Occupy Wall Street
- Thread starter Spikekiller
- Start date
GordonTheGekko
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Met some communists today... they liked my Hickey Freeman suit 
"Don't Underestimate 'Occupy Wall Street'"
""The medium is the message," Marshall McLuhan's slogan from 1964, is a notion that's come up often this year as protests have rocked the world, from the Arab Spring to those in Southern Europe and the UK. Many have focused on social media changing the nature of protests and their coverage, and while I won't deny that impact, that's not the point I'm trying to make.
Rather, with the Occupy Wall Street movement, it's the structure of the protests -- their medium -- that has changed. Naysayers don't appreciate this. The "business model" of protests during the 1960s focused on getting as many people as possible to a location for a few hours where there could be any combination of speeches, marches, and sign-waving. The goal was to make a big enough splash to attract TV, radio, and newspaper coverage. They were rare, novel events.
..."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Dont-Underestimate-Occupy-minyanville-3266206564.html?x=0&.v=1
Imo everyone that is unemployed should camp outside smack in the middle of the financial centers of the four major cities in this country + Washington DC, in Washington DC in front of the three governing buildings. Be prepared to be arrested and refuse to move. When freed, go straight back and repeat. That is about 25 Million, or about 5 million per city. Then let's see what happens.
In fact, this is tame and needs to be scaled at least 100x to 1000x. One thing, understand why you are there and be able to articulate it. Practice in front of the mirror if you have to.
Be respectful of people that have jobs, after all, that is your own goal. Remember, the true enemy isn't innocent people, but an abstract system that has a life of its own, with no one behind the wheel, otherwise known as Free Market Capitalism. It is not Capitalism that is at fault imo, just the "Free Market" part.
Bring a suit and tie in case you get an interview, and in fact, dress as best you can every day.
""The medium is the message," Marshall McLuhan's slogan from 1964, is a notion that's come up often this year as protests have rocked the world, from the Arab Spring to those in Southern Europe and the UK. Many have focused on social media changing the nature of protests and their coverage, and while I won't deny that impact, that's not the point I'm trying to make.
Rather, with the Occupy Wall Street movement, it's the structure of the protests -- their medium -- that has changed. Naysayers don't appreciate this. The "business model" of protests during the 1960s focused on getting as many people as possible to a location for a few hours where there could be any combination of speeches, marches, and sign-waving. The goal was to make a big enough splash to attract TV, radio, and newspaper coverage. They were rare, novel events.
..."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Dont-Underestimate-Occupy-minyanville-3266206564.html?x=0&.v=1
Imo everyone that is unemployed should camp outside smack in the middle of the financial centers of the four major cities in this country + Washington DC, in Washington DC in front of the three governing buildings. Be prepared to be arrested and refuse to move. When freed, go straight back and repeat. That is about 25 Million, or about 5 million per city. Then let's see what happens.
In fact, this is tame and needs to be scaled at least 100x to 1000x. One thing, understand why you are there and be able to articulate it. Practice in front of the mirror if you have to.
Be respectful of people that have jobs, after all, that is your own goal. Remember, the true enemy isn't innocent people, but an abstract system that has a life of its own, with no one behind the wheel, otherwise known as Free Market Capitalism. It is not Capitalism that is at fault imo, just the "Free Market" part.
Bring a suit and tie in case you get an interview, and in fact, dress as best you can every day.
I agree with the crony capitalism part, and it is worth linking to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crony_capitalism
But I am not convinced that it is at the heart of the unemployment problem.
Maybe the problem is Free Market Crony Capitalism?
It would have been impossible for the banks/funds/insurers to absorb the risk they took on because of the systemic risk inherent in securitizing toxic debt into CDOs.
That's the definition of a negative externality. Party A and Party B speculate in the free market. Parties C, D, and E end up at risk, without ever sharing in the transaction, once A and B implode.
Without the expectation of bailouts (starting in the 70s, moving on to the Greenspan put than Bernanke put), that kind of risk-taking never would have happened. If the only options ever available were bankruptcy, default and/or letting small-to-mid size banks buy up the scraps, this wouldnât have gotten so out of control. Itâs like letting your toddler-then-child doing whatever he wants and suddenly being shocked when heâs a teenage criminal.
You have a point about the speculation boom due to the Greenspan put, but injecting liquidity is an entirely different animal than a full-scale bailout. There was no precedent to assume the Fed would <i>take</i> all of your toxic assets onto its balance sheet.
Plus levered speculation is a relevant issue, but it doesn't explain the systemic risk. Your levered risk taking spreads to my mom and pop credit union in Tennessee or the MI municipal workers pension fund or whatever. The free market cannot account for that new side effect of boom and bust.