The Occupy Wall Street Movement and Ensuing Controversy Essay

The 99 percent consists of average Americans whose homes are being foreclosed upon, who have accrued colossal student loan debt and are most affected by economic setbacks. A definition of power is the “ownership, control, and distribution of resources”. In this way, the 99 percent is powerless in America because they lack the ability to exist independently of the one percent who has the power over the nation’s resources. The one percent has an advantage in its ability to influence the government and public policy. The protestors point to many societal problems as evidence of this inequality. Some of these examples are unequal access to healthcare, poverty, exorbitant student loan debt, unemployment, and unfair practices in the housing market. These are all indicators of the unequal distribution of resources and subsequently power that Occupy Wall Street denounces.

Protests are a way that many citizens have historically exercised their right to freedom of speech and as to voice their opinions on current matters in the U.S. as well as other nations. Protests help the uninformed get informed on specific issues, and try to persuade fellow citizens. What were some of the effective aspects of the protests that were portrayed in “The Matrix”, “Battle in Seattle” as well as those in “The Letter from Birmingham Jail”? What were the downfalls? An effective protest is one where an advocated idea gets across to the intended audience. Peaceful protests tend to have a better outcome than those that lead to violence.

Wealth inequality has become a hot-topic in recent years, this is because the return rate on capital, such as stocks or real estate, outruns that of economic growth which resulted in the wealthiest grasping a growing share of wealth, leading to increasing inequality. The unequal distribution of wealth has been a major hallmark of the U.S economy, and among its most notable and lasting results, but until it was brought to the awareness of the public by the Occupy movement’s catch phrase referring to “the 1%” of the populace who control half of the nation’s wealth, this issue had not been brought to the limelight of public economic and political discourse since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and almost every American is basically unaware of the true magnitude and character of the unequal distribution of wealth in our country. Inequality in wealth i.e. the sum of household savings, home equity, investments, and debts is

The Occupy New Hampshire movement stemmed from Occupy Wall Street, which began in September 2011. Tr.:16. The occupy movement generally consisted of staying in one place until the grievances of the participants are addressed. Tr.:33. Occupy Wall Street sought to address problems such as economic disparity, the growing gap between the classes, and the influence of money on politics. Tr.:13. Every Occupy movement focused on different issues and grievances, usually determined at the first general assembly. Tr.:111.

When considering this, it is wholly possible to understand the saying that “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”, as it is true. This was brought into the spotlight by the Occupy Movement, and the slogan of “We are the 99%”. This, in turn, begs the question; who are the one percent?

stupid. Barry relates the story of driving through Tampa, when two people wearing furry pig suits say that they are trying to convert people to veganism. His mental response was not thoughts of meatless meals but of “these people are insane, I could go for some barbeque.” The author also shares his belief in the inefficacy of shouting in large groups. Occupy Wall Street was a prime example of this mentality. I do sympathize with many of their aims, because I am definitely one of the 99%. However, when they did a months-long protest in Philadelphia at City Hall, I went home the long way around because the protesters came across as dangerous and possibly unstable. As the late Terry Pratchett said, “The intelligence of that creature known as a crowd is the square root of the number of people in

The vast wealth inequality in America (and the rest of the world) has been cited as a problem by Obama in many of his State Of The Union address, the Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen, and many other liberal politicians and economists. Their talk about the problem of how the “1%” help perpetuate the wealth inequality has brought this issue to the forefront of society. In America, many citizens believe firmly in the idea of equality. The fact that some people have more money than they could ever spend, while others live in poverty on the streets conflicts with that value of equality. The most famous reaction to this rampant inequality was the Occupy Wall Street movement that started in 2011. Tens of thousands of people camped out next to Wall Street offices in New York and several other financial centers across the nation to protest the inequality between the 1% and the other 99%. This infamous movement gained media attention as the vocal protesters wanted to make it known that the wealth divide is unacceptable and politicians must rectify the situation. One important policy tool the United States has implemented to combat wealth inequality is a progressive tax. This means that people with more income are taxed at a higher rate than those with lower income. However this tax system has many loopholes in the United States, and the wealthiest individuals are routinely able to avoid being taxed at a higher rate by distributing their wealth in bank accounts

The movement brought up many conversations about lack of upward mobility and economic inequality. The common phrase from the movement speaking of the ninety-nine percent versus the one percent reflects on the desire for this equality (pg 75). The Occupy Movement used this to make an impact in the realm of politics. President Obama was aware of the slogan the movement used, describing the ninety-nine percent versus the one percent, and he used it as ammunition. He explained that many of his policies would help the middle class while Mitt Romney’s, his opponent, would help the wealthier individuals. This helped the Democratic incumbent keep his position for four more years. Lastly, if one delves into the results of the Occupy Movement, he or she would find that the greatest success of the movement was its impact on Bank of America. This bank and other large banks halted their plans to increase debit card fees due to Occupy action. The movement had made an impact on many aspects of

The activists feel like this disruptive protest is needed in order to disturb not only the public but to disturb politicians and people in high places. They feel like in this way they will grab the attention, sympathy, and support of citizens and will force politicians to face these issues and propose solutions to them like police reform and will also remind the police force and all other authorities that they are aware of these injustices and that they are never ignored (Mather).

First, these protests woke Americans up from complacency, and combined with other forms of social activism. They helped to show citizens, policymakers, and anyone listening that there could be a better way. That hope was not just an idea, but a better future was both necessary and possible. The are

At the individual-level, people engage in protesting for a combination of reasons. Socioeconomic status and psychological approaches have been identified as possible motives for an individual to contribute to protesting. For

Corporate greed is a much debated topic in today’s society. Oil company profits are soaring while people are having trouble paying for gasoline and home heating. Bank executives are collecting enormous bonuses after government bailout money, while hundreds of thousands still face mortgage foreclosures. Big business seems to be recovering from the 2008 recession, but does not seem to be taking the people with them as unemployment remains high. In response to these issues, “Occupy Wall Street” has risen up to complain both that corporations are greedy, and that governments in the United States and around the world have enabled them to be so. One problem with the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) Movement is that it does not have any set

Occupy Wall Street’s opposing expression of the disparity between the wealthy and the poor may have begun in good faith by utilizing the Freedom of Speech and General Assembly amendment rights, but the strategies some of the protestors have demonstrated are resulting in adverse reactions against themselves. The Occupy Wall Street movement will assuredly cost affected cities in the double digits of millions of dollars. Increases in payroll, overtime, and business expenses will inadvertently backfire and increase layoffs. The burden the protestors physically place on a city is weighing down an already financially stressed situation. The mass of people and their tent lifestyle is causing a drain on city finances, and alas, the money is coming

The first paper I have chosen to review is called Reflections on Occupy #Everywhere: Social Media, public space and emerging logics of aggregation. The author argues that social media has changed the way protest movements such as Occupy organize and communicate with their members, allowing the movement to reach a larger audience than would otherwise be possible (Juris, 2012, para. 1). The author’s evidence is valid, and comes from qualitative observation of the growth of the Occupy movement in general, and Occupy Boston in particular. The author’s evidence is relevant to his argument, as it supports the role that social media played in the formative phases of the Occupy movement.

On a brisk September day in 2011, in the commercial district of Manhattan Island, a minute protest in Liberty Square commenced against the fiscal atrocities committed by economic establishments leading to the financial crisis and subsequent economic recession in 2007 and 2008. Over the course of the month, the movement protesting the miscarriage of justice and democracy following the economic catastrophe and the overall inequitable and unfair wealth distribution diffused to over 100 American cities as well as 1,500 cities worldwide. The revolutionary movement was named Occupy Wall Street and through occupying and protesting the symbolic location of the financial elite, Wall Street, the crusade aimed to “[revolt] against the corrosive power