This first post is mainly for test purposes.
As a response to an editorial in my university newspaper (in which the author "stands up in acceptance of the [Occupy Wall St.] movement"), I wrote this op-ed piece. Read, comment, whatev.
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As disorganized as the Occupy Wall Street movement is, it's safe to say that their underlying sentiment is thus: greedy industrialists + corrupt politicians = trouble. With that, I couldn't agree more, but all Occupy has done is identify the problem. Until the movement officially publishes a list of analyzable policy demands they’re nothing more than a throng of crybabies.
Though Occupy as a movement has yet to take an official stance, it appears that many of the protesters support government restrictions to control the greed of big business. With that, I couldn't disagree more. They blame capitalism as the problem and government as the answer, when in reality it's the other way around! The U.S. economy has morphed into crony capitalism where government decides who can produce how much of whatever (via taxes, subsidies, price floors, permits, etc.). These things shouldn't be decided by bureaucrats in Washington, but by people in the marketplace!
When government has this level of economic influence, corporations are incentivized to hire lobbyists and give generous "contributions" to members of congress to ensure that legislation will favor their industry. You want to keep corporate money out of politics? Take away the magnet!
Occupy protests have brought to light a problem that needs fixing, but yelling at buildings won't solve anything. It’s time we get serious about solving our dilemma. I've proposed a solution and am open to hearing others. Occupy, it's your turn.
