"Occupy" Superthread

I wonder if the criticism the poll has received would've been repeated if the poll matched the critics' prejudices and biases.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/us/politics/how-the-poll-was-conducted.html

So far we have a poll indicating support for a more equal distribution of wealth, a poll that indicates just under 50% support Occupy Wall Street whereas the tea party gets about half that. I'd like to see if anyone can produce a different poll made recently that produced different results.

And to get a more equal distribution of wealth you can forget libertarianism (lol) or 'small government'. Looks like the spectre of socialism is amongst you. Get yer guns errybody, them filthy commies are amongst us!

You don't seem to get the point. As Mayor and I have both already said, 'more equal distribution of wealth' doesn't mean anything. No one is going to say that they agree with 'more unequal distribution of wealth,' regardless of political ideology. Now the poll already has structural problems that it admits to (small sample size and framing issues), but that's not the problem.

The problem is that it doesn't mean anything because it doesn't present an actual dichotomy. The topic is far too vague and agreeable to actually mean that anyone believes anything out of the ordinary.

The poll actually answers that question:
2/3s support a more equal distribution of wealth.

That means 1/3 do not support or didn't answer the question. I'm pretty sure that most of the 1% wouldn't want a more equal distribution of wealth, otherwise you'd have more people like Warren Buffet publicly supporting higher (or at least fair) taxes on the filthy rich. If you were correct Kali the figure should be 100% or a couple of points off.

The 1% wouldn't want what this refers to as a more equal distribution of wealth because it takes from them. I would not go as far to say as that means they support the harming of the poor.

The Wallstreeters can complain and complain but they have NOT PROVIDED A SOLUTION yet.

Violence, eh?

Wouldn't the large corporations want the government to have less power? That way the government cannot do anything to them.

The protest is not about how to fix it.

LeninCat read the damn thread. You have just subscribed to an oversimplied and mostly wrong view of the problem. Most occupy protesters would demand more economic regulation and a progressive tax structure. Libertarians would demand less regulation and flat taxes. The big issue of student load debt- the two sides disagree about that, a libertarian would not support free public education. Even citizen united is split among the occupy movement (Ron Paul supports the ruling but attaches himself to the protest because he's an attention whore).

I think I just figured out why I hate this damn thing, it's an irate slumber party.

I think we scared him off.

Then you recognize the utter futility.

The protest is not about how to fix it.[/quote:a1hq951a]
Well then it is not accomplishing anything now is it. What is the point of pointing out the problem if you dont have a solution?

So you agree with me that it doesn't make sense that everyone would support a more equal distribution of wealth. 2-1 Kali.

Lenin Cat is right. You do not need a solution in order to protest the problem. Just like you don't need to know how to treat your illness before you go to a doctor complaining of symptoms. The protest is showing public dissatisfaction at problems they are suffering and the country at large is suffering from. For god's sake why are people so cynical about these protests? The reason they aren't getting into policy is because it splits the movement. It is for the politicians to do the policy changes.

There is no fucking reason to protest the problem if you HAVE NO SOLUTION! Yeah we all know Wall Street sucks and all that crap but there is no point in reminding us when you have no idea what you want to do about it.

Problems that are extremely obvious in the status quo. No one is having a revelation because of these protests; people know that the economy sucks and that corporate influence in government exists and that income inequality exists. It's not news and they aren't offering any solutions. Nothing is being accomplished and nothing is being learned.

Just so unbelievably cynical. At the very least it garners the media's attention and that of the politicians. What do you expect people to do Kali? 9% support of Congress. Sit on their asses or protest? Well one of those options is guaranteed to do nothing, and that isn't protesting.

Support of Congress to do what?

This isn't a helpful or meaningful protest. It's an annoyance that's fueled by the idiocy and naivete of a youth who have turned their passive angst into an active aggression that has no direction or rationale.

You want us to make a solution so you and the corporations can quickly ignore it.

@Mayor, I was at wallst for a day, there were PLENTY of people demanding the end of capitalism. Sure, hoards of liberal idiots, but there many anti-capitalists.

Why not have members who support the movement run for Congress? Oh, wait, that would be hard.

Because once anyone gets into congress, they are able to get lobbying money by corporations. Corporations also help fund pro-corp candidates.