Occupy Wall Street - A Different Take

It has been featured in the newspapers, magazines, and local and national TV news. I'm talking of course about what is commonly known as "Occupy Wall Street."  It has also been described in various ways, some of which are "The voice of the people", "The liberal answer to the Tea Party", or "A sign that a change is coming."

As a liberal Democrat, one would think I would embrace this movement with open arms.  I'm not sure how you embrace something with open arms, but you get the idea.  The problem is I don't.  ahh....but then again, I do.  Confused?  Me too.

Protests make those involved and many not involved with them feel good, because they are doing something.  They often are a fore runner of a more permanent action, cause, or movement.  Also, they bring light to a problem that needs fixing, and the banks are certainly a problem that needs fixing.

However, in looking at the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, and now in other US cities, there are troubling aspects, not so much because of what is happening, but more because of what is not happening.  First and foremost, where is the organization and where are the stated objectives?  I have made no bones about that fact that I do not like, or respect the Tea Party movement or what they stand for.  However, only a fool would claim they are not organized.  They are, and that's what makes them so dangerous to our country.

Like most mass movements, Occupy Wall Street is a conglomerate of different factions.  The unemployed are a large part of the crowd, as are the employed who are just managing to get by.  But so are the anarchists, and the hangers-on, and thrill seekers who have nothing better to do.  The anarchists are dangerous and want to cause mayhem and destruction.  The hangers-on and thrill seekers just get in The way.

Many of the major banks were saved with a bailout (a loan that has been almost entirely repaid, not a hand out as the Tea Party claims).  They were saved from conditions which they created for themselves with greed, fraud, and just plain bad business practices.  Saving them was a bitter pill, but as I have pointed out in the past, not saving them would have made the financial condition of our nation far, far worse than it already is.  What we need now is government regulation (with teeth) that will force them to start circulating (via loans and other avenues) the trillions of dollars on which they are currently sitting.  We need that money to flow through our country once again.

Some in this new movement want to shut down Wall Street, and while Wall Street, itself, has some answering to do for some of its transgressions and shady deals, we must never forget, that the investments of many average Americans are also tied up in stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and harming Wall Street also harms all of those citizens, their families, and their retirement.

So, will any long lasting good actually come from the Occupy Wall Street movement?  I sincerely hope so, as it could be the start of a needed political force to offset the stupidity of the Tea Party.  If this is to happen, however, we will need less people in the demonstrations dressing like zombies (never have quite figured that out other than some type of street theater) and more organization, goals, and plans to achieve those goals in order to get the money flowing in this country again, create jobs, and stop the banks from lining their own pockets at the expense of average Americans.

If we can do that, the Occupy Wall Street movement will have positive results for the country.  If not, it will soon be a forgotten footnote in history.