Tag: OWS
Awareness of Class Warfare Surged in 2011
One of the most wrenching political signs to come out of the Occupy Wall Street movement reads "they only call it class warfare when we fight back."
A new survey on class warfare by the Pew Research Center suggests that middle-class dirge is an increasingly common refrain in post-Bush America as the wealthy continue to grow wealthier and the financial playing field increasingly is tilted toward them by a U.S. Congress in which half the Senators and Representatives are now millionaires.
The percentage of respondents in the survey who said there was a "strong" or "very strong" conflict between the rich and poor grew 19% from 2009 to 2011 – to 66%. The gain was strongest among independent voters, who will ultimately decide who wins the 2012 presidential race.
"The Occupy Wall Street movement no longer occupies Wall Street, but the issue of class conflict has captured a growing share of the national consciousness," said Pew survey analyst Richard Morin.
A new survey on class warfare by the Pew Research Center suggests that middle-class dirge is an increasingly common refrain in post-Bush America as the wealthy continue to grow wealthier and the financial playing field increasingly is tilted toward them by a U.S. Congress in which half the Senators and Representatives are now millionaires.
The percentage of respondents in the survey who said there was a "strong" or "very strong" conflict between the rich and poor grew 19% from 2009 to 2011 – to 66%. The gain was strongest among independent voters, who will ultimately decide who wins the 2012 presidential race.
"The Occupy Wall Street movement no longer occupies Wall Street, but the issue of class conflict has captured a growing share of the national consciousness," said Pew survey analyst Richard Morin.
Brady & Bundchen build mansion for needy activists
Professional athlete Tom Brady and professional model Gisele Bundchen, apparently guilt-ridden over the vapid nature of their own shallow lives, are building a 22,000...
Analysis: Occupy 2.0 Emerges Lean and Mean
A group of handcuffed Americans sat inside a fenced enclosure in Lower Manhattan on a blustery Saturday afternoon, their hands bound tightly behind them as fellow Occupy Wall Street protesters shouted words of support and thanks.
Their crime?
Challenging the public image of one of the chief beneficiaries of a New York City political machine dominated by real estate interests, Wall Street bankers and powerful religious institutions. The script reads like something out of Oliver Twist. However, instead of asking for a second bowl of gruel, the detainees had the effrontery to ask permission to set up a tent camp in a vacant lot.
The lot in question belongs to Trinity Church, a wealthy institution that's located a block from the New York Stock Exchange and counts some of the world's biggest bankers among its supporters. In theory, the church exists to champion the needy, but in reality it has become one of the city's largest landowners – a tool of the 1% - with an astounding real estate portfolio that's worth more than $10 billion.
That's "billion" with a "b."
Their crime?
Challenging the public image of one of the chief beneficiaries of a New York City political machine dominated by real estate interests, Wall Street bankers and powerful religious institutions. The script reads like something out of Oliver Twist. However, instead of asking for a second bowl of gruel, the detainees had the effrontery to ask permission to set up a tent camp in a vacant lot.
The lot in question belongs to Trinity Church, a wealthy institution that's located a block from the New York Stock Exchange and counts some of the world's biggest bankers among its supporters. In theory, the church exists to champion the needy, but in reality it has become one of the city's largest landowners – a tool of the 1% - with an astounding real estate portfolio that's worth more than $10 billion.
That's "billion" with a "b."
Archbishop Desmond Tutu Antes Up
Note to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Trinity Church: when you find yourself on the other side of an issue from Archbishop Emeritus...
Chicago Machine Polly to Hike Protest Costs
By Vinnie Foster
Just when you thought it was impossible to give the children of the rich any more help than they...
Occupy Protesters Face Biased NYC Legal System
By Art Kirkland
Let's say you got in a fistfight with your next-door neighbor.
You wouldn't expect to find yourself being judged in court by...
Global Rebellion: The Coming Chaos
As the crisis of global capitalism spirals out of control, the powers that be in the global system appear to be adrift and unable to propose viable solutions. From the slaughter of dozens of young protesters by the army in Egypt to the brutal repression of the Occupy movement in the United States, and the water cannons brandished by the militarised police in Chile against students and workers, states and ruling classes are unable to hold back the tide of worldwide popular rebellion and must resort to ever more generalized repression.
Simply put, the immense structural inequalities of the global political economy can no longer be contained through consensual mechanisms of social control. The ruling classes have lost legitimacy; we are witnessing a breakdown of ruling-class hegemony on a world scale.
To understand what is happening in this second decade of the new century we need to see the big picture in historic and structural context. Global elites had hoped and expected that the "Great Depression" that began with the mortgage crisis and the collapse of the global financial
system in 2008 would be a cyclical downturn that could be resolved through state-sponsored bailouts and stimulus packages. But it has become clear that this is a structural crisis, in which the solution involves the end of the system itself, either through its supersession and the creation of an entirely new system, or its collapse.
Simply put, the immense structural inequalities of the global political economy can no longer be contained through consensual mechanisms of social control. The ruling classes have lost legitimacy; we are witnessing a breakdown of ruling-class hegemony on a world scale.
To understand what is happening in this second decade of the new century we need to see the big picture in historic and structural context. Global elites had hoped and expected that the "Great Depression" that began with the mortgage crisis and the collapse of the global financial
system in 2008 would be a cyclical downturn that could be resolved through state-sponsored bailouts and stimulus packages. But it has become clear that this is a structural crisis, in which the solution involves the end of the system itself, either through its supersession and the creation of an entirely new system, or its collapse.
Machine Pollies Raid LA and Philly Camps
Machine politicians in Los Angeles and Philadelphia acted to preserve the status quo that's enriching them Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, by ordering police...
Lobbyists Draw Bead on Occupy Wall Street
No group has profited more from the status quo than the fast-growing political lobbyist industry, which is now drawing a bead on the Occupy...
Pro-Democracy Protesters Post LA and Philly Wins
Occupy Wall Street posted wins in Los Angeles and Philadelphia on Monday when police passed on the violent crackdowns expected after mayors of the...
