Morning Report: Occupation Spring

Oh, really?

Joe Lieberman chairs the Homeland Security committee in the Senate, and he also has some observations on the historically low approval rating for Congress:

“Because I don’t think Congress has ever been as bad as it is today. Here is a time of very serious, painful economic hardship … and a debt that is threatening our future, national debt, and we really haven’t done anything about it.”

http://news.yahoo.com/joe-lieberman-dont-think-congress-ever-bad-today-050004685.html

There’s that. Not having done anything about it is a source of consternation for those who see the issues clearly and understand what it would take to find solutions. Unfortunately, not doing anything about it has a lot to do with the OWS message.

When Alan Greenspan tells you the financial services sector is basically a criminal organization, people are understandable miffed when they read statements like Lieberman’s. And also speaks a few volumes about how members of congress appear to be complicit in a number of Wall Street-style scams that their constituents learn about by watching programming like 60 Minutes (insider trading on this occasion):

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7388130n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox

Out of control: Thievery by another name

“The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is understood to be planning a series of face-to-face meetings between investors and the UK’s top five banks in January to urge them to curb ‘out-of-control’ bonuses and cut individual payouts.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8975422/Banks-and-ABI-to-hold-talks-over-out-of-control-bonuses.html

Makes you wonder why all the resentment towards the banks, huh? The image these people project continues to be fueled by their actions, which is another way of saying irresponsible, unabashed greed. The license to steal is granted by charter, there are no other qualifications. The hedge fund managers for instance, like to portray themselves as captains of industry, the foundation of capitalism and enterprise.

In actuality, they perform no function except to siphon off a percentage of the GDP with commisions, fees, and the various scams described here and elsewhere. The entire OWS phenomenon has been fueled by the lack of socio-economic justice that is so pervasive even mainstream media outlets can’t ignore the audacity of some of the executives.

When the government has to step in to restore order to an out-of-control elitist group, how can anyone dismiss the OWS movement as baseless or misguided? It is not, and not a day goes by when the evidence doesn’t present itself for everyone, including mainstream news organizations.

If the current situation, along with the economic hardships associated with it isn’t news, what is? Here’s more on the obvious by Bill Bonner of the Daily Reckoning:

“Since the beginning of of time, the insiders have always had an advantage. That’s why people want to be insiders; they know that’s where the money is.”

“The feds and the insiders work together. The insiders give the feds jobs and money. The feds look out for the insiders too. Putting in place a heavy and expensive regulatory system, the SEC helped them from competition. It also shifted income from productive, profit-making activities to the zombies—the lawyers, administrators, and regulators who, not entirely by coincidence, are the feds themselves.”

http://www.equitymaster.com/dailyreckoning/detail.asp?date=11/16/2011&st…

Not hippies:

Is it significant whether these voices are associated with Occupy Wall Street or not? Are their sources any less accurate because they were not heard by numbers that are tuned in to Dancing With the Stars? As a business decision, the major news organizations that have steadfastly ignored the importance of stories like this, have allowed a huge alternative media infrastructure to grow and thrive. Where else can people get news that actually has a bearing on their lives and their futures? As if to make the point, this comes from Huffington Post:

“Look at the ads that Wall Street firms splash across financial magazines. They have one theme: We help businesses get richer with our financial skills. Really? You see, they have to spend millions to convince you they really are trying to help businesses when most of the profits are coming from proprietary trading and making bets with other traders. This way you, the uninformed public, will look like capitalist hating communists by raising any criticism of good-natured finance professionals just trying to keep America moving forward.

“This is a lie. No one ever built a bridge from proprietary trading. Goldman bankers taking home a $5 million bonus doesn’t do anything to prepare America for a globalized world. All financial activity is not the same – and it’s O.K. to say that some is destructive and not own a copy of The Little Red Book.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-munson/how-to-retake-capitalism_b_1171…

Is it OK to say that? There are a growing number of Americans that are becoming involved in finding solutions to vexing problems within the existing economic framework. They have decided that waiting for the dominant news organizations to demonstrate some socially responsible behavior is futile. They have demanded fairness and accountability. They have taken to the streets. They have set up tents.

And before the next election, the sheer volume of their numbers, their collective voice, will manifest itself in some form that is discernible to those who have ignored their message, their determination and their resilience.

Occupy Congress:

The nationwide effort to bring about fundamental changes to solve these problems is in full swing with the migration of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, to Washington, D.C. Occupy the Courts follows that extravaganza and many of the occupations are in a transitional stage that will result in what is being referred to as Occupy 2.0 for lack of a better term.

In short, the movement is showing no signs of losing momentum and the organizational growing pains are being worked out locally and nationally. From the perspective of many of us who have seen the movement grow from a few tents in early October to what it has become, the first stage was a sort of dress rehearsal for what’s to come.

All the signs are positive, and after taking the time to visit some other venues and watch how they have refined their procedures, there is reason to believe that the movement will mature into a real force to push for the changes which are obvious to anyone that cares to do a little reading on the subject.

We hope to make it easy to become familiar with these issues and at the same time cross the political boundaries that have effectively stifled the voice of the people. The Red-Blue paradigm is begging to be broken up because it failed to be responsive to its constituents.

The movement offers an alternative to traditional political activism that is both refreshing to watch and obviously effective to the extent that the political discussion has indeed changed since OWS showed up on Wall Street on September 17, 2011.

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