Ever since the Occupy Wall Street protests began back in September, support and criticism about the movement have been mounting as far as what the purpose of the group is. From what it seems, the protests are basically addressing the need for social and economic equality among the population.
All the while, the group is also protesting the government corruption and how the injustice is steadily progressing and not being fixed. I've been tuning in to the news stations that report on the protests every now and then, not for lack of caring, but I personally am not sure I agree with everything the movement stands for and how they are going about protesting.
I agree, there definitely needs to be some changes in the government and how now a days, nobody can seem to agree on anything; however, I don't believe the way the group is protesting this is the right way to do it. The movement is camping out in the streets, but what are they trying to prove?
When the movement first started in New York City, protesters camped out in the nearby park, which ended up being a conflict in itself. Protesters ended up causing more of a mess in the park by leaving their trash and other wastes behind which then caused the police to come in. This may be one shallow aspect of viewing the protests, but from my viewpoint, why would any government or corporate official take a person, or a protest, seriously if those individuals can't even accomplish the simple task of cleaning up after themselves? From this aspect, the protest at that point in time was causing more of a problem than fixing the bigger one.
Besides the simple task of cleaning up after themselves, the movement has some demands that are not exactly the most reasonable. Granted, these demands are a start, but I certainly hope they will change over time to make more sense and to appeal more to the government they are trying to change. While the movement is demanding many changes to the current problems that plague our nation today, from what I've seen, it hasn't addressed how we should make those transitions to a better life.
An example of where a transition is lacking can be seen from one of the movement's demands insisting on the elimination or adjustment of the current Medicare program (except for certain aspects) and adopting a new one in which individuals can opt out of if they choose so. While I agree Medicare has all sorts of problems associated with it, how are we first going to fix the millions of dollars of debt that have now been racked up on the current Medicare system? We can't just drop a program we have been using for so long and adopt a new one, especially considering how much debt it has now accumulated.
Another demand I am hesitant about from the protest is the elimination of the tax loopholes for corporate businesses. What I would be interested in knowing is which tax loopholes they are talking about and if they understand why they are there in the first place. The reason for the tax loopholes for businesses is because if we tax a business for its productivity, then they are unlikely to want to hire new employees because instead they will want to avoid being taxed.
However, I understand where the Occupy movement is coming from in this instance, for in a situation such as not taxing corporate businesses, the rich only become richer. On problems such as these, it's almost as if there is a double-edged sword, but a change is necessary.
Although I question several of the movement's demands, there are others I think would actually be beneficial. One such demand is recalling the U.S. military from around the globe and refocusing them to where they would be of better use. Basically, cutting down on unnecessary spending of deploying the military to where they don't need to be. I think, especially in this time of such high national debt, this is a good idea. Granted, Congress already has a play in this by not paying for deployments they don't want, but I believe we can do better.
Occupy Wall Street, I believe, is on the right track by protesting the injustice that has been surmounting for so long, but I also believe if they want to get anything done, they should go about it a different route. Camping out and publically protesting may be a start, but I think members need to start addressing their demands in a more professional manner if they want the government to listen. From what I'm seeing, no one has taken them seriously.
In order for the movement to grow, I think members of the movement need to start getting involved with government officials to make things happen. Once this happens, we might start seeing more of a change. Occupy Wall Street is making a point, but to make things happen, they're going to have to do better.
