Income gap is a good thing.

[ABM]

I just read yesterday where Gates said, basically, that money isn't what motivated him, and that there is no useful difference between being a millionaire and a billionaire because there aren't things to buy that will enrich your life that cost billions.

barfo

Essentially, why dude has developed philanthropic paths for chunks of his coin.

 

[Ed O]

Background

In mid-2011, the Canadian-based group Adbusters Media Foundation, best known for its advertisement-free anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters, proposed a peaceful occupation of Wall Street to protest corporate influence on democracy, address a growing disparity in wealth, and the absence of legal repercussions behind the recent global financial crisis.[12] According to Adbusters' senior editor Micah White, Adbusters suggested the idea on their email list in mid-July and “it was spontaneously taken up by all the people of the world.”[12] At their website they wrote: "Beginning from one simple demand—a presidential commission to separate money from politics—we start setting the agenda for a new America."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street

That talks about MONEY. Not wealth nor income specifically.

The 99% statistic is based on the income inequity rising over time, NOT on the wealth inequity rising (since it hasn't done so over the same period at nearly the same rate).

It is very kind of a Canadian organization to get some segment of Americans riled up, though.

Ed O.

 

[huevonkiller]

Not even close. MSNBC is the worst ratings-wise of Fox, CNN, and the like. It hemorages money and would have gone away years ago without Microsoft spending $400M a year to keep it afloat.

Olbermann went to current tv where he has the audience he deserves - in the thousands.

LOL, he seriously thought MSNBC got good ratings? They are pathetic.

Red Eye airs at 3 AM on FOX and still gets higher ratings than CNN's primetime lineup.

 

[MARIS61]

Emerging Adults in the US: largely uneducated, narcissistic, non-accountable.

Actually that's a much more accurate description of the 1%.

 

[MARIS61]

First, "decimating" implies that one out of every ten would be lost. The military is mandated that 90% of the force is composed of high school graduates, and all have to have graduated or have some equivalency (GED, CHSPE, etc). But don't take my word for the quality of recruits:

BTW, the US average graduation rate is 70.1%.

All very nice but a GED or high school graduate really doesn't indicate that they can "read, do enough math to balance a checkbook, or know about civics" which was your criteria to avoid re-education camps.

 

[MARIS61]

I think that you're as confused (if not more) about Occupy than I am. Which is difficult. Here's what the Portland paper says:
Nope, nothing about DHS. Speaking of them, though, which component of those jackbooted thugs are the ones that are draining the Portland gov't of $200k in overtime? Or shooting Oakland protesters? Or arresting people in Atlanta? Is it the coast guard? TSA? FBI? CIA? Or is it policemen of the town that the protesters are being allowed to illegally squat in?

LOL. Looking to the media (which is solely owned and operated by the 1%) for anything other than disinformation about the goals and actions of OWS.

That's like asking Hitler what the Jews wanted.

 

[BrianFromWA]

We're back to the Julius question....who then do you believe? His answer was his own senses and nothing else. If you applied that to your situation, well....I'll just say that I haven't heard about Occupy Beautiful Central Oregon...unless it's from realtors selling homes to upstanding 1%ers.

 

[MARIS61]

We're back to the Julius question....who then do you believe? His answer was his own senses and nothing else. If you applied that to your situation, well....I'll just say that I haven't heard about Occupy Beautiful Central Oregon...unless it's from realtors selling homes to upstanding 1%ers.

http://www.occupybend.org/

And it's the middle class who is buying in Beautiful Central Oregon, as usual.

 

[BrianFromWA]

From that site, (if one can trust it), there's a picture of a woman holding a sign that says "tax the 1%" and this (mission statement)?:

Together, we, the 99%, will take action to overcome the greed and corruption of the 1%. We must return the power of democracy to the people and away from corporate interests.

You guys keep telling me this is about getting "Money out of politics", but here are two examples it's an attempt to "overcome the greed and corruption of the 1%" and "tax the 1%." Which is it? Or are these outliers?

I will say, though, that I'm supremely amused that there's an Occupy Bend. Thanks for the link, Maris.

 

[BrianFromWA]

just out of pure curiosity I went to Zillow.com. 99 of the 2800 homes (4%) listed in Bend were over 1M. In the Seattle metro area, 350 out of 7100 listed (0.5%) were over 1M.

Would owning a 1M home be considered "1%?"

 

[barfo]

just out of pure curiosity I went to Zillow.com. 99 of the 2800 homes (4%) listed in Bend were over 1M. In the Seattle metro area, 350 out of 7100 listed (0.5%) were over 1M.

Would owning a 1M home be considered "1%?"

Statistically speaking, no. Not if your definition of 1% is wealth.

barfo