http://www.politicususa.com/en/interviews-occupy-wall-streetThe Occupy Wall Street movement is gaining support as more Americans learn they are not alone in believing the wealthiest 1% of Americans are wielding inordinate influence in government to the detriment of 99% of the population. The majority of news reports focus on the protestors in major cities where occupiers congregate, but there are other groups of people who the media is not attending to and they include regular Americans who share the protestors’ concerns about income inequality. Over the past two weeks, this author interviewed people who are desperate for jobs and relief from Republican policies that have put them in the untenable position of subsisting from day to day with no hope in the foreseeable future of making any economic gains.
Most of the people have lost their jobs, homes, and ability to provide the bare essentials for their families. Out of twenty interviewees, five were retirees, six were college graduates, and nine were ex-blue collar workers with school-aged children. Only three of the twenty owned their homes, but they were in jeopardy of losing them, and the rest lived with relatives or in homeless shelters. Of the retirees, two participated in reverse mortgage programs that pay them a monthly allowance from the equity in their homes. Out of twenty, only one thought Republicans were on the right track giving the wealthy more tax breaks to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Interestingly, sixteen of the twenty identified themselves as either Republicans or former Republicans who left the party out of frustration the GOP was working solely to benefit the wealthy at the expense of the majority of Americans.
There is one overriding sentiment that all but one interviewee expressed; sheer desperation that without government intervention to create jobs and help Americans, their descent into poverty is a permanent condition they will never escape. All of the people interviewed had heard of the Occupy Movement, but they were not entirely sure what impact the protestors would have to halt the wealthy’s influence on the government. There was surprising support for President Obama’s attempt to create jobs, but the support was tempered with suspicion that Republicans would block his jobs plan using inflammatory rhetoric about government spending for political reasons. The majority felt the private sector would not begin hiring until more Americans had money to spend and all but one advocated raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for creating jobs.
Nearly half of the people wondered why the government did not begin a program like the WPA to rebuild roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals, and believed the scams to privatize Social Security and Medicare were Republican efforts to reward wealthy investors on Wall Street. Only one of the people thought deficit reduction was a worthwhile endeavor and that spending cuts were necessary to create jobs. Conversely, nineteen thought spending cuts and deficit reduction did more damage to the majority of Americans and increased the ranks of the unemployed. All but two of the people depended on Medicare for their health coverage, and were concerned that Republicans would privatize the program and cut their benefits. That is all the good news
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Hey, 1%... you're losing.
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