Occupy Wall Street movement - Research Paper Example

The Occupy Wall Street Movement The Occupy Wall Street Movement is a protest movement formed in September at the New York City’s Wall Street. Canadian activist Adbusters founded the movement with the aim of protesting against economic inequality, social injustices, high unemployment rates, corruption, and the fact that concentration of power and wealth was at the hands of a few individuals and institutions. The movement also felt that corporations were applying undue influence on the government. To do away with these kinds of mistreatments and injustices, it was necessary to protest so that the plight of the people could be heard which led to the formation of the movement. The paper will provide an argument on the kind of inequalities that the Occupy Wall Street movement was formed to fight against. The Wall Street Movement felt that the United States and the world at large were highly affected with economic inequality where power and wealth was in the hands of a few individuals and institutions. The economic inequality exist both in distribution of income and economic assets. The Movement argues that since the country’s wealth was unfairly distributed, high level of socioeconomic inequality was unavoidable. High socioeconomic inequality would have affected negatively the social welfare of the people (Collins, & Yeskel, 265). This would see a reduction in life expectancy, high infant mortality rates, emotional depressions, high rate of diseases among others. Therefore, the movement felt that if it staged a protest, this would put pressure on the government to adopt strategies that could see the socio economic disparity reduce. The means with which the economic disparity could be diminished was to pressurize the government to adopt a progressive taxation. Adopting progressive taxation would see the wealthy being taxed higher than the low-income earners. This would assist in the distribution of wealth from a few individuals to the less fortunate thus uplifting their living standards. Inequality also existed in the line of education, which the Wall Street movement protested against so that the right to education applies to everyone irrespective of class or status in the society. This is because education plays a role in the creation of inequality. The movement protested at the manner in which the government handled educational matters. The government at some points did not provide adequate facilities in some of the areas of learning. This led to low quality of education resulting in decreased labor provision in various industries. Educational inequality also existed between the rural areas and urban areas where the urban schools were given fair treatment by the state as compared to those in rural areas. The movement is of the opinion that even those who live in rural areas should not be denied access to better education. The movement, therefore, protested against the educational inequality (Conrad 77). Social heath inequality was also a matter of concern for the Occupy Wall Street Movement in America. For example, it was evident that the health facilities were discriminatorily distributed to favor just those of high status in the society. The distribution of the health facilities were according to the Movement was racially managed. A past study shows that African America women are more likely to die of a treatable disease than their white counterparts (Bartels 56). This shows the extent to which race plays a big role in the provision of health services, a thing that the Wall Street is highly opposed to. The research also shows that, the lesbians and the gays in America are discriminated against and are not provided with proper health care. All this kind of inequalities prompted the Occupy Wall Street Movement to stage a protest to ensure that the government provides health services equally without discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, or culture. Gender inequality is another issue that the movement had to protest against. For example, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2009 survey on gender equity, the United States of America was found to rank as one of the countries where gender equity was low. The gender disparity that existed did not go well with the Movement and therefore it wanted the nation to act as a good example to the rest of the world by giving women equal opportunities as men. A study shows that there is more likelihood that women in the US are likely to live in poverty, earn less at work, and fall victims of rape (Bartels 75). Women are also expected to play second fiddle in the political arena. Indeed, according to the Department of Labor, the weekly earning of women working on full-time salary is only about 80% of what their male counterparts are being paid. Another study conducted by the Department of Justice in 2009 showed that 26% of women fall victims of rape from their intimate partners compared to 5% of male victims (Bartels 76). This kind of statistics angered the women wing of the Movement and as such, they had to fight for equal rights and equality through the Occupy Wall Street Movement (Writers for the 99% 132). The Occupy Wall Street Movement was much opposed to gender inequality and discrimination since it considered as one of the contributors of poverty and vulnerability in the community and the country as a whole. The World Bank has also acknowledged that gender inequality is not good for economic growth and, therefore, measures should be taken to ensure that it is eliminated in the society. It was necessary for the Movement to protest against gender discrimination as it hampered development. Despite the many achievements that have been made in the fight against racism by people like Martin Luther King Junior and other activists, the vice is not yet done away with in the United States. The activists in most cases fought racism by staging street protests to force the government of the United State to abolish racial discrimination and slavery which latter led to the Civil War. Racism inflicted heavy burdens on different races in America among them being the African Americans, Native Americans, and Latin Americans. The racial disparity still exists in some quarters of the society. The Wall Street Movement decided to stage protests to force that government to ensure that an anti-racism law is implemented to the letter so that equality can be achieved. The Movement has been of the opinion that racism is one of the vices that has hampered development in America (Conrad 57). This is because it felt that most jobs were being awarded based on the race of an individual, something that the Movement is much opposed to. Yet again, the Movement felt that the government was not doing enough to ensure that the country has sufficient skilled labor to fulfill the ever-increasing demand for professionalism. For an economy to be stable, it must have enough workforces to do job. If labor is lacking, the economy is most likely to stagnate and in some instance, some industries may not operate for lack of skilled workforce. To get the required skilled labor, the educational facilities must be up to standards. The Occupy Wall Street Movement felt that the economy of the United State was not doing well because most industries lacked skilled labor. To ensure that the government invests in the education of its citizens so that enough professionalism can be found to reduce inequality, it had to stage a protest to push the government to this. Taxation policy was another issue that the movement felt was contributing to inequality. The Movement insisted that wanted the government adopt a tax policy that can reduce wealth disparity so as to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. In this case, it wanted the government to adopt a tax system where income tax for the rich are subjected to high tax rates through progressive taxation. Progressive tax policy would assist in the mitigation of wealth disparity, which has characterized the United States economy. The Movement also felt that the tax system adopted by the government was not doing enough to tame inflation to a manageable level. This prompted the organization to push for an appropriate tax system to reduce wealth disparity and curb inflation. This is because the previous tax rate did not have any significant change on the overall share of the wealth. For example, the United States economic data shows that the overall wealth owned by the wealthier group stood at 1% in 2007, the same as the 1965 economic survey after the government reduced marginal tax rates in 1924 (Collins & Yeskel, 265). The citizens of the United States through the Movement wanted the government to provide an economic liberalism, which they felt, was lacking and the government had no goodwill of ensuring that people gain economic freedom. The Movement felt that if they were granted economic liberalism, they would have economic freedom that would grant people a basis to control their lives without interference from the state. Through economic liberalism, individuals would be able to enjoy liberty to make choice regarding economic issues and private property. This is because economic liberalism does not allow for government intervention since the state usually serves dominant business interests and interferes with the market forces. The Movement felt that this was one of the factors that have contributed to the downfall of the economy of the country. Political inequality was yet another major issue that the Occupy Wall Street Movement was formed to fight against. A report by German Foundation ranks the US 27th in the world in terms of level of social injustice (Bartels 87). Political inequality is the order of the day especially among the republicans as was seen when President George Walker Bush decided to go to war with Iraq without approval from the citizens. The issue of presidents making sole decisions without taking into consideration public opinion shows high level of political inequality. Some scholars, however, argue that some decisions do not need the government to seek for opinions from its citizens. The Wall Street Movement wanted to push for the government to ensure that sensitive issues like those that involve going to war need consultation with the citizens (Collins, & Yeskel, 265). Political inequality is also seen in the manner in which the elections are conducted in the United States. The Occupy Street Movement feels that the use of an electoral college was one way by which the United States government denies people the chance to elect a president of their choice. The Electoral College only requires different states to appoint a representative whom they send to vote on their behalf. This is a political gimmick that does not give people the president that is popular with the people and gives room for social injustice. This was evident during the presidential election of Al Gore and George Bush that led to public uproar. Therefore, the Occupy Wall Street Movement staged a protest to ensure that such political injustices are abated so that people can have full say to elect a president of their choice (Bartels 66). Political inequality has also been witnessed in the United States between African Americans and the whites. The African Americans exert less influence on the election of officials compared to the majority whites (Griffin 1). This kind of political disparity was not acceptable to the Occupy Wall Street Movement. It, therefore, protested against this to ensure that the government of the United States implemented the egalitarian principle which requires that different racial groups are given equal political voice to be able to exert same political influence irrespective of size of the race. The Movement felt that if the principle was implemented, the minority groups would enjoy equal opportunities in the political scene (Griffin and Newman 1). The movement is highly opposed to the majority rule that the American government has been using during the election of its officials. This is because it causes division in the society and is not an avenue for democracy. The adoption of the egalitarian policy has helped the United States as was seen during the 2007 general election when Barack Obama happened to win against all odds triumphing John McCain, a white American. However, the Movement still feels that there are some elements of majority rule policy being practiced, and this has to be done away with completely (Tarrow 265). The issue of corporations exploiting the investors is another matter that the Occupy Movement was formed to address. They, therefore, had to protest at the manner in which big banks and corporations were exploiting individuals and institutions. These corporations were in most cases operating to satisfy their own interest. Banks, for example, were charging high interests on investments without the government coming in to intervene. The movement saw that if the corporations were allowed to operate without being regulated, inflation rates would rise to a level that would lead to a financial crisis. In case a financial crisis occurred, the economy would be adversely affected with possible collapse. The protest was seen as the best way of pressurizing the government to take action before the country could fall into a financial crisis (Gelder, & Staff of Yes! Magazine 84). Unemployment is one of the major problems that the government of the United States is currently faced with. Unemployment rates are especially high among the youths compared to the elderly. The Occupy Wall Street Movement attributes this to poor policies adopted to handle the issue of unemployment. The Movement felt that for the government to adopt a policy that could help in revamping the economy and reduce unemployment rate, it had to stage a protest (Collins, & Yeskel, 265). This has actually bore fruit going by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. In May 1953 according to the statistic, the unemployment rates stood at a low of 2.5 percent. Due to poor policies adopted by the government, the unemployment levels rose to 10.8 percent, the worst ever. The government has tried to reduce the unemployment rate by adopting better policies on employment. This saw the figures fall considerably as per the graph below, whereby in mid July 2011, the unemployment rate had reduced to 9.2%. However, the Occupy Wall Street Movement felt that the government was not doing enough to create more employment for its people. This led to a protest and as the graph indicates, the protest must have achieved positive rewards in pushing for job creation. The unemployment rate stood at 8.5% as at January 2012 according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The statistics is shown in the bar chart bellow. Published by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics Corruption is one of the major causes of inequality, and the reason behind the collapse of many companies in the United States of America. It is considered a vice that goes against the countries dreams and aspirations. Corruption is a result of sheer greed and is founded on human attributes. Corruption has played out in key industries in the United States leading to some collapsing, an example being the Enron Energy Company. This company was declared bankrupt after its management driven by sheer greed mismanaged it through corrupt dealings. The collapse of the company had repercussions all over the world where Enron Energy Company had interest. Other companies that have suffered the consequences of corruption in America include the Worldcom, Xerox, and Quest among others. The crashing of these companies did not go well will the people who felt that corruption is a vice that needs to be eradicated completely. The Occupy Wall Street Movement, therefore, felt that it was in order for them to pressurize the government to ensure that tight laws are enacted to ensure that corruption becomes a capital offence (Gelder & Staff of Yes! Magazine 88). In conclusion, The Occupy Wall Street Movement has played a great role in pressuring the government of the United States to ensure that equality is maintained. The protest has seen a decrease in wealth disparity between the rich and the poor. It has also ensured that the right to education is enjoyed all. The Movement’s advocacy for the abolition of racism and gender inequality has seen many women occupy high positions in the society, reducing gender violence and giving a level playing ground in politics. Democracy has also been achieved where the majority rule in the political arena is replaced with the egalitarian policy. This has seen the black American also play an active role in determining the political destiny of the country as opposed to what it used to be before. Through strong advocacy for creation of employment it is evident from the US bureaus of Labor Statistics that the economy of the country is now on course and the unemployment rate has also reduced compared to before this movement was started. The evil of corruption in the country has also been put on check due to the protest and exposure of those found with questionable deals. Work Cited Bartels, Larry M. Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age. New Jersey: Princeton University Press Publication, 2010. Print. Collins, Chuck & Yeskel, Felice. Economic Apartheid in America: a Primer on economic Inequality. New York: New Press Publication, 2011. Print. Conrad, Cecilia A. Study Guide for African Americans in the U.S Economy. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefild publication, 2005. Print. Griffin, John & Newman, Brian. Race, Political Equality, and Pluralism: Representation in Black and White. Chicago: Midwest Political Science Association Publication, 2004. Print. Gelder, Sarah, & Staff of Yes! Magazine. This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement. California: Berrett-Koehler publication, 2011. Print. Tarrow, Sidney Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics. Cambridge, New York. 2011. Print. Writers for the 99%. Occupying Wall Street: The Inside Story of action that Changed America. New York: OR Books Publication, 2011. Print. Read More