Why are citizens being arrested for mass closures of personal bank accounts? Is it even legal? Well, according to this article on the Wall Street Journal website, customers coming in to close their accounts were asked to leave and were later accused of trespassing. Really?
It's obvious that the activity in response to the call on OccupyWallSt.org to close bank accounts with the major banks. It's a very simple suggestion: close your major bank account and open one with a credit union. I've also heard it suggested that people use local banks as well. Personally, I'm for this, especially those who participate in outsourcing jobs and accepting government bailouts and tax breaks.
The banks clearly see this as a threat if they're taking such a strong stance and going this far. Of course, finding out that the banks are requesting police support isn't doing much to endear me to their plight. I would hope the average consumer would sit up and take notice as well. Do you want to support a company that treats its customers like this? Do you want to support a company that's contributing to the decline in America's economic status? Do you want to support a company that has such little respect for the rights of people to chose what business they support?
Personally, I think hitting the banks first is the best approach, as long as we're careful with how we do it. Going in and closing accounts should be safe and clear-cut. It's far easier and possibly easier than massive boycotts. Financing a loan for a home with a local credit union rather than some bank that's contributed to job loss, faulty lending policies (resulting in mass foreclosures), and using its money to control government policies is, in my opinion, better for local economies and will send a message to those companies that there is an alternative and we don't want to support them anymore.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The 99%? (Reposted from my Tumblr)
I keep looking at these OccupyWallStreet posts, and then I see the
anti-99% posts, too. I keep wondering why I’m so fascinated by them
both. Surely I see both sides of the issue, don’t I? I can understand
why people are so very frustrated with corporate America. I can
understand why people who work hard while others get every little thing
they want are frustrated. Conversely, I can see why people who work
hard and have no problem with it are mad at the people who are mad.
I grew up very lower middle class. We weren’t exactly poverty level, but we didn’t have a lot of goodies. I was beaten up by my step-dad, and I’m ok with who it’s made me today. I’m unemployed and have student loan debt, credit cards, etc. And with all of this, I accept that it was a combination of choices within our household as well as outside forces that put us where we are. Corporations buy out other corporations and outsource the work (my case). Bigger corporations force the smaller ones out of business (my hubby’s case). We’re in that 99% whether we want to be or not.
I don’t think the 99% campaign is about people complaining about their own lives, just people presenting examples of how the economy has affected them. That being said, they’re not alone, and we all have to work hard to make our way in the world and take what opportunities come our way. We can’t sit on our asses and expect a handout, because then we become part of the problem. No, people are frustrated, and they have the right to speak out, just as other people have the right to be vocal against them. Hooray Freedom of Speech.
In the end, I support the OccupyWallStreet initiative not because of the 99%, but because of how our government is joined at the hip with corporate America. These companies didn’t need bail outs. If Capitalism was truly to be effective, then these companies should have failed so new ones could rise in their place. I think the Government should stop funding wars on their Visa and raise some taxes, just as it was done during the World Wars. I think the Government should crack down on job outsourcing and keep the jobs at home. I think Import Tariffs need to return. I see OccupyWallStreet as an opportunity to get people in elected offices to notice the plight of those they’re meant to represent. Even if half of the initiative is misguided, I think it will still get the dialogue going.
We are, in the end, all responsible for our own lives. We have to work with what we have. We all have to suck it up and do without and try to find work and go to school and give ourselves and our families the best life we can offer. That being said, we do have to admit that the decisions of those we voted into power have also put us in our situations, and if we want things to change, it’s also our responsibility to bring it to their attention. Perhaps in addition to occupying Wall Street, we occupy the Capitol, too.
That being said, I am one of the 99%, even if I don’t want to be.
I grew up very lower middle class. We weren’t exactly poverty level, but we didn’t have a lot of goodies. I was beaten up by my step-dad, and I’m ok with who it’s made me today. I’m unemployed and have student loan debt, credit cards, etc. And with all of this, I accept that it was a combination of choices within our household as well as outside forces that put us where we are. Corporations buy out other corporations and outsource the work (my case). Bigger corporations force the smaller ones out of business (my hubby’s case). We’re in that 99% whether we want to be or not.
I don’t think the 99% campaign is about people complaining about their own lives, just people presenting examples of how the economy has affected them. That being said, they’re not alone, and we all have to work hard to make our way in the world and take what opportunities come our way. We can’t sit on our asses and expect a handout, because then we become part of the problem. No, people are frustrated, and they have the right to speak out, just as other people have the right to be vocal against them. Hooray Freedom of Speech.
In the end, I support the OccupyWallStreet initiative not because of the 99%, but because of how our government is joined at the hip with corporate America. These companies didn’t need bail outs. If Capitalism was truly to be effective, then these companies should have failed so new ones could rise in their place. I think the Government should stop funding wars on their Visa and raise some taxes, just as it was done during the World Wars. I think the Government should crack down on job outsourcing and keep the jobs at home. I think Import Tariffs need to return. I see OccupyWallStreet as an opportunity to get people in elected offices to notice the plight of those they’re meant to represent. Even if half of the initiative is misguided, I think it will still get the dialogue going.
We are, in the end, all responsible for our own lives. We have to work with what we have. We all have to suck it up and do without and try to find work and go to school and give ourselves and our families the best life we can offer. That being said, we do have to admit that the decisions of those we voted into power have also put us in our situations, and if we want things to change, it’s also our responsibility to bring it to their attention. Perhaps in addition to occupying Wall Street, we occupy the Capitol, too.
That being said, I am one of the 99%, even if I don’t want to be.
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