be sticking up for these people who are patriots and love their counter as much as we do. They are fighting for people not corporations like the Tea Baggers are, how have the GOP convinced you people to work agents your own interests. The Citizen United ruling was the final nail in the coffin of our democracy, the corporations are the problem here they have been for a while. Its insane to me that there are people who do not see the wool being pulled over our eyes by the corps and the media. The insults here are the same that were lobbed at the TP before the only difference is in this case they are far more inaccurate.

[AEA]

They are PAID by George Soros and organized by ex-ACORN who now call themselves NYCC! You still believe they are Patriots?

[74novaman]

I cannot believe what I am reading here, you people of all people should be sticking up for these people who are patriots and love their counter as much as we do. They are fighting for people not corporations like the Tea Baggers are, how have the GOP convinced you people to work agents your own interests. The Citizen United ruling was the final nail in the coffin of our democracy, the corporations are the problem here they have been for a while. Its insane to me that there are people who do not see the wool being pulled over our eyes by the corps and the media. The insults here are the same that were lobbed at the TP before the only difference is in this case they are far more inaccurate.

You're joking right? I mean, you have to be. Interviews with these protesters have shown they want an end not just to the "evil corporations man" (which btw you have to be a little slow to believe thats the problem here) but an abolition of private property, they want to set income levels, they want more govt in general..because hey, they've only screwed up everything they've ever tried...lets give them another chance!!


Here is the truth, whether you want to accept it or not. True capitalism is the ONLY system in human history where work/goods is exchanged for goods/money/services. If we do not interact with each other on these terms, we are forced to interact with each other through force and violence.

These "protesters" (some of them paid to show up by ACORN) are what Lenin would refer to as "useful idiots". Anyone who supports them fall into the same category.

money, or violence. There is no other means for humans to interact with each other.

But hey, communism only killed 100,000,000 people or so in the 20th century. Maybe in the 21st it'll have a better track record! Let's try it!

[anygunanywhere]

Mad Moderate may have changed his name, but he can't change his spots.

Anygunanywhere

[C-dub]

I cannot believe what I am reading here, you people of all people should be sticking up for these people who are patriots and love their counter as much as we do. They are fighting for people not corporations like the Tea Baggers are, how have the GOP convinced you people to work agents your own interests. The Citizen United ruling was the final nail in the coffin of our democracy, the corporations are the problem here they have been for a while. Its insane to me that there are people who do not see the wool being pulled over our eyes by the corps and the media. The insults here are the same that were lobbed at the TP before the only difference is in this case they are far more inaccurate.

Unfortunately, I do not think the Mad Moderate is joking. He has seen the light in some respects, but there are still some dark areas in his philosophy.

No one has said they do not have the right to protest. Their message is just so muddled and hysterical. What I have gleaned from the occupiers is that they don't want to pay for anything themselves. They want others to give them what they need. They don't want to pay for the debt they have already incurred. They are no better than someone that signs the papers to buy a house they cannot possibly afford to pay for. If I tell someone that the payments for a house are $1,500 a month and someone only makes $2,000 a month they cannot afford that house. There are many other expenses that will make it impossible to make the house payments, but many seem unable to grasp that concept and say the banks tricked them. When my wife and I were looking for our first house we qualified for a house up to $150,000, but bought a $64,000 house. We could not have afforded a house anywhere near what we were approved for and we knew that. The mean ole bank did not trick us and we never missed a payment and actually paid that house off. We were able to do that because we lived within our means.

If we listened to and went along with these poor unfortunate misled souls, only the police and criminals would have guns and everyone would give 100% of their income to the government and the government would give us what they think we need. Oh, but that would only be the people making over $250,000 to start with. If, after a few years, they didn't think they were being GIVEN enough they would lower than number to $200,000 or even $150,000. However, they would then want themselves exempt from that once they started earning more than $250,000. Funny thing how they are not upset with taking stuff from someone else to redistribute, but get very upset when the prospect of getting what they have earned taken away.

You have heard the parable about if you give a man a fish he can eat that day, but if you teach him to fish he'll be able to eat every day? This is exactly that. If we keep giving people capable of working free stuff they won't learn a thing and become dependent. Does this ring any bells? This is also how drug dealers get their suckers/clients hooked.

[apostate]

Funny thing how they are not upset with taking stuff from someone else to redistribute, but get very upset when the prospect of getting what they have earned taken away.

Indeed.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manh ... rGPCaZaLRK" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Texas Dan Mosby]

Source link: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/occ ... _home.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nieves volunteers on Occupy Wall Street's security team, but says many new arrivals do not pull their weight.

"We have compassion toward everyone. However, we have certain rules and guidelines," said Lauren Digioia, 26, a member of the sanitation committee.

"If you're going to come here and get our food, bedding and clothing, have books and medical supplies for no charge, they need to give back," Digioia said. "There's a lot of takers here and they feel entitled."

Oh, irony, you're so silly....

[Middle Age Russ]

The "Patriots" in the Occupy protests do NOT love their (our) country as I/many of us do. They are indeed protesting for people (collectively), but this is counter to the individual liberties espoused by our founding fathers -- the essential root of my love for this country. This protest for collectivism (Marxism or Communism by another name) stems from an ideal that cannot and has never been reached in human society, the ideal of collectivism, administered by a wise and benevolent government, creating a perfect society where noone has a need unmet. Each experiment based on this ideal has failed throughout history because a truly wise and benevolent government -- composed of imperfect human beings with all our attendant vices -- has not and cannot be created which will cater to the needs of all its constituents.

IF they were protesting for individual liberties, which include such ideas as accountability and responsibility, I would be all for them. Instead, they want other people to be responsible for financial decisions they have made, like taking out loans to go to school and not diversifying investments as they should because they were greedy when the stock market was bullish. An adult mindset understands some of these economic/financial (even logical) truths. When you take out a loan you have to repay it (whether it is for school, housing or anything else). Failure to repay has consequences. Investments are risky, and not diversifying increases risk of losses.

Corporations, including banks and other financial institutions, are neither inately good or evil. Demonizing them as these protestors are attempting to do (with an inordinate amount of media fanfare) is simply a way to avoid personal responsibility and argue for collectivism. It can easily be argued that corporations have created more wealth for more individuals in this country over the last century than would have been created otherwise. The fact that American society by and large has forgotten how to manage their finances is NOT the fault of corporations, but rather due to both personal and sometimes corporate greed interfering with solid long-term business and personal finance strategies.

In short, these protestors are against everything except what will give them something for nothing. That is in direct conflict with individual liberty, which is the basis of the American dream. Their dream for America is the pathetically short sighted and selfish view of adolescents who believe they are "owed" something by everyone around them. Just because they chant that their condition is someone else's (the boogety-boogety corporations') fault does not make it true. It is time for them -- and us as a society -- to grow up and start earning our way.

[old farmer]

It is sad for OUR Americia. 3 dead in Ohio...Bombing in Ok. City.. Twin Towers..Tea Party..Take over protests...
EXXON profits is over 30.5 billion dollars....................................................................................................
The signs of our times are not the problem. The problem is Americia is not healthy.
I do not have the a solution to the problems. I just feel sad..

[Texas Dan Mosby]

accountability and responsibility...

What are these words you speak of, I do not understand and fear them.

[Thomas]

I do not have the a solution to the problems. I just feel sad..

I have the solutions, but it involves that I become supreme benevolent dictator. Once everything is back on track, then I hand the reigns back to new elected/reelected officials. One can only dream.

[steveincowtown]

EXXON profits is over 30.5 billion dollars....................................................................................................

No offense old farmer, I am not happy with the State of The Union as well, but the quote above is one of my pet peeves. Exxon made 30.5 billion on Revenues of 383 Billion. This means as a business the made less than 8% net profit at the end of the day.

How many of you own a business, and how many of you would think you were "killing it" if you made 8% net profit at the end of a year?

8% is about what I have made per year on investments over the past 10 years, and all that money had to do was sit there.

[talltex]

EXXON profits is over 30.5 billion dollars....................................................................................................

No offense old farmer, I am not happy with the State of The Union as well, but the quote above is one of my pet peeves. Exxon made 30.5 billion on Revenues of 383 Billion. This means as a business the made less than 8% net profit at the end of the day.

How many of you own a business, and how many of you would think you were "killing it" if you made 8% net profit at the end of a year?

8% is about what I have made per year on investments over the past 10 years, and all that money had to do was sit there.

Exxon's profits were made by producing goods and services and selling them to buyers who were willing to pay a price established by supply and demand in the free market. Have they benefited greatly from the rise in prices the last 3 years...you bet they have...but they don't control the price of oil and gas...the market does that, the same way it does for beef, potatoes, housing, ranchland and all other things. The farmers and ranchers don't control the price they get for the goods they produce, but they naturally hope the prices when they sell will be as high as possible...that's how they make their profits. I have a good friend in the real estate business that has made alot of money over the years buying low and selling high, who was complaining about "those big oil companies" making obscene profits and saying the government ought to step in and put some type of cap on their profits. I asked him if he had purchased a property for $200,000, rehabbed it, and 3 months later a buyer came in and offered him $500,000, did he think the government should be able to say you can't sell it for more than $300,000? He said "of course not...I put up my own money and took all the risks, it's nobody else's business if that's what someone is willing to pay". I smiled and said "so ,its OK for them to do it to someone else, but not you?" He kinda' shook his head and said "yeah, not too smart, huh?"