Occupy Tampa

Very edutaining dose of electronica that sums up many of the...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:51:41 -0500

Very edutaining dose of electronica that sums up many of the evils of the Cartesian tyranny that we find ourselves living in today. When we’re quickly becoming post-capitalism and post-consumer, what identity do we transition into?

Stockman shares details on how the courtship of politics and...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:25:12 -0500

Stockman shares details on how the courtship of politics and high finance have turned our economy into a private club that rewards the super-rich and corporations, leaving average Americans wondering how it could happen and who’s really in charge.

Filmed January 20, 2012. Chris Hedges, Lawrence Lessig,...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:40:06 -0500

Filmed January 20, 2012. Chris Hedges, Lawrence Lessig, Virginia Rasmussen on the eve of the 2nd Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision “Citizens United v. F.E.C.”. The video begins with a march from Liberty Plaza a/k/a Zuccotti Park to the rally point at Foley Square across the street from Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse at 40 Centre St. The Rude Mechanical Orchestra plays their “Smash a Bank Polka” followed by Chris Hedges giving an update to his lawsuit against Barack Obama and Leon Panetta. Virginia Rasmussen offers a historic perspective on the Citizens United decision. Laurence Lessig gives an inspirational speech on restoring democracy. Other speakers: Alexis from Occupy Wall Street, Camille Rivera, and Amy Muldoon. The video ends with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra finishing of their song.

Motion to amend: “Oh say can’t you see, by the...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:26:35 -0500

Motion to amend: “Oh say can’t you see, by the pepper spray’s might…”

Overworked America: 12 Charts That Will Make Your Blood Boil

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:22:10 -0500

Overworked America: 12 Charts That Will Make Your Blood Boil:

Want more rage? We’ve got eleven charts that show how the superrich spoil it for the rest of us.

In the past 20 years, the US economy has grown nearly 60 percent. This huge increase in productivity is partly due to automation, the internet, and other improvements in efficiency. But it’s also the result of Americans working harder—often without a big boost to their bottom lines. Oh, and meanwhile, corporate profits are up 20 percent.

Click through and see the charts at Mother Jones.

Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:20:17 -0500

Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About... :

Business Insider provides a slew of charts that clearly demonstrate the economic inequality that compose the roots of the anger of the OWS movement. Click through and see the numbers for yourself.

Spain’s “Indignados” and the Globalization of...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:34:39 -0500

Spain’s “Indignados” and the Globalization of Dissent

The Occupy Movement has taken much of its inspiration from Spain’s “Outraged” Movement: what lessons does Spain have for Occupy now?

Interview: Kalle Lasn, publisher, Adbusters magazine | CanadianBusiness.com

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:48:25 -0500

Interview: Kalle Lasn, publisher, Adbusters magazine | CanadianBusiness.com:

Enjoy an insightful interview with Kalle Lasn, the publisher of Adbusters. Many Occupiers don’t realize that OWS was initially conceived by Adbusters which is an anti-consumer culture magazine, based in Vancouver. Lasn discusses the direction he believes OWS will go in, during 2012.

Occupy Movement Banner Project Interested in adding the...

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:44:21 -0500

Occupy Movement Banner Project

Interested in adding the “I support the Occupy movement” blue ribbon to your website? Show your solidarity, click through and put the ribbon on your website with pride.

The Occupy Movement’s stated goal for the holiday is to...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:09:26 -0500

The Occupy Movement’s stated goal for the holiday is to continue “Martin Luther King’s quest for economic justice through non-violent The Occupy Movement’s stated goal for the holiday is to continue “Martin Luther King’s quest for economic justice through non-violent actions”. And they’re doing so with the help of the newly launch group “Occupy the Dream” which consists a coalition of African American church groups affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement. They have called for a National Day of Action today to protest the Fed. Uploaded by TheAlyonaShow on Jan 17, 2012

Occupy Movement Targets Congress National call for action on...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:06:57 -0500

Occupy Movement Targets Congress

National call for action on Capitol Hill draws occupiers from across U.S.

Photo

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:32:52 -0500

12 Reasons You'll Be Hearing More About the Commons in 2012

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:01:43 -0500

12 Reasons You'll Be Hearing More About the Commons in 2012 :

We Power stands at the convergence of economic and cultural trends

The continuing economic crisis shows the foolishness of promoting selfish individualism as the chief operating principle for our society.

Click through to read how We the People must work together to improve our civilization.

Danny Schechter author of “In Debt We Trust” with...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:32:43 -0500

Danny Schechter author of “In Debt We Trust” with Max Keiser / In this edition of the show Max interviews Danny Schechter; media activist, author and filmmaker. The program starts with a precedent of Danny Schechter’s book, “In Debt We Trust” which is about economic meltdown in America. Another book discussed by Schechter was “plunder” which was about Lemon Brothers’ collapse. He said the financial story in America is not a business story, it’s rather a crime story. Uploaded by PressTVGlobalNews on Jan 14, 2012

Poverty in America likely to get worse, report finds

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:18:42 -0500

Poverty in America likely to get worse, report finds:

Indiana University study says 46 million Americans are living below the poverty line – up 27% since start of recession

Millions of Americans will be forced into poverty in the coming years even as the US hauls itself out of the longest and deepest recession since the second world war.

A study from Indiana University, released on Wednesday, says the number of Americans living below the poverty line surged by 27% since the beginning of what it calls the “Great Recession” in 2006, driving 10 million more people into poverty.

Click through to finish reading the rest of the article.

Seeing Red: Millennials Are Cooler With Socialism Than Capitalism

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:00:16 -0500

Despite the fact that Obama is as centrist as they come, the right-wing cries of “socialist takeover!” may be based in more than paranoia. According to a new study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 49 percent of Obama’s biggest fans—Millennials age 18 to 29—view socialism in a favorable light, compared to 43 percent who view it unfavorably. (Eight percent had no opinion at all.) What’s more, they like the sound of “socialism” slightly better than capitalism—46 percent of people age 18-29 have positive views of capitalism, and 47 percent have negative views. This is dramatically different from the country’s population overall: 60 percent say they have a negative view of socialism, versus just 31 percent who say they have a positive view. Young people are the only age group whose support for socialism outweighs that of capitalism.

It’s telling that the number of socialism-friendly young people is on the rise from just 20 months ago, when 43 percent of Millennials favored the word. Between now and then, Occupy Wall Street has swept the country and the headlines, and there are more unemployed teens and 20-somethings than ever. It’s not hard to figure out why our generation isn’t so gung-ho about capitalism—it has disappointed and, in some cases, straight-up failed us.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Generation Y is necessarily plotting a socialist revolution. It may also signal that socialism doesn’t have the same connotation for us as it does for older people. We’re the first generation with a new bogeyman threatening our democracy and our way of life: terrorism. September 11 was our generation’s defining apocalyptic moment, not the Bay of Pigs. The War on Terror has gifted us with a whole host of new prejudices, but socialism is not one of them. The Red Scare is a thing of the past.

The most exciting thing about this study is that it offers further proof our current financial system isn’t set in stone. According to politicians, the media, and our global reputation, the U.S. is either a bastion of bootstrap capitalism or a rabid free market machine run amok. Yet virtually half of the younger generation has at least a vague desire for a different system. Conservatives may be wrong about Obama’s red-tinged politics, but perhaps they’re not so wrong about the Obama generation.

http://www.good.is/post/seeing-red-millennials-are-cooler-with-socialism-than-capitalism

Bush tax cuts, stock market widen income gap By Tami Luhby...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:51:54 -0500

Bush tax cuts, stock market widen income gap

By Tami Luhby @CNNMoney January 4, 2012: 12:43 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The rich have gotten richer, thanks to the stock market and the Bush tax cuts, a recent report has found.

Growth in income from capital gains and dividends has widened the divide between the wealthy and the poor in recent years, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service. It supplanted wage inequality as the primary driver of the growing income gap, which helped spur the Occupy Wall Street movement last fall.

After-tax income for the top 1% of taxpayers soared 74%, on average, between 1996 and 2006. The top 0.1% benefited even more, nearly doubling their income over that decade.

By comparison, the bottom 20% of taxpayers saw their income fall by 6%, while the middle quintile experienced a meager 10% gain.

But “income” means something very different for the rich than for the poor.

6 adult decisions delayed by the economy

High-income people benefited in particular from the stock market boom in the late 1990s and from companies enjoying strong profit growth and paying out healthy dividends more recently, said Harry Holzer, professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute.

In 1996, the top 1% of taxpayers relied on wages for 34.4% of their income. A decade later, that number had fallen to just over a quarter, the report found. Meanwhile, income from capital gains and dividends grew by nearly 7.5 percentage points to 38.2% of earnings.

The Bush tax cuts, which lowered rates on both income and capital gains, also helped fuel the growth in income inequality, according to the report. The difference in tax rates paid by the poor and the rich narrowed, with the Top 0.1% of American taxpayers seeing their average tax rate fall by about a quarter.

“It made the tax system less progressive, one more thing favoring the wealthy,” Holzer said.

Just what happens to the Bush tax cuts, which expire at the end of the year, remains to be seen. They were the subject of a heated partisan battle at the end of 2010, with Democrats favoring increasing rates on wealthy Americans to help narrow the deficit.

Republicans, meanwhile, staunchly opposed any tax hikes on the rich, saying it would hurt job creation and weaken the economy.

This year, the two parties will likely lock horns again over taxes as they fight for control of the White House.

Last month, President Obama came out swinging against the GOP in a speech in December, blasting the party for exacerbating inequality by supporting the Bush tax cuts.

“We know it doesn’t result in a prosperity that trickles down. It results in a prosperity that’s enjoyed by fewer and fewer of our citizens,” he said.

There is a story I like to tell to my clients, participants and...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:34:17 -0500

There is a story I like to tell to my clients, participants and friends. It’s about a wise, old Cherokee Indian. Because I felt like writing about it I just did some Google research and I realized that I unconsciously changed the story slightly. Which is nice, I guess. It means that the story is alive. I also found that there is a second chapter but let me start with the beginning.

Click the pick to read the remainder of the article, to learn how to feed your white wolf and help yourself actualizing all your latent talent to become the best Occupier you can be.

Why We Occupy?

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:02:54 -0500

Why We Occupy?:

This is an informative article from FireDogLake that delves into three distinct groups of Occupiers the writer has identified. Very helpful and interesting to be aware of the different roles Occupiers lead and how these roles must all work in harmony. Click through, read and enjoy!

Advertise on NYTimes.com Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:58:36 -0500

Advertise on NYTimes.com Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs:

An article from the NY Times investigating the collapse of upward socioeconomic mobility in the U.S., the foundation of the “American Dream.” Is the dream dead, or is it like George Carlin once said, “you have to be asleep to believe it?” Click through, read and enjoy!