I’ve been trying to come with a “take” on this whole “Occupy Wall Street” thing, and I really haven’t been able to. I get that people are upset at the economy, but I struggle to see how our nations economic problems, are the responsibility of the richest 1% of our nation. Who arbitrarily decided that it was the top 1% and not the top 2%?! That kind of thinking makes me insane – I really think it should be the top 2% and I’m not joining their movement until someone changes that! But seriously, who decided that? No one really ever asks that – they just break down the fence and start following the heard and yelling what ever chant the guy/girl in front of them is yelling and pretty soon we have a movement! “Hell no, we won’t go!”
Here’s my issue – I’m not anywhere close to the top 1% – wish I was – come to work everyday working hard to get there – I mean, I’m a scorecard guy – and the Top 1% seems like the winners, and I hate losing. Now, I could go around and see if someone would change the rules and give me a bunch of money from the Top 1%, but that seems very, well, un-American. I would rather get there myself – pull up my bootstraps, batten down the hatches, rub some dirt on it, and all that grandfatherly advice type stuff. I want to make it on my own, and I work hard each and every day to try and make that happen.
If I didn’t have this job, right now – would I feel different? Don’t know that – I’m not in that position. I have been without a job, though, before. You want to know what I did? I worked 24 hours a day, to get another one! I’ve had to take steps back, to move forward – I’ve been down and had to pick myself up – in all of those times – I never spent a minute thinking – well – if only those rich bastards would pay more in taxes – I could get more unemployment, or maybe even a job or anything else. I’m responsible for me – not some rich person who I don’t even know.
I work in a career, and in a company – that everyday we have to work. Everyday I face the real possibility of losing income, if we don’t keep working, taking care of our clients, getting new clients, and basically out working our competition. Each morning I choose to get up, come to work and “occupy my cube” (I actually have an office – but I’ve had a cube, no real big difference). It’s not that I don’t support the “Occupy Wall St.” folks – it’s just that I don’t understand them.
I completely agree. They have a point, things are not running nearly as efficiently as they could. But for the love of god, start a business, help one person a day. Just DO something other than blocking the streets and costing taxpayer money making some arbitrary point that the people they are mad at could care less about!
I’ve written a couple blog posts so far about my feelings on it at http://www.ChrisTheHunk.com if you’re interested. Love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts = )
Spot on, Tim. Really liked how you pointed out we should work hard to just worrying about ourselves, our careers, etc rather than 1% of the population. The fact 20% of the 15m unemployed don’t even want to work is jaw dropping and appalling to people who have busted their butt the entire career. Good stuff Tim.
If that situation were to arise (losing my job), and it could any day now as our shop has been quite slow, the last place I would think to go is a park with my tent and a cardboard sign. Now I might pull up stakes, put my last paycheck in the tank and head for a State or National Park. After setting up camp as far away from all other humans as possible, I would gather my family together for prayer and council from Gods Word. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33. Then we’d grab the poles, go catch some grasshoppers, and get dinner. God Bless America, land of the free and home of the whiners? Get a grip, go ask someone over 80 what they would do! People over 80 would tell you to never put yourself in a position where all you had was in the control of a boss or a politician. America didn’t become a Superpower, or the breadbasket of the World because we whined the loudest. This Country began it’s decline the day we told God to get out of our schools, our government, and our business. He didn’t need clarification, but He will also not return until the 1%, the 99%, and everyone in between asks that He return. Cheers indeed!
It’s hard to believe an HR professional on the face of the earth who has not seen the impact of jobs being shipped overseas, high unemployment and stagnant wages of the majority of workers. Just in case you haven’t noticed the economic issues faced by most Americans, here are some graphs… http://read.bi/o3pbQP . You don’t have to agree with the Occupy movement but I’m growing tired of those who talk about “entitlement” and chalk the movement up to a bunch of lazy people sitting in a park. Let’s talk about entitlement…bailouts, tax loopholes, corporate welfare, overseas safe havens for money and YOY CEO pay raises (28% in 2010 while more than ½ of the top paying companies lost money for their shareholders). At the end of the day, there are those who will use a situation like OWS to pat themselves on the back for a “job well done” using it as an opportunity to feel good about themselves while blinded to the complex economic conditions around us. Unfortunately, most people are a paycheck away from camping out in a park themselves. Cheers.
Glad to see I am not the only insensitive person in the office. I am tired of hearing people that are occupying a park somewhere complaining about their student debt that they voluntarily took so they could get that degree in ancient belly button lint history and now they can’t find a job with it. Why should someone bail you out for your error in judgement in picking an area of study. Banks and GM got bailed out they say, I agree with them that we should have let them fail but that decision was made by politicians who need to be replaced. I don’t see how sitting in a park smoking pot and making picnic lunches is going to change your situation. And believe me I am not in the 1%, far from it, but trust me the people occupying wall street sure don’t speak for me.