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Subscribe to RSSGeorge Goehl, executive director of National People's Action, talks with MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan from San Francisco, where he was arrested for participating in a sit-in outside of the Wells Fargo shareholder's meeting.
Several hundred protesters marched to the Wells Fargo Bank headquarters Tuesday in San Francisco and about 30 managed to gain access to the company's annual shareholder meeting and disrupt proceedings, San Francisco Gate reported. About a dozen were escorted out of the 15th floor meeting by police.
Police in riot gear arrested six people involved in the protest, which focused anger on foreclosures, high executive compensation and low corporate taxes, Reuters reported.
Demonstrators carried a huge inflated rat with dollar bills coming from side pockets, and held signs that read: "99 percent take over, topple the 1 percent" — referring to the majority of the U.S. population and the 1 percent who make up the wealthiest Americans.
The demonstration is part of an attempt to revive the Occupy movement — though most protesters are no longer focused on occupation of public sites after being evicted from many encampments in the fall and winter.
The movement has been broadly focused on economic inequity, corporate greed and money-driven politics, and it plans more protests in the coming weeks, including against other large companies and the nation's massive student debt.
Christie Smith / nbcbayarea.com
Protesters accuse Wells Fargo Bank of predatory lending and other practices that caused the financial crisis, during a protest on April 24.
"A tax dodger and predatory lender, Wells Fargo Bank has corrupted democracy by quadrupling spending on lobbying since they helped cause the financial crisis," according to the web site for Occupy Wall Street, which advertised the event.
Police were stationed around the Merchant’s Exchange Building in the financial district in advance of the 1 p.m. meeting. Bank stockholders were asked to show certificates or other proof of ownership before being shepherded through the gates, The Associated Press reported.
Activists said that 30 shareholders who are protesters had entered the session, and intended to ask bank leaders for policy changes, including halting foreclosure proceedings against homeowners, San Francisco Gate reported.
The Occupy Wall Street web site lays out complaints against Wells Fargo, calling it "America’s biggest tax dodger" and blasting its continued foreclosures "on families in an economy it helped to ruin."
The Occupy movement has staged numerous past protests against Wells Fargo. In February protesters delivered a mock foreclosure notice to the Russian Hill home of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf. In Minneapolis in November, they turned up to protest Stumpf when he was scheduled for a speaking event.
Stumpf told the crowd in the Minnesota city that he "gets" the frustration of the anti-Wall Street movement, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and called for unity of the nation's political parties, as well as "the 1 percent and the 99 percent," to get through economic hard times.
Wells Fargo did not immediately return calls from msnbc.com seeking comment.
However, the company issued a statement in reaction to the protest, NBC Bay Area reported:
"Wells Fargo has helped more than 740,000 customers with loan modifications, and has forgiven $4.1 billion in principal since 2009," it said. "The unfortunate reality is that some customers are in homes they cannot afford, even with substantially reduced payments. ... When people are 60 days or longer past due, and they decide to work with us, we are able to provide an option that prevents foreclosure for 7 out of 10. Over the past year, less than 2 percent of owner-occupied loans in our servicing portfolio have resulted in foreclosures."
According to the bank's web site, Wells Fargo ranked fourth-largest among U.S. banks in terms of assets — $1.3 trillion — and first in market value of its stock as of Dec. 31.
Around the country, similar protests are planned to target major banks and other companies.
A group called 99% Power, an offshoot of the Occupy movement, said it plans actions at dozens of shareholder meetings, starting with Wells Fargo, and then on Wednesday at General Electric Co.s shareholder meeting in Detroit.
On campuses, activists are launching an "Occupy Student Debt" campaign, described as "a collective strategy of non-violent direct action to take back higher education and end our complicity with a predatory and unjust system."
Occupy groups across the country also plan events for what they call an Occupy General Strike Day on May 1 to demand economic justice, during which they advocate "no work, no school, no housework, don't bank, don't buy."
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Leave a Comment:
Go OWS- We are the 99%!
How about, "Go Away"?
Wells Fargo cost me a few thousand dollars in a deal and lied about the situation the whole time it was happening.
They have my support.
Once again the OWS crowd shows that they have no direction and generally lack civility as a group.
These people are NOT the 99% and they do not represent me.
If they expect to receive more widespread support for their agenda then they are going to have to start acting like mature, educated, responsible adults.
These occupy idiots do not represent the 99%, they represent a very small, self entitled minority who thinks that everyone owes them something. The sign in the picture with the article says it all "abolish student & mortgage debt." They borrow money and then they do not want to pay it back. They think that the bank should just write off their debt and give them a pass. They took on the debt with their eyes open but now want to get away without paying it back. What most people do not realize is that this hurts everyone, not the banks. The banks will make their money one way or another. For every dollar of these deadbeats debt that gets written off, the responsible people end up paying a dollar more in fees and higher interest rates. There is no free money here, it is a zero sum game. Do you want to pay higher banking fees and higher interest rates so that these deadbeats who do not want to work for anything can walk away scott free. If these OWS protesters put half as much effort into looking for work or starting their own business as they do protesting and trying to get out of paying their bills, they would have more than enough money to meet their obligations. They would rather sit on their asses and whine than actually go out and do something about their situation. This entitlement mentality is destroying our economy and is a complete disgrace to our ancestors. People came here for the freedom to do what they want and to make their own way, now these cry babies want the nanny state to take care of them. What a complete waste!!!
Some of em actually have legitimate points of corporate taxation... deceptive lending..... but for every smart person you find in any protest there are 10 stupid lemmings screaming things like forgive all debt... yeah wells Fargo has good customer service for small things like checking accounts.... but when you have a mortgage or car loan with them things can get deceptively sour... Used to work in that department... i quit because i wouldn't do some of the messed up crap they tell me to do to people like not answer the phone or lose a payment... or just strait up lie about the terms of the loan...
OWS is still going on? LOL.
You will notice between the two larger red signs, a purple and white SEIU sign. Fake protest lol! If they wonder why they have student debt, get rid of the SEIU! Pathetic losers to the highest degree of stupidity!
Read the signs in the picture and tell me if they are serving a cause or just looking for a hand out..
Abolish Student Morgage Debt...
I do not know about yall, but I do not know many students who also own a home..
Reset Morgages NOW...
I do not know about you, but nobody made me buy my house, or sign on the dotted line for my house.. WHY should they reset your morgage ( RESET is the wrong word they should know better ) You entered into the contract, you should hold up your end or get thrown out on your arse.
protest season in California. schools out; nothing to do; might as well occupy.
Protest season in CA? Really? Please, that is the best thing we as voters can do is protest. Maybe the idiot Republicans will get the picture and be railroaded out of DC. Run those BAST***S out of town. Greed, that's their master. It would be funny if millionaires and billionaires like Buffett, Winfrey, and Gates march for more tax on them. Will that make the republicans look like the fools they are? YEP.
The so-called 99% are really about 1%.
99% of people don't live in tent shanties, go weeks without showering, or protest in favor of Communist ideals.
C'mon 99%, rise up!!! We'll stomp you out like the filthy, dirty, Marxist cockroaches that you are.
This thread is just oozing with derp....
i could support them if they had a mission statement and a leader.
they have neither and just want to induce hysteria.
they are not the 99% cause i bet 75% of us dont give 2 craps about them.
the banks have gotten away with too much, but you know, i bought a house i knew i could afford!
i had the chance to pay alot less with an ARM loan, but i decided that was NOT the way to go!
guess what, i pay my bills and try not to get into too much debt, i took a $10 an hour hit in pay this year and i am still able to afford my bills and live comfortably!
dont speak for me, espically when all you do is yell gibirish!!
get your crap together and make something that all 100% of the 99% can get behind!!
until then,
you are a bunch of crack head hipsters that look like entitled spoiled brats asking for mortgages and school loans to be abolished. sure kill every bit of the economy why dont ya?
then it will be survival of the fittest, and unless protesting somehow gathers food, your survival is slim to none.
stop trying to kill the host cause of a pimple! the economy didnt do this, the banks did, you dont like the bank, bank elsewhere!
thats what hurts them!
Really? You're going to judge an entire movement based on a couple people at their rallies? Isn't that what the media did with the Tea Party? Focus all of their attention on the crazy idiots there instead of the actual protesters. EVERY single movement throughout the history of America has had idiots. There were idiots who fought the Red Coats during the Revolutionary War. There were idiots that fought in the Civil War. There were idiots who fought in WW2. There were idiots who participated in the Civil Rights movement, and Women's Suffrage, and every other movement in America's history. If you can't look past the idiots in the crowd, then you will NEVER be able to accept any movement as legitimate.
If you actually paid attention to the people who started the Occupy Movement, their message is quite obvious. They say that there are many problems in America, but we cannot possibly fix them because the government does not listen to the people. The government is controlled by corporate America through campaign contributions, lobbyists, and other "external" benefits (like giving the politician a high paying job after they leave politics). And unless we the people can retake the government from the corporations, we will never be able to fix those problems.
As for paying for college, there are good arguments on both sides. Some people (I assume you guys fall into this category), say that the students should never have taken out a loan if they couldn't pay it back and that they did it themselves and worked hard enough to pay off the loans. Other people say that having the government pay for college both encourages foreign business to come to America to utilize the educated workforce and acts as an investment (the money brought in from the taxes of a college educated worker is much more than the money spent getting the college education). Those people also point out that in the past, a high school education (which was free) was all someone needed to make a living, and that nowadays people need a college education to make a living.
And btw OMG really people?!!, they do have a mission statement. If you actually spend 30 seconds researching them instead of just flat out disregarding them, maybe you would have found it.
Approximately 50% of tax filers pay ZERO income tax (which probably covers 100% of this group) and the following pretty much describes them as well....
They are angry that others aren't paying more in tax...even though they are paying nothing! But anything and everything wrong with this country can be fixed by more taxes...on other people!
They don't make enough to pay taxes...but they do make enough to invest in banks!
They have strong opinions on how other people (or companies) should spend their money, especially if what is currently being spent is not benefiting them in some fashion.
They all know that banks caused this crisis and that all the "loan liars" (so named by Senator Dodd as those that willfully mis-stated their income and/or assets in order to qualify for a loan they otherwise could not afford) were just average people who were mis-lead....by banks!
They all know exactly what is wrong with this country and how to fix it...based on their degrees in subjects for which the only jobs that exist are those teaching said subject...and since there are no more of those teaching jobs available...(providing them plenty of protest time) they feel that their student loans should be forgiven as well...(I'm not sure who is to blame for this...but...it certainly isn't them...probably a bank...
For the most part their only responsibility they take...is criticizing others and claiming to represent the rest of us...some of whom they are also criticizing.
They are spoiled and need attention...for which they will gladly behave badly...and be fawned over by a media which happily follows them around...much like a puppy at the the heels of a small child.
...oh yes...I almost forgot...unemployment benefits must be extended...it's hard to organize and attend protests...without any money!
Ahhh, my fair weathered liberal hippie friends...its warm out again!
If you take out a loan to buy a house and you cannot pay it off, you can restructure the loan to reduce the level of debt to something manageable.
If you take out a loan to start a business and your business goes under, you can restructure the loan to reduce the level of debt to something manageable.
If you take out a loan to go to college and you can't find a job after graduation, you are $hit out of luck.
But yeah, those 18 year old high school graduates should have known better, unlike those homeowners and business owners, those people couldn't have known better!
And if you take a student loan that you can't pay you can defer it. I've done it until I had a job. Not that hard.
Depends on the loan. Some of them can be deferred. Some you have to start paying as soon as you are no longer a full time student.
If student loan debt gets forgiven.... well, I'm going back to school to study something cool.... like history, instead of dumb old computer science.
While we're on the topic of forgiveness, can we forgive the national debt? The bondholders, including the Social Security trust fund, can just bite me.
"Demonstrators carried a huge inflated rat with dollar bills coming from side pockets, and held signs that read: "99 percent take over, topple the 1 percent"
Who is paying for this huge inflated rat? This costs money. Are they taking up a collection from the out of work students with huge student loans, the homeless people or the law breakers? Who is financing this movement? Let me take a guess....the unions which are nothing more than fronts for communision, maybe George Sorros who has used his billions toppling other nations before and America is next on his list and Singapore considers him an economic terrorist. Maybe the Muslim Brotherhood..... Who is funding this movement? They need to go home already. They have worn out their worthless welcome. Why are these dopes only going after the millionaires in the corporate world? Why aren't they on the White House lawn demanding reform in our government on all levels. There are more millionaires in our legislature because they are enriching themselves at the taxpayers expense participating in insider trading once they get in office. It's legal for them, but not for us. We go to jail for it and they don't. They should go where the real corrpution is and stop demanding more entitlements and stop coveting things they haven't earned themselves.
04/2010
President Obama will sign a bill today that ends a 45-year-old program under which banks and other private-sector lenders such as Sallie Mae receive a federal subsidy for making government-guaranteed college loans.
Instead, the U.S. Department of Education - which already makes roughly a third of these loans through its direct-lending program - will make 100 percent of them starting July 1.
Students who previously had to choose a private-sector lender for their guaranteed loans will now have only one choice: the government.
and
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "government-sponsored enterprises" (GSEs). This means that they are privately owned, but receive support from the Federal Government, and assume some public responsibilities.
The GSEs provide a secondary market in home mortgages, purchasing mortgages from the lenders who originate them. They hold some of these mortgages, and some are "securitized" -- sold in the form of securities which the GSEs guarantee.
The two GSEs today are among the largest corporations in the world.
Why are the occutards not camped out in front of the White House?
madd-dawg17......You hit it right on, unfortunately these people who are posting just don't get it, and never will, they are too blind to see what is happening to this country. The only way people who DO NOT HAVE MONEY OR A LOBBYIST is to PROTEST, it worked in WI and it can work any where. This is how we get our message out and let Washington and the American people know we are heading in the wrong direction and things need to change.
To those who say these people don't pay taxes, how do you know, a lot of those protesting are regular folks like you, sure some are students, unemployed, but not all, most are hard working Americans. So people do some research and see if you might just see where they are coming from, if you dare.
"50% of tax filers pay ZERO income tax"~kenn the dem
can you identify the people who make up the 50% who don't pay taxes?
If not here are some suggestions:
1. Retired old folks who paid into the system their whole life
2. Unemployed people (no income no taxes)
3. Disabled people........maybe we can have them pick up trash along the highway in their wheelchairs.
4. People going to school (did you pay income tax when you went to school?)
5. Military veterans who have sustained crippling injuries while serving our country (what a bunch of deadbeats according to the pubby/ baggers)
6. Single moms who stay at home to raise their kids (again deadbeats unless you're Ann Romney)
7. People making money considered to be at the poverty level
need I go on?...........some people are unaware that the 50% of people not paying income tax is a non starter for the bagger squawking points.
Hey don't forget all those Corporations(you know corporations are people too) who pay "ZERO" taxes!
bobyoung-1427396...
Student loans from the Fed = about %4 intrest (fixed)
Student loans from Private funds "Sallie Mae" = %12 - 18% (variable)
Obama did this because private lenders were taking students to the cleaners ever since 2005 when Bush along with the republican controlled house and senate passed a special law for the private lenders (they were all bribed...er...i mean lobbied) making it so private student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. They bought their own law which allows them to create a genneration of debt slaves.
To add on to that...
The same hateful Republicans you see here are also the ones who will complain about the value of their home dropping.
Of course housing prices is a product of supply and demand. In the past, college graduates got a job out of school, made some money, and bought a home from previous home owners. College grads created a demand for their first homes, demand pushes value up.
Now, college grads are drowning in debt, so they do not have the money for their first home. Thus demand drops, and what happens to home values when demand drops?
Oh that's right... Republicans refuse to look at the big picture, and analyze how everything affects everything else. No, it is mush better to look at everything in a silo. Pay no attention to how it will affect other parts of the economy.
IndieParty,
It's not that Republicans don't realize those things. It's not like they can't comprehend the big picture. They just don't care.
I thought it was summed up perfectly when Jon Stewart interviewed a lawyer who had just lost his case to the Supreme Court (the case was about a man who was wrongly arrested and repeatedly stripped searched even though he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge). Stewart asked why these people could be so against illegal searches by the TSA but not care at all about the illegal searches at a jail, and the lawyer said, "Because [Republicans] go to airports and don't go to jails."
Seriously, it's as simple as that. If it is something that will directly affect them, then they care. Otherwise, they don't. Go look at Megan Kelly's (Fox News) stance on maternity leave and especially paternity leave. Her opinion on it changed from a "social entitlement" which is "anti-capitalist" (before her pregnancy) to suddenly pro-maternity leave, saying that the US is the only developed country that doesn't guarantee maternity leave and, "If anything, the United States is in the dark ages when it comes to maternity leave."
They call things "entitlements" when it's things they don't want, but they call things a hallmark of a civilized society when it's things they do want. Or, as the wise George Carlin once said, "You ever notice that their stuff is $hit, but your $hit is stuff!"
To find out who comprises the 50% who pay no income taxes, look at the following article:
www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2011-10-06/income-tax-nonpayment/50676912/1
Now, disregard anything that Marklemoron has to say. He is an utter fool, he lies through his teeth and his family all played some part of the mountain folk in Deliverance.
@Markelpew: "4. People going to school (did you pay income tax when you went to school?)"
Excellent question so I dusted off the old tax returns and took a look...
1969...Earned $5443...paid $602, 1970...earned $4921...paid $670, 1971...earned $7588...paid $805
So yeah...I paid about 12%...no scholarships for me sadly...had to work to pay my way! (I just helped my son file his taxes...he's in college...and he paid income tax as well).
You leave out a big group...and reason...for the number of filers not paying any tax...consider this...
During the 1990s, about 24 percent of filers had no income tax liability, but this number took a big jump during the George W. Bush administration as Republicans added a large child credit to the tax code. The percentage of filers with no income tax liability rose to 36.3 percent in 2008, from 25.2 percent in 2000.
The "occupy" is against the Bush tax cuts as well...and the Bush tax cuts will expire here at year-end...so that would mean about 11% or 1 of every 5 that currently don't pay income tax...will start paying income tax...hmmm....maybe should we think twice about ending these...nah...Republican tax cuts only help the rich right???...let them expire!
kenn,
all the rest of the list? misdirect and spin all you want but the pubbie talking points don't fly.
Marklepew: The statistic I am citing is that approximately 50% of all tax filers (those who file tax returns) do not pay income tax...most of the instances you list include people who do not file tax returns (their income is too low to require it) so they are excluded from the statistic...obviously if one doesn't make anything they can't, and shouldn't pay anything!
Above and beyond those you list are many individuals with incomes who are not paying any income taxes, to try and cover that up is....SPIN!
Secondly, I am referring to Blue Dog Coalition (Democratic fiscal conservatives) talking points, some of which (certainly not all) match Republican positions. For more information Google "Blue Dog Coalition".
WOO-WOO, the Occupy is BACK!
Targets of opportunity...
Oh brother. The winter didn't kill them off like we hoped.
I read a lot of your posts..... why do you sound like a different person when you talk about OWS?
Yes and you hope to eliminate different points of view and just yours
Ruken is like Mr. Obama.....flip flop flip flop.....
One minute....for something....next minute, against it when I voted for it then write an Executive Order to cover his agenda.
Executive orders... don't ya love um? I do.
It was a warm winter.
Roaches, Rats, OWS. When the bombs are dropped they're the only things that will survive. Goodness and common sense will be gone...
Maybe I just don't conform to a single party's agenda :)
Lock up your American Flags the Occupiers are back. How many millions of dollars and thousands of arrests are they going to cause now that spring is here?
I hope no one has to use the streets to get to from work which they will block illegally.
Yup. That protest in Minneapolis the article talks about stopped all traffic on Marquette Ave in downtown for quite a bit. No cars, no buses. The worst part was they even had the police protecting them. It was BS.
Oh, and then they were harassing anyone dressed in business professional attire, while the police just stood by and watched. Classy bunch.
Maybe we should steer the Occupiers to an area where Mr. Obama is having another campaign rally.
Then the SS can haul them all off and charge them with a felony.
Or in Berkeley, CA where police were unable to respond to a report of a prowler because they were stretched too thin waiting for an Occupy demonstration to arrive, and it cost the homeowner his life.
I'm not thrilled at the prospect of another summer of limited resources due to those diverted to protect these protesters (or protect businesses from them). All they end up doing is harming the very people they claim to be speaking for.
Exactly. The American people should not have the right to protest peacefully, or to speak out on political or economic issues. They should stay home and watch DWTS.
Apparently hard times hasn't effected these conservatives. I almost wish it will. Stay home and watch TV? Such a selfish and sad type of comment. Get your head out of the sand Ostrich.
Reba, Get a clue girl...I believe Clotho was using sarcasm...and Buffet wants to pay more taxes??? lol...why is he currently involved in a lawsuit over his taxes? Liberal BS at it's finest! Change the channel and collect information and then use your brain.
Protesting is fine. Great, even. But why do they have to drain our public resources and obstruct daily life to do it?
I understand that it's better for getting attention than just staying out of the way and being loud, but they could easily go the way of the Tea Party and turn all that time and energy toward actual political influence.
Never ever deal with this company. They along with the other corrupt banksters should be in jail.
I never had a problem with them with my student loans. Maybe it's because I only took out what I could afford.
So should you for spouting off ignorant remarks. Isn't happening though is it? Wells Fargo ranks high in market value because of their dignified customer support and appreciation to their customers. I'm guessing you bank with a third rate company, otherwise you'd know how they operate.
I need to close my account with them, like now. This movement is great, and I'm glad it got some press. It will inform ignorant, naive people like myself! Credit Unions FTW!
Kimposibl FTW!...just for using "FTW!". nerd. in a good way!
Didn't Wells Fargo hire those corrupt folks who worked at Countrywide ? Or was it Bank of America ?
BofA bought Countrywide. Citibank bought Ameriquest. Too bad the owner of Ameriquest died before he could be fined or run out of the country. LOL Dig him up and move him out of the country!
Here's a thought. The occupy losers are not newsworthy. Lets find something else.....for instance, U.S. home prices drop for the sixth straight month.
Cry me a river you posers.. The OWS stopped traffic...Bo who! The ignorant statements like berkley police could respond to a Prowler..geez. Your weak on excuses. Your all probaly enployees of Wells Fargo..lol
As if any of your comments make you smart enought to have a job... The OWS will crush these banks this summer. Belive that posers.....lol
By all means, the AH's who want 'everything for nothing' are back at it again! The 'entitlement crowd' raises their voices..."Let's don't pay our student loans, let's don't pay our car payments, let's just don't pay"!
Loved the sign "abolish student and mortgage Dept". Here's an idea don't sign the contract legally obligating you to pay off what you decided to borrow if your not willing or capable of paying it off.
Finally a voice of reason!
I think it says "Debt". So that person feels entitled to free money....OWS needs to go away, they are making a fool of themselves
lol. guess who approved the loans? The greedy banks, genius. They knew these people couldn't afford it yet still approved of the loans because, guess what? The banks always win in the end. David Noah, I bet you have neither debt cuz you don't have either to pay for. Ooooh burnnnnn!
It will be a funny day when the republicans in office are run out of town. It's going to happen in Nov. All the old foogies who vote republican in the last election are probably dead by now. The younger vote will go democrat. I can't wait for these cold-hearted voices on this board eat poo-poo. It's gonna happen. You honestly think Romney has a chance? Please the man is a flip flop and only supports his agenda. Loves to pink slip people and doesn't care about poor people.
reba, congratulations! You win the Trough Feeder of the Day Award!!!
Kim, banks don't approve loans when they know people can't pay. Do you know why?
Because when people can't pay, they don't get their money back.
Explain to me how it's greedy to give someone a big pile of money knowing that you'll never see it again, never mind your interest.
The only way to make money from loans is to make sure they're paid back. Unfortunately, banks don't have the fortune-telling equipment to always tell what loans will turn out okay.
Thank you Mr. Carter and Mr. Clinton for making it possible for poor (minorities) people to get loans, no questions asked. Lay the groundwork and anyone will take advantage of it including "greedy" corporations.
Stop whining and pay your bills.
We, the 99%, have had enough of the rich and their political money, corruption, and control of Congress.
Feel free to run for office, but be warned: it involves waking up before noon on weekdays.
We, the people who refuse to be associated with you morons and are not part of the 1%, wish you'd man up and accept your responsibilities.
weemee - you are not the 99%. Unfortunately you are the bad apple percent that spoil the barrel for the rest of us. We the actual 99% don't need or want you.
Grow up, quit whining and do something constructive with your life. I won't say get a job because I doubt you could do one without complaining about it.
Feel free to move to any other country in the world that is better. But please move.
Bill...so you like having our government bought (lobbied) by wallstreet??
Explain please....
Don't you mean weenie?
Having our government bought by Wall Street is any different than having it bought by Unions and their Democrat Lackeys?
How many trillions of dollars are the Taxpayers paying each year in over bloated government contracts, Union Pensions, extravagant salaries, etc. because the unions get there Democrat Buddies elected then wouldn't you know it, who do they negotiate with when its time to renew contracts...
Lets not forget that sweet deal the Unions got when we bailed out the Auto industry. How much of an ownership stake in GM and Chrysler were given to the Unions?
How about that 800 billion dollar Obama stimulus plan for Union jobs, Green Energy, etc.
Who says the left didn't get bailed out.
Wall Street has their lobby just like everyone else, including industry, energy, farmers, unions, NRA, etc. but the biggest lobby is still citizens.
No matter what you say about our government being bought and so on, politicians still bend over backward for citizens first because we have the power to vote them out. Corporations may be "people" in the sense of free speech, but they still can't vote.
If there's a real problem with the system, it's that both of our political parties are basically clones of each other fighting bitterly over petty details while keeping all other contenders out of the process. So to answer your question, I don't blame Wall Street for any political dysfunction I see in our country.
SF accountant-"Because when people can't pay, they don't get their money back."
Hmmm. But when you are packaging up the loans and passing them off as speculator hedge funds! And when the Fed is buying up all your bad assets, its more profitable to operate on a loss
"politicians still bend over backward for citizens first"
Wow! You really believe that? Sure, they kiss ass, till they get in office. Then they carry out the agenda's set forth by their campaign contributors and lobbyists.
You're an accountant?
I had hoped they spent the winter working on their resumes, learning some life skills, etc.
Get a job folks. I'm too busy working paying taxes so you slackers can slum around the country creating issues, costing tax dollars and not working..... 99% of what?
99% of the ignorant?
Definitely 99% of those who have no common sense.
Or could it be 99% of those who think they should be entitled to someone else's hard work.
That requires work.
Maybe they could work on their resumes, life skills etc. if it was offered on Facebook or twitter
You know, people in the 99% pay taxes too, in case you didn't know that. It's not as if this country runs on the tax money of the 1% alone. Ignorant fool. Get off of MSNBC and make more money for my welfare checks.
Naive1. Did you graduate college? Apparently not. Like that fast food job?
Reba is too proud to work fast food, but not too proud to cry for a handout.
Reba, we're having a conversation for grown-ups go back to kids table and until we call you...
Well they got the one and only thing they wanted: their faces on the news. Can you tell me how this helps anything? If you want real change make your voices heard at the polls!
the polls have been rigged since 50s nice try lol. But i agree occupy wont work there has to be a uprising jk. We need to get somebody into office who is not Corruptible by big banks and special interest groups i wonder who tat could be hmmm he is completely ignored by the media what was his name again .
So you are saying that there is voter fraud??
um duh!
That's not really a "duh" statement. I wasn't aware that our system suffers substantial fraud. We have an awfully big country, an awfully trigger-happy media, and a lot of people ready to cry foul if they see anything astray. How is it rigged?
We have seen this before. November 1938 on the streets of Germany and Austria. Gripped in global debt and massive unemployment the sentiment of the people was to attack the moneylenders "Jews". The local police turned a blind eye. All the ingredients are the same except the actors have changed their names. We all know what happened to the "Jews".
Those were Nazis ......These are punk azz hipsters .....What are they gonna do spill their coffee on somebody ?
Did you see the OWS demonstrations in Oakland. Sure looked alot like Kristalnacht to me. Cops did nothing. There are videos. Check it out. These are the useful idiots of the "Progressive" hierarchy. Politically motivated by Sorros and his cronies. Dont buy into that 99% B.S.. These are dangerous anarchists.
TSHANNY---
Did you just say that all of our bankers are Jews? That's an ugly stereotype isn't it?
Human - another moronic lefty defending his views with cynicism and ridicule. I will play your game dumb f*ck. But I can see throgh you like a cheap suit.
TSHANNY----
Cynicism and ridicule? How did you come to that conclusion? I was simply asking you why you compared bankers to jews. I just think it's an ugly and untrue stereotype. Don't you?
As a Jewish person, I find it extremely offensive when people try to compare anything happening in the U.S. to Nazis, Hitler or the Night of Broken Glass. There are no reasonable comparisons that can be made. Most of my family was murdered during those years, and these glib comparisons minimize their memories.
How about we agree to save Hitler comparisons for those times when someone commits genocide against millions of innocent lives?
Clotho,
I agree. However I have always wondered, why does every country except the US, Canada, Australia, and UK hate Israel?
If you want to know how 100 Million people died in the 20th century find the point in their history where we are now. It all started when a neer-do-well leader gave the people what they wanted, free stuff.
Reba, that's a bit of a land mine. There are better articles for that particular discussion.
Anyway, this really isn't reminiscent of the beginning of Nazis Germany. If the movement became more popular and started gaining strong political recognition (say, it's own party), then I might start getting scared.
You mean something like the Tea Party?
Why don't all you hipsters go occupy the San Francisco Bay ........ the bottom of it. All you are doing is occupying space and making working people late for WORK. WORK .....I know I am speaking a foreign language.
AWESOME Response!!
Valdes: You're another sick ultra-right wing nut. Al you guys can talk about is killing. SIck.
I wasn't talking about killing anyone......I simply asked the entitlement crybabies to go somewhere else. Somewhere that they would not hinder hardworking Americans. They need to get a life instead of a "cause" ..... Nobody owes them a damn thing .
Yeah, right. The country still has over 8% unemployment and companies are cheaper than anyone can imagine for training people. Basically there are no full time jobs for technology anymore (contractors) and some states have double digit employment. People apply for jobs in retail however get turned down and the specific quote is "you are over-qualified". Yeah, right, get a job. Pull your head out of the sand. When your company "down-sizes" it will be perfect karma for you. What you send out comes back three-fold. I suggest watching your back.
I've been laid off Reba .......Been kicked down ....but I got up off my azz and did what I had to do ....Not expecting anything from anyone. Life is what you make it .
...but reba is so good at whining.
Reba, your generalizations make for good talking points, but they are just that. There are jobs out there. I found one, and I graduated smack dab in the middle of 2008.
Whether or not the OWS group's blame is misdirected (and I believe it is), nothing they want would help our nation's economy or provide more jobs. It might help THEM, but what about the other 98% of the 99%?
God, I can't wait until the baby boomers die off.
My my. DA - Table for one.
I know right...
Funny how a generation that had no real struggles and has been able to play the game fairly (college was affordable, no big corporations ripping them off), whines and bitches about our generation wanting the same.
American Socialist......Pffft . Do you have a Che Guevara poster in your room at your mommy's house ?? C'mon tell the truth ......
The financial sector continues to shed good paying jobs. I have taken out many mortgage loans in my long life. Each time I expected to make monthly payments regardless of my circumstance which wasn't always so good . It never occurred to me that I could protest a contract I had signed feeling that somehow I was conned into agreeing to terms I did not understand.
My 1st mortgage was a FHA assumable loan back in 1976. It was 1 page that I certainly could read and understand. My last mortgage a few years ago, looked like a booklet and I sure didn't read any of it. So really, like congress, I never read what was a legal document. The print was too small and legalize too over my head to understand. Maybe that was the point.
The OWS should be angry at the legal profession that has made these legal documents long and hard to read for the average consumer. So when we talk about transparency for the consumer, that is highly unlikely because every day there is another legal event that will be later written into law for protection.
If somebody is living in a house they cannot afford they need to face reality and downsize until their lives get better. I have done that and frankly never saw it as any sort of defeat.
That would require personal responsibility. That is an element that is abundantly lacking in so many of these folks.
You have an excellent point, boys. Of course, where legal documentation is concerned, the cause is the government. Overregulation and too many laws mean ever more documents and stipulations to be concerned with.
Lawyers feed on government bureaucracy, like ticks on a large mammal. The more complicated the better. It's quite a problem, and few people seem to want to do anything about it.
Who do you think hired these lawyers to write contracts that are so long, and well beyond the average individuals ability to understand, THE BANKS AND MORTGAGE LENDERS perhaps?
Do you believe the banks and mortgage lenders went to the lawyers and said we'll pay you big bucks to write a fair contract, or did they ask for a contract that is skewed in the lenders favor and so complicated that you need degree's in law, business and finance to understand it.
Hmmmm I wonder which they spent big bucks for, and if you think they wanted fair contracts, I have some nice beach front property in the Mojave desert that I'll give you a great deal on, lets go get you one of them there great fair bank loans.
I heard Karl Rowe say during GW bush's first run for gov of Texas. that GW will not get rid of regulation he will create more until it can't be enforced...paraphrased .....And he did....the drinking water in Texas has 4 times higher Radon and lead.
Take your bitch to the White House lawn!
President Barack Obama’s largest campaign donors last month included employees of Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission records.
http://newmediajournal.us/indx.php/item/4983
I bet all those protesters voted for Obama too. Jokes on them
The fact that you're lying means nothing to you. The ethics of the right.
Oh? He has a source right there in his post. I checked it. That's what it says. How do you know he's lying?
Here we go again....MSNBC's love affair with the unwashed, lazy good-for-nothing OccuScum.
I say bring out the water cannons ......
MSNBC just won't let it die even though no one else gives hoot in hell about it. If MSM doesn't cover it, it will just go away.
Too many people jumping from Fox News to MSNBC. You are on the wrong board dude. Go back to your mass murdering leader... George Bush.
Reba ....This is America . Remember ?
Always uplifting to see Americans threatening to kill each other.
Reba I haven't called you over from the kids table yet, now let the grown ups talk and go back, sit down and shut up!
Mass murder? 100 Million people killed in the 20th century by progressive leftists.
George W. Bush made a lot of mistakes but he was no Obama, or Stalin, or Hitler...
As long as they don't cause any more riots, let 'em protest. It's a valuable American right and I respect it.
I just happen to think their cause is a sad collection of logical fallacies.
Maybe someone should tell them Warren Buffet is a MAJOR stock holder in Wells Fargo. He is also is a OBAMA supporter. I know, they won't be able to understand it! And these idiots are allowed to vote! OMG! America's future is SCREWED!
Buffett is a supporter of Obama and is the major stockholder in BofA buddy. He can make that bank bow to his wishes. What a great democrat he is.
lol Those people are still at it?
Yes, and they are suceeding. Drives you crazy, doesn't it?
Yep, they are winning. Waive bu-bye to the republican leaders and the hold on the House. Waive now, hurry as they are RUNNING out of DC.
Weemee
Getting back for being bullied in grade school?
I have been waiting for OWS to show up. These losers are Obama's ground troops and hopefully another nail in his coffin.
The big welfare queen Mitt rob ya Romney if they a point this ass in office we are all F— — ked
Couldn't be any more than we are under Obama. I guess he's waiting for the third year in his second term to do something?
One sign reads "abolish student mortgage and debt." That truly captures this "movement." Do these folks realize nothing is free? Somebody pays for it.
Should they have tea bags stapled to thier hats?
Wells Fargo took my credit line away when I was hit hard by the downturn and could not buy homes in my business and resell to pay down my loan. To hell with them The company also gave money to companies that owned pay day loan rip off companies. I did not hear churches speak out about abusing usury laws which I thought was in the Bible to not have high interest rates creating more inequality.? wonder how many good churches goes were invested with Wells Fargo? I feel to often just plain Hypocrites.
Gad. Most of you are just parroting what your corporate masters have trained you to say. Wells Fargo is your friend. So was the guy that raped Ned Beatty in the movie Deliverance. After all, it was Ned's fault. He made a poor choice in life to go rafting down that river. Hop into your toyotas and head for wal-mart all you not-sees! We live in the greatest country in the world! Yeah, right, you ignorant sheep. Our freedoms are being stripped away from us and you're too stupid and brainwashed to see it. But don't worry. When you go to the polls in November to vote for Goldman-Sachs, we'll be fighting for an end to corruption and greed in our government. We are the 99% and it just chaps your butts that we will never go away.
David,
Take the tin foil hat off and get some help. For real.
AW13 you just made my day, lol
Apparently your day consists of nothing.
Reba, yea is called work I post while i work. uh do you know what work is? or are you waiting for a free handout? from the great King Lord Hussein Obama
Our freedoms are being stripped away, but not by Wall Street.
1% vs. 99% is an artificial distinction based upon an arbitrary line on an income distribution chart. An attempt to create prejudicial class conflict where there is none.
Banks generally aren't nice companies, and I'm as upset as anyone else that they got rescued from the consequences of their mistakes, but they're not the problem, and punishing them (for whatever you might think they could be legitimately charged with) isn't going to help anybody.
David, how do sound like a radical leftist-progressive and right-wing neoconservative in one paragraph. That was amazing. Pick an ideology and run with it.
So you are screwing off on the clock being unproductive, you should be fired and replaced with someone who wants to work instead of wasting company resources. Nah maybe firing is to harsh, maybe you should get cut to minimum wage and changed into a temporary hire, able to be released at any time with no recourse and with no unemployment. Good luck finding another job while you are homeless after the bank repo's your home after refusing to restructure your loan. All because you were to irresponsible to live up to that contract you signed. IDIOT
Please OWS stop being useless and start being productive.
Sincerely a 99% er....
How is life at fox you sorry dumb bitch
here we go I don't even watch fox news, is just common sense, and nastybeth were is the tolerance, peaceful respect for others opinion that libs always presume of, I was a Lib but oh my God every time that you disagree with a lib, they go straight to the insults why? tolerance, peace, respect where????????
Smoke and mirror speech, insults instead of uh, uh, uh, and doh, doh, doh, it's Bush's fault...
some homeowners bought homes they can't afford or re-finance their homes to get money. some probably lost their jobs. so what do these bunch of loser ows expect? have the banks give a free ride to homeowners, student loans borrowers etc? it's time that people take responsibilities for their decisions. these ows should go and get a real life direction. they do not represent us; they're just a bunch of delusional, posturing self-centered dilettantes.
"Or could it be 99% of those who think they should be entitled to someone else's hard work."
Or somebody else GREED. Wells Fargo is the greediest of the greedy. They feed off the blood of the people. We live in a predatory society now. Corporations are the predators, we are the prey. The Occupy movement reminds me of what Jefferson said: The tree of liberty has to be watered with the blood of patriots every 20 years to preserve our rights. The Occupy movement is long overdue. Let's shed blood against the predators if necessary! They are out to destroy the country and as you see by the half wit comments here they get a lot of support.
"Let's shed blood against the predators if necessary!"
So considering these people you are advocating violence against are very much big 2nd amendment supporters, they would have no problem defending themselves against the OSW crowd. I would be like shooting fish in a barrel (pun intended).
Mozart....Be careful becasue the blood being shed may not be just the banks. The REAL 99% will be waiting for the OWS.