Occupy WallStreet

[benjita]

Originally Posted by the1thepwnly

Now, granted I didn't read the article (sorry campy) but I was just wondering how all these people can afford to take off work to protest? Like, I'm a student, if I were to go there (I live in Queens), I would have to do it during the weekend. How can these people be there for a week/days at a time or longer?

This past week, I stopped by the Occupy Lansing camp. Unfortunately for me, the first person I talked to was your typical unemployed "go to every protest" hippie type. I was hoping to learn a little more about the nature of the protest from the protester's point of view, instead of the neutral Wiki or the biased news stories/websites. And the guy was so long-winded that my meter ran out (and was immediately ticketed as if the attendant was waiting for me to run out, she was circling the block).

I did find out about people who work. Any local workers often protest only at night, or during lunch hours. Many people go home afterward, so only a few people (mostly the hippie or homeless types) actually stay fully overnight. There are a few who stay overnight and go to work from the tent. And considering this is miniscule-scale compared to the Wall Street version, I'm sure that you'll find the same there. Granted, I went after dropping my kid off at school, so I shouldn't have been surprised that all that was left were the unemployed hippies.

[wookietv]

i live in brooklyn, and as of late august was laid off from my job. it was last thursday, oct 13th that i finally went to zuccotti park to check it all out. that night it poured what seemed like a tropical storm, but you didn't see any regret from anyone about being there. that was the night before the city and the owner of the park were going to try and oust the inhabitants and clean it. the crowd was bigger and more spirited (i was told) than any other night before it. the future of the movement was in trouble and the call for bodies succeeded.
but you know that story from the news....

i'm not a dirty stinky hippie, i shower regularly, and cherish the daily deodorant. my former company gave me a severance that allows me to not be too pressed to rush to a new job. so i've been enjoying some time off for a little while.
i've stayed overnight there, but go home when i'm done for the day. a lot of the people i've met (and now consider new friends, in or out of the protest environment) do the same because they are also out-of-work currently, are students, or have some sort of irregular work schedule. it's surprisingly sophisticated for a protest. there's a library (hundreds of donated books), a work area to plug in laptops, cell phone charging stations, medical tent, kitchen that's staffed to get free food. the electricity is coming from biodiesel generators using old fryer oil from local restaurants. so as such, people are able to and do bring work/schoolwork with them to the park.
i'm assuming that if i was still working, i probably would not have had the time to attend nearly as much as i have (if at all).

but amongst all of the people there, peppered in it are people in business suits there on their lunch break. the protest would rather have a supporter there for an hour then never come at all, and they're welcomed as such. as are mothers, fathers, husbands and wives, some there during the day while their spouse are at work, child(ren) in tow.

this is actually the first day/night i haven't gone down there. i needed to rest my feet a bit, all the marching between zuccotti park and washington square park has given me a blister or two and the jets game is on!

[hellbent]

awesome... i wish i was younger and single so i could go do these things. not much happening in hawaii... i think there were 2 guys.

[Cretaceous Bob]

Originally Posted by benjita

Somehow, I'm reading this as sarcasm.

Because what you insinuate is patently absurd.

Originally Posted by benjita

"aggrandizingly?" What does that mean? I don't delude myself that I'm "doing the country a service", I just vote on my personal views, which is what is supposed to happen.

Do you support who you vote for or not?

Originally Posted by benjita

Then we have to sort through their lies and try to find the one who is closer to the truth (or less far from our ideals), and that is our "Lesser of two evils" selection, because the alternative is far worse.

Most people who say this feel like they are doing a good thing.

If you don't like the people you vote for and you don't think voting for them is a good thing, I don't know why you're okay with consciously doing your country a disservice.

Originally Posted by benjita

I have asked that question on many occasions.

That's like paying a guy to demolish your house and then being surprised you have no house.

Originally Posted by benjita

However, I spend much more of my time worrying about just getting to the next paycheck. I will never have the opportunity to run for office, nor will 99% of the population. To be able to run for office (I'm considering state legislature and above) is an expensive venture. And to advertise your opinions in a public environment is either expensive (ads, etc.) or in the form of a protest. And protesters do get viewed in a negative light.

Right. America doesn't want political change. At least not yet. Maybe after the liars do their business to America long enough, people will change their mind.

[Sparrow]

I'd like to see, as a whole, the American people reclaim their agency. My work is so often on the immediate community level Occupy Wall Street, for me, is a call to Buy Local and a reminder that I don't have to shrug & settle. I can and should demand better. It's my part in the system and I'm not an asshole for asking for/expecting it.

and

Take Responsibility for your Choices.

It's a good message for them; it's a good message for us.

[seratne]

I'm just going to leave this here for anyone that's thinking of going to occupy wall street:

20 Ways for Teenagers to Help Other People by Volunteering


Yes, I guess I am the 99%. And yeah it sucks that there are rich corporations that control what should be public interests. But, protesting without any sort of definitive message is not the way to make a change. All it looks like is a bunch of winey hipsters camping out. Butch up Sally. If you see something and don't like it, do something about it actively. Passive protesting is not the answer. Dont be pissed that there are people with cushier jobs than you could imagine. Work hard, be American.

[bpinsky33]

I was in Boston last weekend and had the privilege to happen by the Occupy Boston march. I'm not the protesting type, so I guess I might not be the best person to judge this, but it was very confusing. I saw a someone with Tea Party flag, next to a person who had a sign that said we should be communists. Then a sign about Teachers pension plans next to a get out of our endless war. I could be wrong, but a protest of every issue isn't really a protest, it's a cluster fuck. Even people who agree with the (what I understand) main principles of the Occupy movement, were confused by the rally.

[hellbent]

[stabbyhappy]

When Communists, Nazis, Anarchists, Unions and College kids get together it makes me feel giddy inside. All of the anti capitalist organizations are exposing themselves and its going to be an extraordinary spectacle when they implode simultaneously.

[william]

Should be organizing proxy voting.

Just takes one share to introduce a shareholder resolution. After which they bring the vote to the attention of the media and wake up the stockholders.

Prevent this:

Outsize Severance Continues for Executives, Even After Failed Tenures

Just last week, Léo Apotheker was shown the door after a tumultuous 11-month run atop Hewlett-Packard. His reward? $13.2 million in cash and stock severance, in addition to a sign-on package worth about $10 million, according to a corporate filing on Thursday.

At the end of August, Robert P. Kelly was handed severance worth $17.2 million in cash and stock when he was ousted as chief executive of Bank of New York Mellon after clashing with board members and senior managers. A few days later, Carol A. Bartz took home nearly $10 million from Yahoo after being fired from the troubled search giant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/bu...e&ref=business

As the article states,

few investors have gone to battle.

Only 38 of the largest 3,000 companies had their executive pay plans voted down, according to Institutional Shareholder Services. Even then, the votes are nonbinding.

Otherwise more of

At Burger King, John Chidsey, its chief executive, departed in April with a severance package worth almost $20 million, despite severely underperforming McDonald’s. Michelle Miguelez, a Burger King spokeswoman, declined to comment.

The chief executive at Massey Energy was awarded a large severance contract despite presiding over a company barraged with accusations of reckless conduct and with legal claims stemming from one of the deadliest mining disasters in memory.

In June, Baxter F. Phillips Jr. was awarded nearly $14 million in cash and stock severance after the company was sold to a competitor, Alpha Natural Resources. Ted Pile, a spokesman for Alpha Natural Resources, said his company was required to honor an employment contract “put in place before we acquired” Massey.

Another chief executive received severance payments after his company was accused of fraud. At Beazer Homes, Ian McCarthy was ousted as chief executive three months after the company settled with the S.E.C. for filing misleading financial statements. Mr. McCarthy was forced to repay about $6.5 million. But what the government took away, Beazer’s board gave back. Mr. McCarthy was awarded a severance package worth about $6.3 million — and was reimbursed for up to $10,000 of legal fees associated with his termination. Beazer did not respond to a request for comment...

At Hewlett-Packard, its revolving door for chiefs has led to tens of millions in severance payouts even as thousands of employees have lost their jobs. In 2007, Carly Fiorina walked away with more than $21 million in cash-stock severance, after she struggled to turn around the company. Her successor, Mark V. Hurd, left with severance of more than $12.2 million after he was forced to step down amid accusations of an improper relationship.

Now comes Mr. Apotheker’s $13.2 million severance payout when the stock price was cut in half. That is made up of $7.2 million in cash, the ability to sell $3.6 million of restricted stock and a $2.4 million bonus. H.P., which paid $2.9 million to relocate Mr. Apotheker to California, will now pay to move him to Belgium or France and cover losses of up to $300,000 on the sale of his house.