This is one of the best, most succinct explanations of what Occupy Wall Street is about I’ve seen. And you might be surprised to find out that it comes to us from a former Congressman and economist from FL, Alan Grayson.
Here’s the text, via Crooks & Liars, followed by the video:
Grayson: Let me tell what they’re talking about. They’re complaining about the fact the Wall Street wrecked the economy three years ago and nobody’s held responsible for that. Not a single person has been indicted or convicted for destroying twenty percent of our national net worth accumulated over two centuries. They’re upset about the fact that wall street have iron control over economic policies of this country and that one party is a wholly owned subsidiary of wall street and the other party caters to them as well, that’s the truth of the matter as you said before. And…
O’Rourke: Get the man a bongo drum, they’ve found their spokesman!
Grayson: If I…
O’Rourke: Get your shoes off, get a bongo drum, forget where to go to the bathroom and it’s yours.
Grayson: If I am the spokesman for all the people who think we should not have twenty four million people in this country who can’t find a full time job. That we should not have fifty million people who can’t see a doctor when they’re sick. That we shouldn’t have forty seven million people of this country who need government help to feed themselves. And we shouldn’t have fifteen million families who owe more on their mortgage than the value of home, OK, I’ll be that spokesman..
Add on to all that, of course, that we’re sacrificing food, water, and a livable climate for ourselves and future generations so that some rich people can make a few billion more and I think it’s pretty clear why people are occupying any street they can.