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TED Talk
Richard Wilkinson: How economic inequality harms societies.
Using hard data Richard Wilkinson explains how income inequality causes poorer health, shorter lifespans and a lower amount of trust for your fellow countrymen. What I found most interesting is that it doesn’t just affect the poor and middle class, but everyone from the top down.
Actual quotes from his book The O’Reilly Factor: The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in American Life.
“The rich want us to believe that anyone can make the quantum leap from bowling league to country club by just working a little harder. That’s supposed to keep us motivated and quiet.”
“And the earnings gap between rich and poor is widening…”
“The powers that be, the establishment, want you to have just enough cash to keep on buying material things and necessities, but not enough money to become independent of the system.”
“For the life of me, I can’t figure out why so many smart Americans don’t, can’t, or won’t see that our government has been corrupted by special interest money.”
“But here’s the problem with having too little money: You are at the mercy of other people, people who do not care about you! Without substantial assets, your whole life is in the hands of people whom you cannot control, like bosses and bankers and public officials. These people can terrorize you and make you do things that are not at all to your advantage or in the best interests of your family and community.”
“Yes, money buys too much in America, like clever attorneys who specialize in confusing, manipulating, and intimidating juries. In the political world it prevents real reform of campaign financing, allows our elected officials to evade their fiscal responsibilities, and corrups law enforcement of all kinds of crimes at all levels of government.”
“In short, this country has developed a ridiculous blind spot: the power and glorification of money. This is truly an affliction. It is holding us back as a nation, as a community. The true heroes of America are not the new Internet billionaires or the overpaid sports stars and movie actors or the wise guys who jack up their company’s stocks. The true heroes of America are the men, women, and teenagers who go to work for a modest wage, fulfill their responsibilities to their families and friends, and are kind and generous to others - because it is the right way to live.”
“The working people of the United States are the most important ingredient in the enduring American story.
But the rich and powerful have forgotten or never learned that bedrock truth. Or they simply don’t care. They concentrate their energies on making themselves richer, more powerful, or better known - as if the rest of us don’t count.”
(Source: reddit.com)
— Malcom X
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“I don’t think they have a sense of what it means when tax dollars are spent in this way,” a spokeswoman for the Oakland, Calif., city government, Karen Boyd, told The Daily. “Oakland is very much a city that has been devastated by the economic downturn. We don’t have an extra $2.5 million to spend.”
Oakland police estimate that overtime eventually will top $3 million, and Boyd said this may lead to cuts in senior services and libraries. Last year, Oakland laid off 500 city workers, including 80 police officers, to close a $58 million deficit.
This argument is upsetting to me for a couple reasons. One, there was no need for the sort of police presence that was on hand for Occupy protests around the country. Two, (and this is the important note in my opinion) this isn’t $13 million dollars down the drain, it’s $13 million that is going to the middle class essentially, which in turn is good for the economy. Now if we compare this to the $700 billion dollar bailout ( which is equal to 53,846 times what Occupy has cost in police overtime ) which went to millionaires and billionaires, interest free, we can gain a little bit of perspective on this.
It’s this sort of crooked bullshit that has people in the streets to begin with.
— Robert Reich
— Voltaire
Retired Captain Ray Lewis on his arrest at OWS: “The proudest moment of my life”
Ok seriously, what the fucking hell. Watch the first 30 or so seconds and tell me you are ok with this.
From UC Davis earlier today.
I’m having a really hard time understanding my country right now. I’m seeing an overwhelming amount of apathy, laced with immaturity, on a level that is unbearable.
Democrats, Republicans, and every other bastard in Washington (minus a few like Kucinich, Paul, Sanders) do not give a single shit for any one of us unless it makes them richer, or more powerful. For years they’ve continued on a path that makes them, and their friends richer, while letting the people they are elected to represent starve economically & figuratively.
Two months ago today, a small group of people started to protest, they’ve had enough. They decide to finally take a stand, in a way no politician has in decades. The small group, begins to grow. Do we welcome them with open arms? Some do, some don’t care and the rest condemn them. Call them lazy, smelly, unpatriotic, hippie scum, liberal idiots with no direction. I’m sorry, I thought this was the fucking Land Of Opportunity. What kind of bullshit American Dream exists where you graduate school with $80k in student debt, can’t find a job, can’t afford health insurance and when you stand up to protest, you are met with rubber bullets, pepper spray, and batons. Yet hardly anyone cares that their friends, family and neighbors rights are being tossed in the shitter. We have a President who openly supported Egypts right to free assembly, but doesn’t seem to care one bit that police across the country are playing batting practice on peaceful protesters. It’s entirely unacceptable.
I think it’s about time we redefine what “patriotic” is, because it’s not about wearing t-shirts will Bald Eagles breaking through them on fire holding an American Flag in it’s talons while shooting fireworks and drinking Bud Light, the official beer of freedom. Patriotism is caring enough about your country that you will stand outside for two months straight in an attempt to make a better, stronger, smarter country where everyone can succeed, and not just the ones who can afford a lobbyist in D.C.
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Retired Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis was arrested by the NYPD today. Video here
If you haven’t checked up on Occupy Wall Street lately, there was quite a few events that made my blood boil. Check out r/OccupyWallStreet to keep up to date.
