On Sept. 17, protesters flooded the streets of New York’s financial district, joining together in opposition of greedy corporations and the social differences between the rich and the poor in America.
Now the protests have escalated, causing police officers to arrest protesters in an effort to maintain the peace throughout the streets. The New York Times reported more than 700 protesters were arrested on Oct. 1 while trying to cross the Brooklyn Bridge.
The protesters have spread throughout the country to other cities, such as Los Angeles and Chicago. The group, now known as Occupy Wall Street, has also formed a Web site, Occupywallst.org, where it says it is the 99 percent of the country that will not stand for “the greed and corruption of the 1 percent.”
The 99th percentile for U.S. households earns nearly $506,553 each year, and those making up the leftover 1 percent, according to economists Thomas Picketty and Emanual Saez of The World Top Incomes Database, earn one- fifth of the country’s income.
This economic inequality is what has put a fire in the protesters’ hearts.
The problem that many individuals have with their efforts is that they have not created a definite plan of action; instead, the protesters are banding together in a cry of outrage.
However, just because the demonstrators are not developing a clear and concise plan to fix their problems, experts say they should not be ignored and brushed to the side as being incapable of making a change. This group has already shown its potential to grow and spread throughout the country.
Occupy Wall Street has spread to other areas of the country, causing more protests to ensue. In an Oct. 4 blog of The Economist titled, “Democracy in America”, Occupy Wall Street protesters have been compared to the tea party movement that began in 2009. When the tea party movement began, members were not taken seriously enough for others to believe they could actually have a significant impact on society.
“The various tea-party organizations have pulled plenty of silly stunts over the past two years, but they have also shifted the right wing of Congress dramatically to the right, virtually paralyzing the country’s legislature,” The Economist said.
Now, as the Wall Street protesters have increased in support and have started to strengthen their viewpoints, we can now see its true potential to impact the economy.
These activists cannot be ignored. They clearly have the potential to change societal support of the economy.
From past movements and protests, such as the tea party movement and other radical protests against war, the government and other critical political changes, the possibility to impact and spark change is highly likely.
