Ok, it's enough. After reading this article: Occupying Wall Street, demanding accountability I have a few points to make. First off, the article's protagonist, Vincent, can simply be defined by this excerpt.
Vincent, 21 and unemployed, has suddenly become one of several unofficial spokesmen for Occupy Wall Street, a leaderless protest movement made largely of twenty-somethings upset with the state of the economy, the state of the war in Afghanistan, the state of the environment, and the state of America and the world in general.My first thought that came to mind, how is Vincent a spokesman for anything, and who is he speaking for? My second thought, why don't these people do something actually productive to society and try to obtain a tax paying job rather than protest worthlessly. In the end, this protest won't get them anywhere, and they will have stayed unemployed, getting tax breaks themselves when that is their main arguing point. Don't get me wrong, in no way am I defending the bail out of the big banks, I'm mostly just perturbed by worthless hipsters 'fighting' for a cause that I guarantee they don't know diddly squat about. On a side note, if you can't tell, my opinion on hipsters isn't very high. I actually do believe hipsters are worthless (like goths), but I don't believe my possibly skewed opinion will interfere with my argument below.
So, one of the arguments are about the big tax breaks the rich get and how disadvantaged the bottom half of America is. I'm sorry, but that is just flat out wrong. The percent of individual income with tax returns of zero or negative tax liability is at an all time high of around 50%. That's correct, about 50% of Americans do not pay any taxes whatsoever, and actually a percentage of that 50% are beneficiaries from government programs. The non tax payer's percentage hovered around the 20's from 1950 to 2000, and only recently has it made a parabolic move. Both Bush and Obama are to blame for this spike.
So, who really pays for the bulk of taxes in the US? I"ll break it down. The top 1% of income earners pay roughly 40% of all federal income taxes and the top 5% pay approximately 70%. The bottom 47% pay no federal income tax at all. According to the Tax Policy Center, the bottom 20 percent pay -3.8% of the nation's taxes. What is interesting is that the next 20% are even better off at -4.3%. So cumulatively, the bottom 40% are net takers of Washington's money. If we were to compare, the top 0.1% of all income earners pay the equivalent of the bottom 80%. How is that not paying your fair share?
I'm going to group the rest of the hipsters into the same demographic as Vincent. They are part of a majority of America that pays nothing to Washington yet expects more. Doesn't it seem a bit ironical that they are complaining about handouts? Last I heard, we were not socialist Europe. (Although it seems like were headed that way) These hipsters certainly sound a lot like the hipsters of Greece that started rioting over the decrease in Government austerity programs after the country went BROKE.
Yep, all that austerity really put Greece, and soon to be Spain and Ireland in a solid situation. Just ask Germany about that!
* Disclosure note: All facts and figures that I've stated above can be looked up freely at the IRS.
First of all—your attempt to boil down this movement to a blog post partially dedicated to your disdain for hipsters demonstrates your sheer ignorance and under-appreciation of the issues at hand.
ReplyDeleteIf you are satisfied with the political atmosphere of Washington, then fine. However, I think it's a pretty safe assumption that most Americans are sick of the constant bickering between political parties and the constant vows to undo the achievements of the Obama administration, blocking any potential for further successes. Politics are about compromise, and that fact that politicians, especially those in Congress, are overwhelmingly unwilling to do so negatively affects the rest of us whom they are meant to serve.
The top 1% of American's own 40% of the nation’s wealth; the bottom 80% of Americans (which you are included in by the way) only own 7%. Despite the numbers that you provided above, the point to be made here is that taxing should be proportional to your income. I'm sorry, but if your average income is equal to or greater than $1.5 million dollars a year then there is no reason why you should pay fewer taxes than a bus driver or secretary. That makes no sense. The wealthiest 1% is actually not paying their "fair" share. The bottom half of America is disadvantaged; the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and there are not enough opportunities being created that would allow people to fill that gap. The top 1%of Americans has an average income of $1.5 million—are you telling me that I should be taxed more than they should when I, along with millions of other Americans, am making significantly less than that? It’s not “ironical” as you say that these people are “asking for handouts.” Why would the government help people that do not need any financial assistance instead of helping those who clearly do?
I understand that some people work hard for their money and didn’t just inherit it or get rich via corruption; However, I’d like to believe that everyone who works hard deserves financial prosperity, not just %1 of people. There are working moms who only eat one meal a day so that their children can eat 3; working professionals have to accept WIC and Medicaid because insurance companies don’t want to be “burdened” with their health needs. If you need more examples: http://thinkprogress.org/progress-report/millionaires-revolt/?post_type=progress-report.
ReplyDeleteNobody makes it on their own, rich or not; and it should be considered part of the underlying social contract that you take some of your money and use it to help others reach prosperity and success. As of September 30th not only 73% of Americans agreed that it’s unfair for middle class American’s to pay a higher tax rate than millionaires and billionaire, but millionaires themselves are asking for their taxes to be raised. Frankly, as a young person I think its embarrassing that you are so critical of the movement. All of those people taking a stand on the streets are speaking on your behalf to improve your life in the present and future. Government officials must be made aware that they are here to promote the greater good and not create legislation that protects and benefits only 1% of this population. You are criticizing this movement yet major political figures and well-known millionaires and billionaires are openly supporting it; Take Ronald Regan, Warren Buffet, Doug Edwards, Russell Simmons for example. Do you support financial greed and corruption? These people are not idiots but you sound like one if you do not support their efforts to stand up against those things.
If you have a problem with hipsters, then dedicate a separate blog post to that but do not diminish the value of this movement. You used a quotation that references other important aspects of the protests aside from the economy yet did not address said aspects whatsoever in this blog post. This movement has a much broader scope than you are alluding to; It started out on Wall Street but has since transcended that geographical boundary and transformed into what hopefully will become a national movement that puts pressures on politicians to observe their commitment representing the people of this country--all of the people. This is about the environment, women's rights, human rights, militarism, and so many other issues beyond the economy.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, regardless of whether or not you approve of this movement, people have the right to take to the streets and express their overall dissatisfaction with the American government. This is how things get changed. It is time for America to rise out of this era of complacency and make Washington listen to us. The Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Suffrage, LGBTQ Rights have demonstrated the efficiency of protests as an agent of change. People need to be heard if they expect anything to be done. You should applaud these people for finally getting off of their asses and actually taking an active role in bringing about change instead of just sitting around complaining about it.
Don’t use your hatred for skinny jeans and nerdy glasses as a vehicle for criticizing people who are doing what they can to make a difference.