When the markets crashed in 2008 and the federal government bailed out the big banks, many people on Main Street were not pleased. This resentment and hatred towards Corporate America continued to escalate and has recently reached a fever pitch.
In New York City, many people were arrested over the weekend for blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge in the Occupy Wall Street protests. These demonstrations are meant to protest corporate greed and the wealth inequality that continues to persist in this country.
There are protests all over the country that are meant to show solidarity to the demonstration on Wall Street, and it will be coming to Phoenix on Oct. 15. While the demands for the Phoenix protest are still crystalizing, there is no reason to believe they wouldn’t be similar to the main protest in New York.
Their demands, according to Business Insider, are bold and audacious. First, they want to repeal the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that gives third-party organizations the freedom to spend unlimited amounts in elections. They also want widespread debt forgiveness, universal health care centers and the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act.
These are certainly reasonable demands, particularly since they would be a boon to the average American.
Reinstating Glass-Steagall would particularly help consumers. It establishes a wall between commercial and investment banks and stops commercial banks from speculatively investing people’s money, making everyone’s assets much safer.
But if we are honest with ourselves, the chance of these demands being met is next to zero. Unfortunately, money talks, and this is a mob of haphazardly organized populists against the corporations.
They have compared this movement to Arab Spring, the pro-democracy movement sweeping the Middle East, but ousting an unpopular dictator and taking on the world’s most powerful corporations are two completely different beasts.
Dictators in Third-World countries who have lost legitimacy will be more responsive to the protestor’s demands — after all, they have to deal with their subjects on a daily basis.
Regardless of picketing, the big banks will consistently have tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars behind them. Large amounts of money can buy you the best legislators in the country as well.
We certainly admire the students and individuals dedicated to making Occupy Phoenix a success, but we must caution that picking a fight with some of the greediest people in the world and issuing large demands may be a setup for disappointment.
This local protest will show unity among the demonstrators, even if little may come of it.
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