If You Want Something Done Right...
Not too long ago, Michael Smerconish (syndicated talk show host) wrote that our paralyzed government may not be able to do anything to put people back to work and get us out of our economic difficulties. The jobs bill proposed by the president is stalled in Congress over the usual differences... Democrats want more spending and higher taxes, Republicans want less of both. If nothing passes the Congress by the holidays, it's doubtful anything will pass before the next election because who wants to try to pass anything contentious in an election year?
Meanwhile, corporations continue to not hire because of the "economic uncertainty". Well, I've got news for you guys... it's not very likely that you're going to get anything that makes the situation more "certain" for quite some time. So, it's all on you. But Smerconish seems to think that even that is not likely. He suggests that we may have to fix this ourselves. I could not agree more. We need to find our own way out of this economic mess, one struggling household at a time, making the right decisions to benefit themselves (and maybe by extension, those around them).
And not by protesting. I'm sorry to pour cold water on the Left (am I?), but Occupy Wall Street is not the beginning of a revolution. It's a bunch of 20-something sons and daughters of privilege who have nothing better to do with their time, and are, quite frankly, starved for attention. How else do you explain the fact that despite a disproportionate share of media attention devoted to these people (mostly because they're in NYC), they spend half their time complaining about a perceived lack of media coverage? And of course, their supporters have immediately started in with the elitist opinions... if you don't like what they're doing, you're obviously too stupid to understand it. Uh, no... I'm not too stupid, I understand completely why they are protesting... I just don't happen to agree with what they're doing and think it is energy that could be channeled in different ways.
Also, they apparently don't care about any business-owners, small or big. According to the Huffington Post, the businesses adjacent to the park where the protestors are camped out are suffering because their customer base does not want to navigate through the crowds. The protestors themselves have vandalized the businesses, use them only for freebies and to charge their phones, refuse to buy anything, and berate the employees. Apparently, they cannot tell suffering small businesses from the major corporations that may deserve their wrath. As this has now spawned similar "occupations" in other cities, I can only hope that the people protesting there are a little more hospitable toward the struggling mom-and-pops that need the most help in this economy.
And STOP saying you are the "99 percent". I get that you are protesting against the mythical "richest 1%" (many of whom have appealed to the president to raise their taxes and really should escape scrutiny), but do not make it sound like the rest of the population are with you and agree with your demands. Truth is, it's likely more like 23%. The usual 23%. The same 23% that still like to revisit Bush v. Gore on occasion, even though it's now 11 years in the past.
The next thing I say is going to piss off the Left even more, but it's true... this is the same "grass roots" bubbling of activity that produced the Tea Party. Two years ago, everyone was pissed at Congress and corporations and the president, so they decided the answer was libertarianism... but the movement was hijacked by the Right and its Christian and corporate kingpins. Now, everyone is more pissed at Congress and corporations and the president, so they're deciding the answer is... well, whatever it is these protestors want. And this movement will be hijacked by the Democratic Party as a means of channeling support to the president and the effort to retake the House. Unlike the Tea Party, I don't foresee ultra-Left "Occupy Wall Street" candidates running for office next year, but it's not like Nancy Pelosi needs to be pushed to the Left like John Boehner has been pushed to the Right. In the end, you'll once again end up with an uber-liberal Left on one side, a reactionary Right on the other side (responding to this burst of Left-wing activity), and NOTHING WILL CHANGE.
The reality is that the Dems will co-opt this movement. The fear is that some of the black-clad, handkerchief-covering-mouth types who like to attend G8 protests (and the occasional Stanley Cup-deciding hockey game) will infiltrate these protests and turn it into a Seattle-style orgy of smashed shop windows and cops beating every head they can reach with their batons. I hope to hell that does not happen.
Change will occur when the angry protests and demonstrations come from MODERATES. Therefore, it's on us - the majority of Americans whose politics lay in the center - to let corporations and government know that we won't take it anymore. And it doesn't take an occupation to accomplish it. Here's one thing you can do: support small businesses, because they WILL create jobs if their profit margins increase, even if Corporate America will not. Because they are small enough to listen to you, the consumer, with whom they deal everyday. And as part of that, if you know of a company raking in billions in profits but laying off thousands, DON'T do business with them anymore. Vote with your feet. Think other people won't do it? Well, that's fine, but don't let that discourage YOU from doing what you feel is right. See, it's the same logic as these protests, just channeled in a more immediate way, and something we all can do as part of our everyday routine, which makes it a lot easier to be done en masse.
Another suggestion, one inspired by today's sad news... We just lost Steve Jobs, and as billboards like to tell us, Jobs and Bill Gates started their corporate empires during a recession, just like the one we're in now. Now is the time to take chances. If you have the next big idea, go for it. Jobs' passing should really remind us about the power that good ideas combined with initiative will accomplish. And along those lines, if there are other ways you think you can help the economy and push businesses to create jobs, get out there and do it! You've got nothing to lose, really. Sure a few thousand loud, angry voices on Wall Street will generate a lot of attention, but the silent efforts of millions will really bring about change.
Meanwhile, corporations continue to not hire because of the "economic uncertainty". Well, I've got news for you guys... it's not very likely that you're going to get anything that makes the situation more "certain" for quite some time. So, it's all on you. But Smerconish seems to think that even that is not likely. He suggests that we may have to fix this ourselves. I could not agree more. We need to find our own way out of this economic mess, one struggling household at a time, making the right decisions to benefit themselves (and maybe by extension, those around them).
And not by protesting. I'm sorry to pour cold water on the Left (am I?), but Occupy Wall Street is not the beginning of a revolution. It's a bunch of 20-something sons and daughters of privilege who have nothing better to do with their time, and are, quite frankly, starved for attention. How else do you explain the fact that despite a disproportionate share of media attention devoted to these people (mostly because they're in NYC), they spend half their time complaining about a perceived lack of media coverage? And of course, their supporters have immediately started in with the elitist opinions... if you don't like what they're doing, you're obviously too stupid to understand it. Uh, no... I'm not too stupid, I understand completely why they are protesting... I just don't happen to agree with what they're doing and think it is energy that could be channeled in different ways.
Also, they apparently don't care about any business-owners, small or big. According to the Huffington Post, the businesses adjacent to the park where the protestors are camped out are suffering because their customer base does not want to navigate through the crowds. The protestors themselves have vandalized the businesses, use them only for freebies and to charge their phones, refuse to buy anything, and berate the employees. Apparently, they cannot tell suffering small businesses from the major corporations that may deserve their wrath. As this has now spawned similar "occupations" in other cities, I can only hope that the people protesting there are a little more hospitable toward the struggling mom-and-pops that need the most help in this economy.
And STOP saying you are the "99 percent". I get that you are protesting against the mythical "richest 1%" (many of whom have appealed to the president to raise their taxes and really should escape scrutiny), but do not make it sound like the rest of the population are with you and agree with your demands. Truth is, it's likely more like 23%. The usual 23%. The same 23% that still like to revisit Bush v. Gore on occasion, even though it's now 11 years in the past.
The next thing I say is going to piss off the Left even more, but it's true... this is the same "grass roots" bubbling of activity that produced the Tea Party. Two years ago, everyone was pissed at Congress and corporations and the president, so they decided the answer was libertarianism... but the movement was hijacked by the Right and its Christian and corporate kingpins. Now, everyone is more pissed at Congress and corporations and the president, so they're deciding the answer is... well, whatever it is these protestors want. And this movement will be hijacked by the Democratic Party as a means of channeling support to the president and the effort to retake the House. Unlike the Tea Party, I don't foresee ultra-Left "Occupy Wall Street" candidates running for office next year, but it's not like Nancy Pelosi needs to be pushed to the Left like John Boehner has been pushed to the Right. In the end, you'll once again end up with an uber-liberal Left on one side, a reactionary Right on the other side (responding to this burst of Left-wing activity), and NOTHING WILL CHANGE.
The reality is that the Dems will co-opt this movement. The fear is that some of the black-clad, handkerchief-covering-mouth types who like to attend G8 protests (and the occasional Stanley Cup-deciding hockey game) will infiltrate these protests and turn it into a Seattle-style orgy of smashed shop windows and cops beating every head they can reach with their batons. I hope to hell that does not happen.
Change will occur when the angry protests and demonstrations come from MODERATES. Therefore, it's on us - the majority of Americans whose politics lay in the center - to let corporations and government know that we won't take it anymore. And it doesn't take an occupation to accomplish it. Here's one thing you can do: support small businesses, because they WILL create jobs if their profit margins increase, even if Corporate America will not. Because they are small enough to listen to you, the consumer, with whom they deal everyday. And as part of that, if you know of a company raking in billions in profits but laying off thousands, DON'T do business with them anymore. Vote with your feet. Think other people won't do it? Well, that's fine, but don't let that discourage YOU from doing what you feel is right. See, it's the same logic as these protests, just channeled in a more immediate way, and something we all can do as part of our everyday routine, which makes it a lot easier to be done en masse.
Another suggestion, one inspired by today's sad news... We just lost Steve Jobs, and as billboards like to tell us, Jobs and Bill Gates started their corporate empires during a recession, just like the one we're in now. Now is the time to take chances. If you have the next big idea, go for it. Jobs' passing should really remind us about the power that good ideas combined with initiative will accomplish. And along those lines, if there are other ways you think you can help the economy and push businesses to create jobs, get out there and do it! You've got nothing to lose, really. Sure a few thousand loud, angry voices on Wall Street will generate a lot of attention, but the silent efforts of millions will really bring about change.
posted by Dave | 9:45 PM
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