Outraged over job losses and corporate and bank bailouts, more than 200 protesters lined El Camino Real in Palo Alto in front of the Bank of America on Wednesday evening.
Seniors, middle-aged, laid-off Silicon Valley employees and some younger folks gathered in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has been staging an ongoing protest in Manhattan and other large cities against the bailouts, job losses and tax benefits for the wealthy.
Drivers in rush-hour traffic honked loudly and gave thumbs-up as they passed by, as the demonstrators cheered. The protests began at 5 p.m. and lasted for two hours.
Bank of America was chosen as the symbolic location for the Palo Alto protest because it is the nation’s largest bank and the recipient of more than $45 billion in federal bail-out money, said Paul George, director of the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center in Palo Alto, which organized the protest.
Demonstrators said they are tired of gridlock in the U.S. Congress, and rewarding of banks and mortgage lenders, which they blame for the erosion of jobs and disenfranchisement of the poor and middle class.
Gerry Gras, a laid-off Palo Alto software engineer, said he lost his job two years ago because of the economy. But “if I had a job I’d want to be here,” he said, noting he would probably be working long hours that would prevent him from protesting.
Cheryl Petrovich, a former paralegal who is now disabled, said she had joined the demonstration because she is tired of Republican stonewalling in the U.S. Congress.
“There’s too much of an inequity right now. With the Republican Congress, there’s no progress at all,” she said.
Gras waved an American flag. It’s stars were replaced with corporate logos: General Electric, Coca Cola and major news networks.
“I think things are not going to be the same afterwards,” he said of the growing movement. “I don’t know where they are going, but they’re not going to be the same.”
While protesters said they support different causes, from global warming policy to health care reform, the main theme of concern was what many called the “99 percenters” — those Americans who are not in the top 1 percent of wealth they say controls the country.
“I really think that people, if they don’t know all the numbers, they do know the economic inequality in this country,” George said.
“One percent of the population owns 40 percent of the wealth. No other country in the industrialized world comes close to that. That doesn’t happen by circumstance. People know they aren’t getting fair treatment. Americans are fair-minded people and people don’t like it,” he said.
Car horns blared, one after the other, as they passed by.
“We’ve been getting a lot of beeping. Even the police driving by have been giving us the thumbs up,” George said.
Barbara Weinstein and Vikki Velkoff said the protest was a way to connect with other people and to give voice to the difficulties people are facing.
“It’s really important for people who felt isolated in the face of all the miserable stuff going on to come together,” Weinstein said.
Velkoff, an early-phase drug-development researcher, was laid off in December along with hundreds of others when Roche in Palo Alto closed its facility. She will start a new job next week, she said.
“It’s good to know there are others thinking along the same lines,” she said.
Inside the Bank of America a security guard peered through the glass and scowled. Workers glanced nervously toward the protesters. A bank spokesperson could not be immediately reached.
George said the protests will continue in Palo Alto, and he knows of others who are organizing through the Internet and through groups such as MoveOn.org.
“The Occupy Wall Street movement is a truly grass-roots, a truly spontaneous movement. I have no doubt this will keep going in every little town and burg. It goes back to the sense that wealthy corporations and Wall Street are being treated differently from the rest of us,” he said.
Blaming the billionaires for your problems is not going to help. They just don’t care.
First, it’s not clear what the protesters want. I would love to support you if you are protesting for one thing. Work on your messege. Also, why get angry,, most of you voted for obama and he is the one responsible for the bail out structure.
“most of you voted for obama and he is the one responsible for the bail out structure. “
Fool. Listening to Fox much?????
TARP was signed by Georgie Bush on October 3, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program
“First, it’s not clear what the protesters want.”
Uhhhhhh, how about: “Bank of America was chosen as the symbolic location for the Palo Alto protest because it is the nation’s largest bank and the recipient of more than $45 billion in federal bail-out money.”
Sorry that isn’t clear enough for you. Just go back to watching Fox, it’ll all be fine in the morning.
The rest of us (around 99%) know there’s a problem.
Sure, 200 protesters won’t elect those that will write, vote on, and pass the law that magically fixes everything, but they have the guts to turn off Fox get out there.
I’m a Drudge man, myself.
These protesters have a legitimate gripe, but their protests should be aimed at the politicians who dispense the bailout money. The protester’s goal, the cancellation of all debt, while not unheard of {jubilee] would screw up a lot of portfolios. Of course I hear that Obama’s bailouts could have paid off every home mortgage in the US.
Occupy Wall St was started by Vancouver-based anti-consumerist group AdBusters, who view advertising as mental toxins and aspire to reduce the size of our economy. If occupiers reform Wall St, consumption increases (AdBusters loses); if occupiers fail, Wall St implodes in a deflationary bust that decreases consumption (AdBusters wins). Ironic, isn’t it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adbusters
BTW, can someone tell me if I am a bad person if I’m in the Top 20%? What about the Top 10%? Top 5%? And how much lower must one’s share of income have dropped in order for them to have a legitimate gripe? If you can’t answer those two questions easily, then join the club.
I don’t get this. If someone is in debt, it is their own fault.
A modest mortgage for a modest home is about the only debt the average person should have. Saving for education, buying a car with cash and working to buy and pay for what we need are values that should be the norm. Yes, people do get laid off, or have unforeseen medical expenses, but that is what having savings is for. There are many ways to earn money or get a minimum wage type job for anyone in dire straits (I was handed a flyer outside my home yesterday by a man who was willing to do yardwork for me using my tools – my mother who lives elsewhere would love to have someone do that for her).
I come from a family where we were taught to work hard and live within our means. If we hadn’t got the money then we didn’t spend it on luxuries and sometimes we didn’t even have some of the basics. My parents bought second hand furniture and clothes, and when they only had one family car, we children used the bus or bikes, or walked a mile or two. Eating out was rare, likewise other costly entertainments.
I just don’t understand this.
The protesters are right, they are protesting the greedy who was assisted by our laws and ruins our country
Go Wall Street Protestors Go!!! What took us so long to get a revolt going?
However, your protests should be equally chanelled towards the very poor leadership of Barack Obama. Anybody who would cave into Donald Trump over a birth certificate, has a serious inability to stand up for his choices and decisions in the face of scrutiny. I would have told Trump to take a hike, as much as I like the guy!
It is not the Republicans in the Congress who are stalling America’s economic progress, it is a president who has not surrounded himself with people who are creative, “streetwise” and commons sense smart and have the ability to apply what they have learned from books. The president has Phd’s from Ivy League schools all around his administration; top government policy wonks with even more academic credentials; and his buddies who went to Harvard with him – yet, none of these folks can think of “practical” and “effective” solutions to our economic woes. How about looking to the one year Harvard folks like Gates, and Zuckerberg for practical answers?
Of course, the president is his own worse enemy because he spent so much time promoting an inadequate health care reform policy, when in fact, the first goal of his administration should have been to work with corporate America to solve the jobs crises when the situation was just starting to escalate. At the beginning of his term, folks were enthusiastic, and eager to work with him….A missed opportunity.
The answer to more government revenue doesn’t only involve higher taxes for the wealthiest Americans, and corporations. The answer to more government revenue in the forms of taxation; more revenue for the American people; more revenue at the local level as people have disposable income to spend,simply put is jobs! Instead, what we have now, No Jobs, No Hope, and No Cash.
Of course there are no real appealing Republican presidential candidates on the roster, so buckle up folks, seems, we are in for another lost four years, and truly, a lost couple of decades for the American people. Let’s hope we can turn this thing around, so that all Americans can survive and thrive.
Go Protestors go!!! Let’s start a revolution! Sign me up!
“I hear that Obama’s bailouts could have paid off every home mortgage”
Sounds like drudge drivel. Or Beck. Or Limpbaugh.
Factfree zones. “TARP was signed by Georgie Bush on October 3, 2008″
Look up the tea party protests that month. They were protesting the same thing. Banks. Bailouts. Wall Street.
Before they decided birth certificates of black men were SOOOOOOOOOO important.
“How about looking to the one year Harvard folks like Gates, and Zuckerberg for practical answers? “
They both agree with Gates’ buddy Buffett that taxes on the 1% need to go up to historically normal levels.
Taxes on billionaires have never been lower.
PA Weekly, how do you know the protesters were ‘from Palo Alto”? Did you check ID?
All the TV stations were announcing dramatically the time and place of the next protest. Anybody from anyplace could come. It was close to the Calif. Ave. Caltrans station at a convenient time. Where did all the 200 people park? It’s called “rent-a-mob”
If I lost my job and no longer could afford to live here I would consider other options like moving somewhere more affordable. Instead, people are of the mindset that if they can’t afford to live here the city and wealthy owe them.
A few points:
1) When Bush and Paulson (Treasury Sec and former Ceo of Goldman Sachs, pushed through the bailout, they had the banks receiving billions sign a 2-page agreement with no strings attached and no way to monitor how the funds were used or whether they needed to pay back the funds.
2) The banks didn’t start to pay back the money until OBAMA capped salaries at the bailed out banks at a measly $450,000. Then the banks RUSHED to pay back the money because they couldn’t possibly be expected to live on such a pittance.
3) The banks used OUR money to lobby against the Consumer Financial Protection Board and the GOP still refuses to confirm anyone to head it.
4) It would have been nice to read here about this demonstration before it happened, not after. I learned about it from a friend who’d read about it in the Post BEFORE in happened.
I am in sympathy with the protestors but do have an issue when they start inconveniencing other working grunts from getting to and from work, to daycare or other things in their lives. If you think you are inconveniencing Richie Rich, you are dead wrong. The ultra wealthy can sit at home with the internet letting their lackeys do all the work.
Also, as to the post that started the blame on the Republicans, there’s this answer: The House of Representatives: The Democrats have been the majority for about 46 of the last 60 years since 1950. The Senate has been controlled by the Democrats for about 40 of those 60 years. The Democrats have controlled at least one or the other of the 2 branches over 50 of the 60 years. The Democrats have controlled both Houses since 2007 – Exactly the period of the current Economic collapse from an all time “high” in July 2007 [April 2010]
Why don’t you stop picking and choosing who to blame and start offering the “powers that be”, whoever they are, SOLUTIONS.
“It’s called “rent-a-mob” “ Really? Who paid for “renting” them?
Here come the wingnut fringie conspiracy theories: “it’s a Soros plot!!!”
“mindset that … the city and wealthy owe them”
No. It’s the same mindset the tea party originally started with: the middle class is getting squeezed with the largest income disparity since the robber barons of the 20’s, Wall Street caused the massive crash in 2008, TARP bailed them out, now the banksters are making millions in bonuses again, paying the lowest taxes in a century and again the middle class is getting squeezed.
That, and no jobs.
What is congress doing today? H.R. 358 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:H.R.358:#
Look it up. With all the above going on, what is congress doing?
Abortion.
Millions and millions of Americans WANT to work. Two wars. Largest number of children facing “food insecurity” in our history.
H.R. 358.
Abortion.
There’s were the tea party ended up. So now Americans are taking to the streets.
Until it snows. 😉
Enough! there’s enough blame to go around, certainly.
But please respond to my ONE specific point about how the Bush Admin bail out had no strings attached and at least Obama put it the $450,000 salary cap, causing the banks to rush to pay off the money.
As for SOLUTIONS, when is there going to be a head of the Consumer Financial Protection Board to push some through?
Rent a mob is the right term, even if they are not “rented”. For the SF event, I saw one woman involved who is very publicy involved in any protest going on regardless of the cause. Her name may not be known to me, but her face – white, blond, attractive, appears at most protests about anything.
Thank you Sue for covering this. And hat’s off to Peninsula Peace and Justice for stirring up a ruckus. It’s hard to get people out of their arm chairs and into the street. If you want to support or disagree with PPJC, they produce a live TV show the first Tuesday of the month at the Media Center in Palo Alto. And they regularly produce videos around controversial topics and give them to us to air.
OTHER VOICES
http://www.midpenmedia.org/program/search.php?action=search&searchtext=Other+Voices&Submit=Search
PPJC PRESENTS
http://www.midpenmedia.org/program/search.php?action=search&searchtext=Peninsula+Peace+%26+Justice&Submit=Search
GOP still trying for more abortion laws this year? Like tenth time or so.
Party of big government in your bedroom.
They need to give up and work on jobs, but they won’t because jobs helps Obamas record.
Traitors.
Ask anyone over 55 how they’re doing these days as companies lay off older workers to save money on salaries and health insurance costs while executive bonuses soar.
How many lawsuits have been filed against the investment banks for knowingly pushing bad investments to their clients while the banks profit by shorting them?
How many empty stores do you see? How many businesses are closing even in this affluent area?
Go watch the award-winning documentary “Inside Job” and you’ll see both parties were at fault for selling out US investors and workers.
Cue that old Jimmy Buffett song “I used to have money one time!”
Good for the protestors for highlighting these legitimate gripes,
Occupy: There is no need for name calling. This is a free sharing forum. We can agree to disagree but no name calling.
“A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations.” In order for a protest to be successful, the protest organization should make its demands known. Look for solutions! Not blame! Otherwise, the protesters are behaving like whining children. Is it unemployment? Is it union? Is it the bailout? Make it clear! You will be more successful that way.
We are a democratic country. Officials are elected by the people. If you don’t like what you see, take it to the polls. Exercise your rights! Be informed and vote!!
“but her face – white, blond, attractive, “
Resident’s superior memory of this one cutie is all the evidence he needs that every protest around the country is bogus!!
Let’s work on abortion bills instead of jobs!!
Very common sloppy reporting on TARP “bail-outs” is widespread. BofA did “receive” $45B but also paid it back long ago. From wikipedia “On December 2, 2009, Bank of America announced it would repay the entire $45 billion it received in TARP and exit the program, using $26.2 billion of excess liquidity along with $18.6 billion to be gained in “common equivalent securities” (Tier 1 capital). The bank announced it had completed the repayment on December 9. Bank of America Ken Lewis said during the announcement, “We appreciate the critical role that the U.S. government played last fall in helping to stabilize financial markets, and we are pleased to be able to fully repay the investment, with interest… As America’s largest bank, we have a responsibility to make good on the taxpayers’ investment, and our record shows that we have been able to fulfill that commitment while continuing to lend.”
Did you see the protesters in San Francisco? They were carrying iPhones and iPads while sipping Starbucks. They were wearing Nikes, Levis and Abercrombie and Fitch. Many were wearing their favorite sport caps and jerseys.
Then, they were protesting “corporate greed.”
They also claim to be a part of the “99%.” “99%?” They are more like the 0.0001% who are greedily jealous of those who work hard.
Like someone else said, this group should save their breath and march at the White House and Capitol.
Occupy.
Guessed someone would take me to task on that. Mock me if you like, but the point is still valid. As Nayeli says, protesting while sipping starbucks, wearing expensive clothes and using the latest expensive gadgets says a lot for those who are protesting.
I suspect the real working poor were too busy working one of their 3 jobs on a Wednesday afternoon to be protesting.
@ Occupy:
According to Reuters, it seems that our old pal (and Billionaire corporate mogul) George Soros was the financial force that has been trying to create this “movement” in the first place.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/13/us-wallstreet-protests-origins-idUSTRE79C1YN20111013
It is ironic, really.
Resident,
My gardeners have all the “expensive gadgets” and email me plant pictures from their cell phones. Re the “expensive clothes,” do you know how OLD those clothes were? So?
Why are you trying so hard to blame the demonstrators/ supporters rather than those who destroyed the economy?
It sure sounds like the “working poor” and/or commuters beeping in solidarity agreed, to quote from the article:
“Seniors, middle-aged, laid-off Silicon Valley employees and some younger folks gathered in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has been staging an ongoing protest in Manhattan and other large cities against the bailouts, job losses and tax benefits for the wealthy.
Drivers in rush-hour traffic honked loudly and gave thumbs-up as they passed by, as the demonstrators cheered. The protests began at 5 p.m. and lasted for two hours.”
George Soros??? Got conspiracy theories? Remind me again what media properties he owns.
Want to talk about how the Koch Brothers and other billionaires FINANCED the Tea Party which News Corp/Fox schilled for non-stop??
People are furious that the US has a BUY IT NOW button on democracy.
Who do you think is buying up all the foreclosed homes? The wealthy get wealthier…the banks handed out deals – the bubble burst – the Buffeteers pick up their properties for a dime on the dollar. Sure, Buffet recommends higher taxes for the most wealthy – one way to appease the guilt he may be feeling as he prospers from the fallen.
Another point… what is the problem, not the symptoms? I can think of many but don’t want to dilute the top of list causes. 1. George Bush – invading Iraq (just because) WMD?? Right! 2. Obama furthering Bush’s “get even” mission and allowing government to spend frivolously – who wouldn’t take a hand-out? Look at Solyndra and soon SunPower … yeah yeah I know, the banks.
The reason no one is taking this national rally seriously is that it’s a little late in coming. When we went to Iraq – clearly a unified message to protest. My two cents: get the two sentence meaning for the protest distributed to everyone at these rallies – be intelligent so the media can quit with the “hippie no nothings who want a free ride” reportage.
Obama needs to go. Said this two years ago – he’s a smooth talker…and not even smooth enough.
Good luck to all of us!
I don’t totally disagree with the protesters, however, too many want a “get out of debt” free card. . .most of you probably voted for our big corporation bailout president,Obama,so live with the result and take responsibility for your actions.
Re “getting a 2-sentence message distributed to everyone at these rallies” presupposes it’s organized and not a grassroots efforts by lots of different people —
-seniors who don’t want their Social Security & Medicare cut to benefit whichever the big-bad-billionaire of your choice
– people who’ve seen their retirements, IRAs, portfolios tank
– pepple bankrupted by ridiculous health care costs
Obama has been testicularly challenged on this, no question. But do you prefer someone like Perry’s whose evangelical big-money backers want to ban birth control bills at a time when FAMILIES are struggling and who are so nuts they blame the stock market crash on the Japanese emperor having sex with demons???? (look it up.)
Must have been some orgy there to tank the world economy.
“The reason no one is taking this national rally seriously is that it’s a little late in coming. When we went to Iraq …”
Just because you didn’t see it on the corporate media doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Half a million in Central Park. Protests worldwide.
Just not on Fox and the corporate owned media (defense contractor GE = NBC, MSNBC; it’s documented they fired Phil Donahue to not be “the face of the anti-war movement”, ironically hiring Olberman to replace him.) )
“According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between January 3 and April 12, 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war.[3]”
Turn it off, get up, get out.
JA is absolutely right about the “mainstream” corporate media. They ignored the Iraq war protests. As for the current one, the New York Times — which has been very late in its coverage — wrote an article today about how media coverage is picking up slightly.
It’s a tough one to cover for the young reporters because they can’t fit it into soundbytes and there’s no obvious spokesperson like Palin was for the Tea Party.
Lots of different aspects to this story with some requiring background on how this happened, who deregulated what, etc. The best treatment of the many complicated issues is “Inside Job: The Movie” which interviewed professors, politicians, etc. and the current best-seller “Confidence Men” about Obama’s economic advisers.
And remember, Obama’s economic team has lots of the same players as Bush’s so no need to make this a partisan blame game.
@ Sally:
That wasn’t a “conspiracy theory.” That was an article from Reuters.
While I don’t doubt that there has been some corporate sponsors of Tea Party rallies (and other political organizations, groups and politicians), it is just ironic that this anti-corporate rally was created by one of the richest corporate leaders in the world.
Our family probably brings in much less money than many of the people who were marching in front of Bank of America. If we want to be more successful, we realize that we have to work a little harder for it. For an immigrant who came from true poverty (not the American definition of the term), this has worked out well.
Regardless, I don’t believe that those who are successful are to blame for those who are not. It doesn’t seem like these little protest groups are winning over public opinion either.
If they want to protest in front of a bank, they should protest the new fees that are a result of the recent bank regulation passed by Congress about two years ago. Congress had the “good idea” to stop banks from charging overdraft fees to customers who are bad with money. So, now EVERYONE must pay a monthly fee for having a checking account…and even using a debit card. After all, the banks have to protect their interests somehow.
Again, if these protesters want to do something meaningful, they need to target those who have the most power to do something. Those people aren’t in Wall Street. They are in the White House and Capitol.
Please look at the pictures of the demonstrators; most of them look like they’re retired.
Don’t preach to me about working harder. My husband’s at Google with pre-IPO shares so we’re doing just fine as a family, thank you.
But EVERY formerly successful educated hard-working professional WOMAN I know has been laid off — usually when we hit 50. And some immigrant groups are not exactly fans of professional women and have quite a few stories to tell about their treatment by immigrant founders.
People are protesting the bank fees but it’s symbolic. $60 a year is NOTHING compared to what people have lost — their jobs, their portfolios, not being able to sell houses that are under water to move to a job elsewhere…
@ Sally:
I think that you misunderstood me.
I was looking at the pictures in SAN FRANCISCO where I noticed that most of the participants seem to be doing well (with iPhones, iPads, Starbucks drinks, Nikes, Levis, Abercrombie & Fitch, etc…).
And, I am not “preaching” anything at you about working hard. I am just saying that many people can be successful no matter how many hardships they come from. As a former migrant worker from a large family that lived in a one bedroom travel trailer, I can assure you that some effort can go a long way.
And, yes, I agree that there is still a glass ceiling that must be overcome for women. I face difficulty in that I am a woman and still speak with a thick non-English accent to boot.
I share your concern about the current state of affairs in this country. I don’t think that I have ever seen anything as bad as they have been over the past couple of years.
However, I do think that the people who are protesting…at banks…are focusing on the wrong groups to direct their ire. The banks didn’t cause this current economic mess. There were some legislated rules that they were forced to follow…plus some responses and attempts at corporate interest. However, this current economic quagmire is the culmination of many things.
The individuals who can make the most difference aren’t in Wall Street or at Bank of America. Rather, their offices are located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and just up the road at Capitol Hill.
What I meant to say is that a lot of professional people who are doing well still recognize justice and fairness as key values.
The protestors are also against “corporate personhood” where companies and organizations now get to spend unlimited amounts of money through Super Pacs lobbying for their interests and only their interests thanks to the Supreme Court decision.
“If they want to protest in front of a bank, they should protest the new fees “
Nayali belittles the protesters as “greedily jealous” but then wants them to march elsewhere for her, and also has ideas for what they “should” protest (bank fees.)
It’s a free country, dude, get up and get out. Start protesting.
Also: your Reuters piece has real no evidence of a link. Several denials by most involved, and no link.
re: “While I don’t doubt that there has been some corporate sponsors of Tea Party rallies…” Geez, you’re kidding, right? One word:
Freedomworks.
The tea party events are the astoturfing (ie.. the opposite of grassroots) arm of Freedomworks. Run by Dick Armey, one of the largest corporate lobbyists in the country, funded by Scaife and the usual corporations and billionaires. They paid for all the buses, event costs, speakers, etc..
“The banks didn’t cause this current economic mess. “
“that they were forced to follow” Yeah, poor banks just were forced by big bad politicians, just FORCED to lend money out. Uh-huh.
S&P
AIG.
Goldman.
Lehman.
“The banks didn’t cause this current economic mess. “ That’s crazy talk.
@ Occupy:
Have you ever studied Public Policy? You should do some research into what caused the economic quagmire.
You can call it “crazy talk” all you want, but there is more than just a group of “faceless” corporations who helped create this mess.
And regardless of whether or not this small group is trying to appeal to the conscience of bankers, the bottom line is that the people with the most power aren’t sitting in a bank office. They are politicians in Washington…including the White House.
I suggest that the protesters reach out to the President and Congress with their views…and bring their protests to their offices in Washington.
Or, of course, they could try to get the President’s attention when he returns yet again to this area in less than two weeks (Oct 25th). In fact, he may be meeting with wealthy corporate donors again, so this group might be able to get the attention of the President and corporate leaders in a single protest.
Resident, I found your comment appalling. This is why: My *75 year old* father has gone back to work. When my parents retired, they moved out of this area to get more bang for their buck – smart move. But no matter how smart they have been w/their money, they couldn’t control the loss to their retirement accounts. They’re not whiners, they’re doers. They often worked 2 jobs to make ends meet when we were growing up & they have a lot of education.
They aren’t alone in this scenario. When at Trader Joe’s the other day, a man who was in his retirement years waited on me. I had a lot of mixed feelings about that, not exactly knowing his circumstances. But I’ve seen A LOT of senior citizens back at work these last few years & it makes me sad because it’s not by total choice.
Even if we try to keep life simple & frugal we’re all subject to market trends, the vagaries of government & the global economy. My father-in-law retired instead of trying to find work after being laid off for so long – this is in Europe. But to make that work, he had to give up his apartment & figure out other learning arrangements – sort of like young people do straight out of college.
None of the people I mentioned above are complainers nor are they lazy or bad w/money. Face the facts: many of these people suffering have done nothing wrong.
Nayeli needs to get a clue. She grabs any chance she can get to twist things into blaming Obama instead of recognizing that many paths of greed and misdeed have taken us to where we are today. Much of it started with Bush. My disappointment in Obama doesn’t mean that I get to blame him for everything and we were clearly headed in this direction years ago, much of it due to war, in addition to unparalleled corporate greed and power.
You really have no clue why protesters are wearing what they wear or drinking what they drink and trying to paint them with the same brush as the people that they are protesting is just insane.
Has anyone seen that new B of A commercial about their debit card? I laughed so hard I almost choked on my Peet’s. Yeah, my Peet’s – no Starbucks weak drink for this rabble rouser. For all Nayeli knows, my Peet’s was a gift, or I own stock, work there or all of the above.
@ Hawkeye,
Do you follow me around? You seem to locate my comments and then attack.
Yes…I have a “clue.” No…I didn’t “blame Obama.” No…I didn’t bring up Bush. I am simply saying that the people who can make the most difference in regard to various concerns aren’t the tellers at a local bank. They are the politicians who currently have offices in Washington.
It is sad that you choose to constantly follow me around the Palo Alto Online comments section in some vain attempt to ridicule or vilify me.
Nayali quickly backtracks from his absurd statement: “The banks didn’t cause this current economic mess. “
Hawkeye – you are correct – a quick search shows her posts where he always has something negative or a backhanded slap at the president, never on the republicans who, for example, today are debating more abortion laws rather than creating JOBS.
“aren’t the tellers at a local bank”
Straw man – no one ever said it was the rank and file at the banks.
We get your opinion, you want people to protest for you in DC. Got it. Going to repeat it five more times?
That’s because Nayeli is the rare Latina who thinks that the Republicans have her back. Hah!
Tellers don’t control banks? Sheesh, really? The point, as you know, Nayeli, is embarrassing them. Banks are generally sensitive to their reputations and the individual areas where they do business can tarnish their image. It didn’t go unnoticed that you didn’t mention Bush, who started the whole TARP deal.
I’m totally disgusted with BofA. Maybe bailing out the banks was the way to go – it may have been worse if we hadn’t. But their behavior during and since the bailouts has been unconscionable in many respects. They won’t allow Obama to do anything to make them tow the line, because they then pass on that reduction in profit to consumers, such as the greedy monthly debit card fee.
Nayeli – read and learn from Sally’s comments, if you can’t deal with the truth that Occupy is stating.
Now, back to Peet’s – I just better not spill any on my designer duds.
I am amazed that you are still chasing me around the Palo Alto Online, Hawkeye. It is getting a little…creepy.
Why do you feel the need to attack me? I never said that I was a Republican. In fact, I vote for the candidate that I think would be best for the job.
As for the banks: What don’t you understand? The salaried workers at banks in Palo Alto have nothing to do with corporate policy or regulation.
As I said (but you ignored), it would be best for these protesters to march to Washington and present their case before the current President and Congress (both Republicans and Democrats).
It would behoove you to actually read everything that I wrote, rather than try to “read between the lines” or search for previous comments (as Occupy claimed) to determine whether or not I have any political or social views. OF course, this is still a free country where I have the freedom to think outside of the box that you try to confine or stereotype me (and Latinos) to.
I am not blaming any politician for this crisis — but I do suggest that those who have the most power to do something about it aren’t found on El Camino Real. They aren’t even found on Wall Street. I suggest that those with the greatest influence are found in Washington D.C., but (according to the AP) only 52 people showed up to that protest yesterday.
Funny that no one’s talking about the point made about the relationship between unlimited Super PAC (political action committees) contributions to politicians. There are so many examples of the lobbyists writing the legislation and regulations FOR the politicians. They’re so well-heeled they call K St. “Gucci Gulch.” They want what they pay for.
The GOP moves in lockstep, opposing anything and everything Obama tries to do even to the point of threatening to let the govt. default for the 1st time since it was threatened after the Civil War. Look what THAT did to our portfolios this year with their 3d grade hissy fit.
Being a conciliator, he can’t stop singing Kumbya. And the media harps on nonsense like “how low did he bow” to create stupid diversions from the real issues, not Japanese etiquette.
For those who care about the issues, go to the petition site the White House launched a while ago. Create your OWN petitions and/or vote on the ones already there. The site’s not great but at least it’s there. And no, Soros didn’t do it; people did.
Sorry. The link is http://www.whitehouse.gov/petitions
You have to register and the site’s clunky but it’s there. And you can tell there’s no organized group behind any of it by how slowly the votes change.
Whatever your politics, you might support this:
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/cut-congressional-and-staff-pay-and-benefits-asking-average-americans-take-massive-cuts-services/0Gw1nwkg
we petition the obama administration to:
Cut Congressional and staff pay and benefits before asking average Americans to take massive cuts in services
The average Congressional salary is $174,000 per year plus benefits. If cutting the deficit and balancing the budget is so vital, Congress and their staff should take an immediate 30 percent pay cut before asking average Americans to accept any cuts in services.
Furthermore, If Congressional action (or lack of it) forces a government shutdown, members of the House and Senate and their staff should forfeit their pay for the entire duration of the shutdown and NOT be paid back for that period after the government resumes operation.
Finally, all future Congressional pay raises should be determined by a constituient referendum vote. No member of Congress should be allowed to vote himself a pay raise.
There are plenty of us who understand you, Nayati. Don’t worry about the mudslingers here. They try to bully others with their views and cant tolerate any other views. It doesn’t help to respond. Just ignore them and maybe they will go away. Ithink that this protest group will simply disappear. The group in Palo Alto was civil and better informed. I watch the reports on television of the other protests and it seems like there is no unifying cause. Some protesters dont even know why they are there. I also thought that it is ironic that some are repeating the same chants that echo the same misleading slogans. One thing is sure, we need some changes in this nation. The jobless rate is too d*mn high and it doesn’t help to punish businesses further at this time. This is just my 2 cents.
Nayeli wishes I was chasing her around these forums! I am interested in the goings on of the Occupiers and posted my opinion. Since she posts so much and so much of it is fallible, I merely respond – it’s easy. I never said she was a Republican – she thinks I don’t read carefully? Hah. Also, I am truly not interested in reading all of your posts – no thanks.
I hope these protests keep happening – egg on the banks faces is important.
Jail the Wall Street crooks who hustled bad mortgages, bundled them up all into securities, got them rated “AAA” by the other crooks at the bond ratings agencies, and made a huge bundle selling the “AAA” securities worldwide.
These crooks brought on the Great Near-Depression and nearly wrecked the world economy. Jail time is long overdue for these scam artists in Gucci shoes and three-piece suits.
Occupy Wall Street until the crooks are behind bars!
Right you are, “Jail Time For Wall Street.” Unfortunately, they’re “too big to jail.”
And it’s silly to claim people are angry at the minimum-wage bank tellers rather than these guys! Who in their right mind thinks the tellers make policy?
Don’t get mad at the banks – get even. Move your money to a credit union. I did, no hidden fees, easy access at branches and 7-11s, and they have all the same products and features.
“Who in their right mind thinks the tellers make policy?” Apparently, Nayali does. At least in her Straw Man world.
But good news, neo-cons and tea partiers!!!
The GOP in congress just spent ALL day passing another abortion bill that will NEVER become law: 251-172.
And created NO JOBS today.
And they have tomorrow off, like every Friday.
Tough work, if you can get it…….
I am sorry they weren’t a few doors down in front of Wells Fargo also.
Wells Fargo refused to give my son who was in the army a lower rate on his car loan which he really needed and still needs.
The park occupiers bark on a wrong tree! What do they want?
* Not happy with our political / legal process? Go bark at your representatives, congress women, senators,…
* Not happy with his life? Take some risks and roll the dice Like Bill/ Steve/ Mark did. And work harder and smarter. Or else.
Are they sucking on public pension or public funds (SS, Welfare) at expense of our younger or working generations? What else do they want?
PS…
In addition to Mr. Vic Frost at Whole Foods, they are a local attraction. Now we have one place to show off what PA offers to the world!
Kim, I’m w/you! Given the debacle that Wells Fargo is helping to continually perpetrate to the majority of rental units here in EPA, I think credit unions are a great way to go. Ditto B of A’s scalawagging banking methods – they can’t feel shame because they’re too bust counting their money. What banks do people feel adequately serve their interests?
Aggravated, I was sorry to read what you wrote. WF has swallowed a big ol’ nasty mean pill. I think this was more than 10 years ago – I started to hear so many complaints about them & it’s just never improved. They’ve pulled some doozies on good people w/mortgages, too. It’s beyond sad.
“…occupiers bark on a wrong tree!”
Maybe not: “Lech Walesa to visit New York in support of Occupy Wall Street”
I think it was all the people who borrowed money they had no plan to pay back with liar’s mortgages or even with honest mortgages that put us in this mess.
The derivatives that became toxic all depended on most borrowers repaying their loans; they had been doing so with high reliability even through periods of dropping home prices for more than 50 years.
Should we put these people in jail too?
The banks are somewhat culpable, but the larger blame should go to Barney Frank (should be fired due to Fannie Mae brohaha, if he worked for a bank he would be in jail) and Chris Dodd (fortunately leaving office, but his legacy of the Bank Reform Bill, which is why BofA is raising debit card fees) will haunt us for years. Obama bad mouthing corporate America, which employees many people and pays the bills is bad for our country. The government only spends it and in the case of Fannie Mae and Feddie Mac and the 363B they cost us all, those are where the anger of these protests should be aimed.
Woodie P. said:
* Not happy with our political / legal process? Go bark at your representatives, congress women, senators,
Well, therein lie the issue. Our “representatives, congress women, senators,” do not represent us, the 99%, and they could care less what we think, they represent the 1% who finance their election campaigns!!
It does not matter whether they are Republicans or Democrats, they are all the same.
This is what the protesters have figured out. It is a waste of time for the 99% to use the political process and try to influence the 2 parties.
Of course, the same applies to the banks that rob people.
So, protesting ends up being the only solution left, and they have figured it out, to their credit.
Dalai Lama won’t come? Just Lech dude shows up?
Manhattan is an expensive place to spend a night. Will Mr. Soro pick up the tab? If not, will Lech dude live in a tent or on a tree?
Name dropping will fool easy preys like the cutie blond. No doubt.
Will occupiers work over weekends? Got guests in town here. Would like to show off our Mr. Frost along with the occupiers.
We know we won’t be disappointed!
-Sent via iPhone.
It’s the bank’s fault…for taking bail out $ at the request, or demands of the government, then paying it back with interest. And who created the bad economy…the people that bought houses they could not afford. Why did they do that, because the goverment wanted them to be able to, and made it possible. Not just Republicans,not just Democrats. Get out and vote.
Go get organized. Go vote someone else, or yourself. You live in U.S. Do you? What stops you? Do you plan to do it?
Peace, love and take charge of your life!
-Sent via iPhone
What data do you have to say
” … It is a waste of time for the 99% to use the political process …”?
99% of what?
-Sent via iPhone
PREACH ON, BROTHERS! Of course, in this town they’re mostly preaching to the choir, and the greatest effect is a disruption to an inconsequential, none-too-symbolic retail branch whose employees are mostly $11/hour tellers, but still.
Question: is there any variability in the douchiness of the Big 4 banks (BofA, Citi, Chase, WF)? I myself would like to drop Bank of America on its ass and take my $$$ over to a local credit union like Meriwest or something, but I kinda like having a free ATM machine a hop-step-jump away no matter where in the country I am, especially if I have to move again.
How about Wells Fargo? At least they’re California evil, right?
Or dig a hole in a park. Throw your $$ in…
Just like in goo ole days.
-Sent via iPhone
>> They were carrying iPhones and iPads while sipping Starbucks.
Who cares … little bits of tech and some coffee does not make someone rich, and for most people who have a clue these things are damn useful in a business/organize your life capability.
Why does the right think all it has to do to dismiss a whole nation of people is to wave their hands derisively in contempt and talk about BMWs, wine, brie, Starbucks, Nikes, iPhones or whatever – why do you think you are so hated.
It is the top 1% who are so busy with their setting up the country to drop people out of it they do not like and their contemptuous inhuman way of doing it with not even bothering to look at these people before they wipe them away with one stereotype or another that are busy deliberately making life difficult people for whom life is already difficult enough, and it is getting worse.
“Jail Time for Wall Street” is right. Why aren’t the hucksters who scammed billions through bogus AAA-rated “securitized debt instruments” (i.e. bundles of bad mortgages)in jail by now?
No amount of tired ideology from the libertarian nouveau riche here in town can obscure the injustice of what the slimballs in the Wall Street backs and bond rating firms did to the rest of the world.
I think the root of the crisis was those greedy home sellers who were willing to take more money than their homes were actually worth, scamming those poor buyers who probably had poor/sick/elderly family members they were hoping to house, and leaving them with huge loans on underwater homes. Let’s go after them, they received all that subprime money!
A bank robber steals thousands of dollars from a bank and he’s in the slammer for a long time.
A banker steals billions (“too big to jail”) from individual investors and pension funds worldwide by selling clumps of bad mortgages bunndled up as bonds and rated “AAA” by his chums at, say, Moody’s or S&P and he’s in fat city.
Lock ’em up and throw away the key!
I fully support the occupy movement. I will be joining them in future protests.
If you don’t know what they are upset about then maybe you are part of the 1% or you have not been paying attention.
The silent majority have been ignore too long. This is the most important issue facing humankind right now. Noam Chomsky has been
speaking about these issue for the longest time. The occupy movement finally crystallize these issues into public consciousness.
If you don’t know what the movement is about, I would urge you to educate yourself on the issues. I do hope many people would become
enlightened and be stirred to take action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k34R-LVeqXY
Americans have been complacent for far too long.
I don’t know if the message has to be concise or unified…there are so many to choose from.
I think the middle class has suffered long enough. Republicans should take notice and support people not Big Corporate Interests.
“Republicans should take notice”
They took notice, that’s why Congress spent yesterday voting on an abortion bill that will never become law. A bill that outlaws federal spending on abortion, which is already the law, anyway.
They will essentially take today off.
Jobs? Nothing.
This congressional session is 260 days old. Congress has worked less than half of them. The GOP jobs plan? Doesn’t exist, just a couple sheets of paper from May giving corporations tax cuts. Never sent to committee, never voted on.
Jobs? Jobs for Americans to pay for food, to buy shoes for their children, jobs that let Americans spend money and help get us out of this disaster?
No, congress doesn’t do that – only abortion. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:H.R.358
Jobs that let Americans pay taxes so we can start paying down our debts?
No, congress doesn’t do that – only abortion.
The tea party must be so proud they elected these bozos.
“Posted by They did it!, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, 11 hours ago
“I think the root of the crisis was those greedy home sellers who were willing to take more money than their homes were actually worth, scamming those poor buyers who probably had poor/sick/elderly family members they were hoping to house, and leaving them with huge loans on underwater homes. Let’s go after them, they received all that subprime money!
WHAT! Go after Sellers? I say go after the banks that did poor (look the other way) underwriting and “do as I say” appraisals that allowed the predatory loans to go through. Then they sold the Toxic Loans (doomed to fail after the end of the teaser rate period) off to Big Wall Street investment firms who bundled them and paid to have them rated AAA. It’s easy to give away wheelbarrows of “other people’s money” when you end up with a commission on the loan, but no “skin in the game”. Read the Big Short by Michael Lewis about how a sleep at the wheel these Investment Banking Firms were. Even when loans in these portfolios started going bad at an alarming rate they still went full steam ahead. THEY should be in jail for saddling American Homeowners with Toxic loans who’s terms only benefited the bank (investor)…not the consumer. They should write down all that debt and be done with it.
Until they fix lending and housing our country can’t fully recover. American’s won’t start spending again until they feel their feet on firmer ground. They feel threatened when they watch their home’s value decreasing even while they pay on time. Guess what…. banks are stepping up foreclosures again, and when your neighbor’s home forecloses…YOUR home value drops too, as a result. If you want to blame sellers go ahead, because statewide 43% of sales are “distress sales” now, and sellers ARE the banks.
I thought I was going to stay out of this one because my views, possibly poorly explained, were upsetting to some.
But, here I go again.
Jobs are created by entrepeneurs willing to employ people. Jobs are not created by government.
If we want to create jobs then we must make it easier for entrepeneurs, businesses and industry to function. We need to allow businesses to operate competitively with their overseas peers. We need to reduce the red tape, the legalese, and the expensive overheads involved in starting a business and employing a workforce.
Then we need to make American goods competitive against their overseas competitors imports. We need to improve quality, variety and fashions which foreign imports typically have.
25 years ago most Americans bought American cars. But then the imports came and they were more stylish, had more features, were cheaper, and ultimately were more reliable. American car manufacturers couldn’t compete unless they did the same.
Once upon a time, labels “made in Japan” or “made in X country” often signified poorly made, cheap, junk. Now that is not the case. They are able to manufacture better items cheaper.
As a result, American jobs have been lost.
Until we can produce better manufactured goods and services at better prices than our foreign competitors, we are not going to see a big upturn in jobs.
Government can make it easier for employers to start employing more people, society needs to be realistic about what their employers can do for them financially, but it is only entrepeneurs who will really create jobs if they can produce the goods.
US out of my Uterus!
The House of Rep. is a big time waster. They only put that on their calendar to appease the religious right wing and avoid voting on the jobs package.
Boehner-The-Complainer is weak and won’t stand up to the Fringe Element in his Caucus.
Where are the Jobs? They simply don’t care.
I plan to only purchase Made in America gifts this Holiday Season. I found an on-line Amish catalog with 610 USA MADE products. Here is a link :
http://non-electric.lehmans.com/search#w=usa%20made&asug=usa
In the search box at the top of page simply type in USA MADE and you can eliminate all imported products.
I urge Americans to SHOP USA, even if it means no Electronics for the Holidays this year! For instance, The Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival is this weekend… Buy handcrafted artisan gifts for loved ones this year.
Jobs, you don’t need no steenkin’ jobs when you can live on hate alone. You don’t need no steenkin’consumer protection.
Got outrage?
So go to whitehouse dot gov / petitions and sign the petition to cut the pay of Congress and staff before asking the rest of us to take massive cuts in benefits and services.
Sign the one to keep government out of our bedrooms.
Sign the one to take away “corporate personhood” which allows banks etc. to spend unlimited amounts of money pitching their lies to those too uninformed to follow real news.
Sign the one that supports science education in science classes, not religious dogma.
Resident: “Jobs are not created by government.”
WRONG.
Top Republicans DISAGREE with that Resident’s statement!!!
The guy Resident is going to vote for next year says Resident is WRONG.
Mitt Romney and Rick Perry argue in every debate with Jon Huntsman about which one created more jobs while in GOVERNMENT.
Funny that.
Ricky (“ever see me eat a corndog?”) Perry: “I created more jobs in Texas in the last year than have ever been created in the history of the world previously.” http://twitter.com/#!/GovPerryForPrez/status/102541251567550464
Willard (I’ve been running for 7 friggin’ years and still can’t break 26%) Mittens Romney: “Romney: I created more jobs in Mass…#reagandebate” http://twitter.com/#!/SarahB_CBSNJ/status/111591257989578752
Rick Perry and Mittens Romney AGREE that government is key to job creation, especially in bad times when corporations are sitting on their mountains of cash (2 trillion) and not hiring because there is no demand.
Create jobs, create demand, then corporations hire.
Jobs, not abortion, Mr Boenher.
Beohner is traitor. McConnel too. Purposefully avoded job creation to beat Obama next year just so they can do tax cuts for billlionaires that fund their campaigns.
Arrest them, try them, convict them and hang them if guilty. Waterboard them to secure their confessions.
Government should NEVER tell banks whom they can lend to.
Nobody is “Too Big To Fail”.
“Government should NEVER tell banks…”
Inane libertarian claptrap.
America used to regulate banks and investment houses, keeping them separate and HEALTHY.
The Glass–Steagall Act mostly kept the crazy gambling in check from 1933 to 1999. Upon repeal, it all went downhill.
Here are the 77 banks that failed this year SO FAR: (77, hope this blog handle a list that long)
Sun Security Bank Ellington MO
The RiverBank Wyoming MN
First International Bank Plano TX
Citizens Bank of Northern California Nevada City CA
Bank of the Commonwealth Norfolk VA
First National Bank of Florida Milton FL
CreekSide Bank Woodstock GA
Patriot Bank of Georgia Cumming GA
First Choice Bank Geneva IL
First Southern National Bank Statesboro GA
Lydian Private Bank Palm Beach FL
Public Savings Bank Huntingdon Valley PA
The First National Bank of Olathe Olathe KS
Bank of Whitman Colfax WA
Bank of Shorewood Shorewood IL
Integra Bank National Association Evansville IN
BankMeridian, N.A. Columbia SC
Virginia Business Bank Richmond VA
Bank of Choice Greeley CO
LandMark Bank of Florida Sarasota FL
Southshore Community Bank Apollo Beach FL
Summit Bank Prescott AZ
First Peoples Bank Port St. Lucie FL
High Trust Bank Stockbridge GA
One Georgia Bank Atlanta GA
Signature Bank Windsor CO
Colorado Capital Bank Castle Rock CO
First Chicago Bank & Trust Chicago IL
Mountain Heritage Bank Clayton GA
First Commercial Bank of Tampa Bay Tampa FL
McIntosh State Bank Jackson GA
Atlantic Bank and Trust Charleston SC
First Heritage Bank Snohomish WA
Summit Bank Burlington WA
First Georgia Banking Company Franklin GA
Atlantic Southern Bank Macon GA
Coastal Bank Cocoa Beach FL
Community Central Bank Mount Clemens MI
The Park Avenue Bank Valdosta GA
First Choice Community Bank Dallas GA
Cortez Community Bank Brooksville FL
First National Bank of Central Florida Winter Park FL
Heritage Banking Group Carthage MS
Rosemount National Bank Rosemount MN
Superior Bank Birmingham AL
Nexity Bank Birmingham AL
New Horizons Bank East Ellijay GA
Bartow County Bank Cartersville GA
Nevada Commerce Bank Las Vegas NV
Western Springs National Bank and Trust Western Springs IL
The Bank of Commerce Wood Dale IL
Legacy Bank Milwaukee WI
First National Bank of Davis Davis OK
Valley Community Bank St. Charles IL
San Luis Trust Bank, FSB San Luis Obispo CA
Charter Oak Bank Napa CA
Citizens Bank of Effingham Springfield GA
Habersham Bank Clarkesville GA
Canyon National Bank Palm Springs CA
Badger State Bank Cassville WI
Peoples State Bank Hamtramck MI
Sunshine State Community Bank Port Orange FL
Community First Bank Chicago Chicago IL
North Georgia Bank Watkinsville GA
American Trust Bank Roswell GA
First Community Bank Taos NM
FirsTier Bank Louisville CO
Evergreen State Bank Stoughton WI
The First State Bank Camargo OK
United Western Bank Denver CO
The Bank of Asheville Asheville NC
CommunitySouth Bank & Trust Easley SC
Enterprise Banking Company McDonough GA
Oglethorpe Bank Brunswick GA
Legacy Bank Scottsdale AZ
First Commercial Bank of Florida Orlando FL
77 bank failures this year, so far.
157 last year.
140 in 2009.
If you want your bank deposit to have Federal protection, banks require regulation.
“Government should NEVER tell banks…” Pure poppycock. Tell us Walter, do you keep all your cash in a non-FDIC protected “bank”.
The Federal government closes banks on Fridays so they can have them all set to reopen the following Monday, ready to do business having protected YOUR deposits.
That’s an average of two bank FAILURES a week over the course of this recession.
We need jobs in this country, not bank regulation repeal and more abortion laws.
Jobs, Mr Beohner.
Great post, Occupy!
The libertarian rhetoric about government getting out of the way of business make for a good cover story. COmes in handy when the crooked investment houses on Wall Street and bond rating agencies scratch each other’s backs and pick everyone else’s pockets to get filthy rich.
If there is another protest … can someone pass a heads up … maybe using this forum … as to when and where … I’d like to support this movement despite the fact that it is a little rough around the edges – they don’t have billions of dollars to hide their actions and their true purpose or to do anything other than appeal to the people which is what our country is supposed to be about … not just money. One man, one vote … not one dollar, one vote – remember?
These people who are protesting aginst the banks and Wall Street should focus their protest on those who:
– oppose the keystone pipeline from Canada to the U.S.
– those who oppose drilling for oil in the continental U.S.
– those who oppose nuclear power in this country
– those who demand that our energy policy should be focused on wind and solar power, which are not baseload (and wind kills off our eagles)
– those who oppose educational vouchers
– those who support public unions
There are many more examples, but that is enough for a start.
Love that the righties want to tell the protesters what to focus on (Ken: wants drill, baby, drill! & Nayali: wants others to protest bank fees.)
C’mon righties! Pick up a sign and join them! Hit the streets with your tea party brethren.
Oh, that’s right, tea party protests fizzled out when they only drew a few dozen, even less when freedomworks quit paying for buses of protesters to show up.
But keep telling the 99% what they should talk about for you!
So unregulated banks universally fail?
Vote smart, vote Conservative Constitutionalist.
Agree with Walter: This came from govt telling banks to lend to high risk people in order to “increase diversity” in house mortgages aka home ownership.
Had the banks been allowed to use the old standards we always used..20% down, proof of job, credit worthy history, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
Telling banks to increase ‘diversity’ or 1) Not be backed by FDIC or 2) Be sued by ACORN ( check out Obama and Citibank via Acorn Lawsuit and follow the bouncing ball). This puts the banks between the rock and hard spot.
Whether ’tis better to follow the arm-twisting of govt and ACORN, not get sued, not be denied govt back-up, and not risk investers sueing Boards from poor management, or ’tis better to “do what is right and not make high risk loans”,..but lose Fannie Mae back up and risk lawsuits, not to mention lawsuits for not doing their fiduciary responsibility to the shareholderes.
Hmmmmmm…..what would any sane person do? Follow the laws, of course.
We have to play by the rules of the game.
The ones to be angry at are those who set the horrid rules..follow the bouncing ball to Frank-Dodd, Community Reinvestment Act, screams of “racists” to those who tried to warn Congress that Frank-Dodd was going to lead to a bursting housing mortgage.
So, yes…get the government out of the way of making sane business decisions and we can finally come back to life.
“follow the bouncing ball to Frank-Dodd, Community Reinvestment Act, screams of “racists” to those who tried to warn Congress that Frank-Dodd was going to lead to a bursting housing mortgage”
Yes, so believable that you think a bunch of po’ people of color almost brought down the capitalist system because they lied on a loan ap.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
That is some strong koolaid yer drinking.
” you think a bunch of po’ people of color almost brought down the capitalist system because they lied on a loan ap.”
If there are enough of them, and they are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then the answer is that they can bring down the banking system. That’s why it is called the sub-prime loan crisis.
The ‘occupy’ crowd need only look at a mirror to determine who supported this sordid mess, from the beginning. What are they whining about?
That’s my answer to BoA http://www.flickr.com/photos/vitasamb2001/6206100336/lightbox/
As a true moderate, I see a bit I can agree with in many of these posts, though I dislike reading the posts where those who are intolerant seem to want to stomp on those they disagree with. Aside from “blame,” what do we do now?! Protesting in the local street seems ineffective to me; getting results from powerful politicians is what is necessary to improve things here in the good ole US of A.
3rd party, anyone?? However, it is not easy to get any meaningful response from legislators and other political leaders and this worries me.
As a true moderate (and someone who frequently expresses one’s opinion, contacting legislators at all levels, etc.), I can assure you I am totally ignored as an individual.
We might want to focus on some specific things, like I do, trying to get Obama to reduce our involvement in costly, mostly pointless overseas military quagmires. (I have advocated accountability for military actions; containment rather than pointless expansion all over Afghanistan, etc.)
Obama’s continuation and expansion of costly overseas boondocks military ventures from the prior administration is one example of something that has puzzled me. I have sensibly questioned this (to our CA senators, for example) on a repeated basis over time as it sure looks like something that is helping destroy our economy. It doesn’t seem to make difference which party is in power: the military-industrial complex truly is apparently all-powerful in Washington. What is the POINT of this stuff? What are we accomplishing? Oh, I know, it is secret.
“Obama’s continuation and expansion of costly overseas boondocks military ventures from the prior administration is one example of something that has puzzled me”
Obama suddenly realized, once he had to translate from candidate to President, that the world is not a nice place, even if he kow-towed to world leaders and apologized all over the place. The liberation of Iraq and the defeat of the Taliban are signature efforts by the USA, which will change the world for the better over the course of this century.
These military efforts did not cause our economic decline. Our decline is the result of an anti-business climate, and a refusal to exploit the immense resources that we have. Period. We could be energy independent, but we are not. We could have excellent primary schools, but we do not. We could have secure borders, but we do not. We could still have big pharma, but we do not.
The ‘occupy’ gang needs to look at itself, in order to understand why we are no longer prospering. The welfare state is as dead as the Dodo bird (ask Europe), but those ‘occupy’ gangstas are still demanding more of it! Pathetic, to say the least.