WHAT DO I THINK OF THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT?   ARE ALL THOSE UNDER-EMPLOYED, NOT EMPLOYED, THE 99% JUST LAZY GOOD FOR NOTHINGS?   WHO NEED TO JUST GET A JOB AND STOP COMPLAINING.   That was one bloggers opinion.  I wasn’t going to post on this.  Tired,  think I am battling a cold or something.  Moreover, I don’t like getting political on my blog,  I do my ranting on Facebook.  But now I can’t resist.  So let me list some thoughts.

1. I have mixed feelings.
2. There is a problem
3. It isn’t one that is solved by saying stop complaining and get a job.
4. It isn’t just evil Wall Street, greedy banks, the power of lobbyists, the other party, the immigrants, the out-sourcing of jobs.
5. All sorts of greed seems to be in the mix.
6. I also fault excessive consumerism.
7. I believe in capitalism, but a regulated capitalism.
8. I worry about the environment, but from much of what I read, many green products are in the money making business and are  making more money than impacting.  I worry that less developed countries will continue polluting.
9. I also think there are too many nonsense regulations all for the wrong reason–mostly to  prevent frivolous law suits.
10. I think consumerism is a problem, but buying keeps the economy a float.
11. I just don’t understand why anyone needs millions of dollars.
12.  I don’t understand the money paid to movie stars, popular musicians. and star atheletes.
13. I don’t like how much it costs to run for political office and think that has to be equalized.
14. I think everyone deserves enough to eat, to feel safe, to have a roof over their head and a decent education, access to knowledge and freedom of belief–not just in America but all over our world

Let me list some of what I think might help.

1. Dis-empower the drug lords by legalizing  all drugs, taxing and controllying them as we do alcohol, the deadliest of drugs.  Legalize, control, and tax prostitution.
2. Tax not-for-profits including churches.
3. Increase the taxes on the rich.
4. Increase corporate taxes.
5. Encourage small self-sustaining  homesteading communities.
6. Stop aiding corrupt governments
7. Collect the monies owed us by the United Nations.

But in all honesty, these are just ideas and I have no idea if they are would helped  I hope the people in power know better than I do.  I am not optimistic that there will be any real change.  The rich and power have had their way for a long, long time.  Thousands of years in fact.  Democracy is still a noble experiment and while hopeful, I am also fearful.

Topic #280: Across the U.S., and now elsewhere in the world, a protest movement is rising calledOccupy Together.  You can read live updates of the original Occupy Wall St. event, that’s still going.  Also take a look at we are the 99%, a related website where people interested in the Occupy movement are telling their stories.

Write a post where you give your point of view. Do you think these protests are a good thing? Do you agree with their belief that there’s something wrong?