My Thoughts On the Occupy Wall Street Movement

When I first heard about the protestors in Portland, I didn't realize it was a part of a bigger movement. All I heard was that there were protesters in Pioneer Place, and I thought, "What for?" Nothing insane had happened in the near past to inspire insurrection, at least not by my reckoning. When I asked my informer why they were protesting, she simply said, "They're protesting corporate greed." 

 I wasn't quite sure I was on board. How is protesting going to solve something like corporate greed? Even with the specific requests of the protestors, I wasn't sure if it would work--or even if it was necessary. My conservative background had me leaning towards the stop-whining-and-get-a-job side. When people complained about home loans or school loans, I could only think that it's rather stupid of someone to take on a loan that they can't afford. 

So, as you can see, I found myself starting to choose a side. But I desperately did not want to choose a side at all, because I have to say--more "sides" to pit against each other is the last thing our country needs. 

I decided to read up as much as I could--and still try to do so--on the issue. One particular BBC article pointed to several websites that have been created based on this movement--the first being We Are the 99 Percent. Here people can upload pictures of themselves holding a sign on which their story of joblessness and indebtedness, of how they've been screwed over by the government, is written. When I first read them, though I did feel for these people, I had a hard time being completely sympathetic. If you're in debt, isn't it your own fault?  I thought. I know job-hunting sucks right now, but...so what? 

Those were my thoughts. The other website I found myself sympathizing much more with: We Are the 53 Percent , a percentage referring to the amount of Americans who pay income tax. This website is a counter to the first, with similar pictures of people holding up signs--this time describing their journeys escaping debt, how hard they had to work to find jobs, and essentially that they worked hard enough to succeed. They also occasionally tell the other side to stop complaining. 

As you can surely tell from the way I'm writing this, it was much easier for me to side with the 53 Percent . They work hard, make good decisions, and are safely out of debt because of it. Right? 

Well, the article I was reading pointed something interesting out. Both sides hold fast to a very deep American ideal: Hard work should pay off. Our country started with that "pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-and-get-'er-doooone" mentality. It's one of our founding principles, and one most Americans hold near and dear to their hearts whether they consciously realize it or not: Work hard, reap benefits. Conversely, if you are lazy, we tend to believe you don't deserve a reward. 

Both websites, both sides, are proclaiming this. 

We Are the 53 Percent is full of people saying "Look--we worked hard and now we live debt free." They're saying that if you work hard enough and make wise decisions, you will get rewarded. That's how our system is set up, it's how we believe it should be, and they've seen it work first-hand. We Are the 99 Percent, on the other hand, is saying, "Look--we worked hard, but we still have to live with huge debt/joblessness/poverty/etc." They are saying that they believe hard work should be rewarded--but, because our system is broken, it hasn't worked for them. 

It was then that I realized why it was so easy for me to side with the 53 Percent. The system has worked for me. Sure, job hunting was hard, and sure I have a load of student debt, but I'm working and paying it off and it feels okay. It's not overwhelming. But let's take a step back: I have had a place to live with family, and my husband inherited a successful, albeit small, family business that's supported us. And the job I have now I would not have found were it not for the word of a very dear friend. So what at first looks like my hard work paying off turns out to be a lot of unearned help. Don't get me wrong, I work plenty hard--but I'm starting to realize that my hard work might not have been enough to get me where I am. Without all those unearned windfalls, where would I be now? Would I be able to pay off my debt or even have a place to live? With such good fortune, maybe I'm closer to the 1% than I thought. 

It's quite easy to say that those Occupying their city are merely complaining. Unfortunately, that does not take many realities into consideration. One reality is that many people are trapped in home loans not because of poor decision-making, but because at the time many banks (those same corporate banks being protested) used downright deceptive means to convince people that such-and-such home loan (ARM loans, I'm lookin' at you!) was a great idea. Read more about the mortgage crisis here. As far as student loans, many students accept loans before they've even left home for the first time. It's hard to argue that they should have known better at such a young age. Even if they did stop to consider the consequences, weren't we all convinced that upon graduation we'd receive jobs plenty good enough to pay these loans off? But now it's hard enough to get even a minimum wage job--and try paying off loans with that salary. Especially when you consider the most significant reality that I often overlooked: The rich are taxed less than the poor. This is a truth. If you don't understand how, read this or this article. How is it fair that taxes on capital gains (often the biggest source of income for the ultra-wealthy) is only 15 percent, the second lowest income tax bracket there is? Tax laws favor the rich, and this is hurting the rest of the country. To me, it doesn't make any sense. Which leads me the website that hit me the hardest:

We Are the 1%, We Stand with the 99%

Here, there are also photos of people holding up signs with their stories written on them, but these stories are different. They're stories like, "I inherited 3 million dollars that weren't taxed. I did not have to work for my education; I received more money just by being born than most people do working 60 hours a week their whole lives. This is unjust. I am the 1%, but I stand with the 99%: Tax me!" To me, it really says something if someone is demanding to be taxed more. 

To reiterate, I don't think sides pitted against each other is what our country needs. And there are certainly some people in the 99% who are just lazy and complaining; there are many who are in financial trouble because of their own poor decisions. But many are not, and the ideas that the 99% are stating seem to be right: We should work hard, but with our current system hard work does not always pay off. You don't have to agree with any certain side to see that something is wrong with this economy, and with this country.The system is broken, and change needs to happen.  Maybe that's through protesting; maybe not. What do you think? Join the discussion, whatever your thoughts are. Please let me know if you think something I'm saying is off-base. I believe we need to have that open communication--because an Us vs. Them mentality is not going to be loving, as I believe I'm called to be, or productive for any noble goal.  I want to join that discussion with what I've found that I believe. So, after a confusing and long journey of thought, I've come to decide: I do not know what percent I fall in to--I've worked hard but also been very fortunate--but I do know where I stand. I stand with the 99%, and I'm occupying this blog.