morality is subjective so there can be no conclusive answer
it's their money, they can do what they want with it

if you can't beat em, join em (though these protests aren't trying very hard to beat em, just complaining about em an awful lot)

>>397371
FACT: The 99% in America is the top 10% for the rest of the world

OWS is just a bunch of spoiled hipsters

>1%
>Morals

HA!

No it isn't.
They just shouldn't be in the position they are in now.

>>397403

>morality is subjective

Read some 21st objective morality arguments.

FACT:
net worth of people 65 or older was 10x net worth of people below 35 in the eighties.
Now is 47x.
Yay capitalism.

the world shouldn't expect the people on top to give back the money they earned to people who are so willing to give it up to them. It's like giving someone a cookie for an apple, then expecting a cookie from the recipient.

>>397411

Shitty that America has turned from the world's standard to "at least we're not Mexico."

They shouldn't help them, but they should hurt them less

>>397411
it's true, to be honest.
That isn't to say I don't sympathize with OWS, I definitely do.

>>397510
Such arguments assume the supremacy of slave morality; the idea that all humans are equal, which is quite a dangerous claim to make.

>>397530
So about those bail outs.

Keep sucking corporate cock, morons.

>>397411

Great point, I mean, why even bother to improve our society at all, as long as we are a step above Somalia we are doing fine! Idiot.

>>397639
>posted from macbook

Is there really any reason for this to still be going on?

Fuck's sake.

>>397710
The fact that corporate greed has not taken in the direction of Carnegie is atrocious. Giving back large sums of money to the general population is the keystone of the ethical structure of capitalism, and until this is fixed the protests should continue on. Its a great platform to discuss key issues and bypass the immense bureaucratic system that is obviously failing to help the people that live in it.

Eh, if there's anything I agree with about the OWS protest it's that corporations have way too much fucking power over the government.

American here.

I've attending a few OWS meetings, and most of them are just ignorant, corporate bashing morons. Almost none of them have any semblance of an idea about any of the issues. I heard one guy say that the military budget was 50% of our overall budget. Another asshole said that we need to fight the corporations and give the money to the citizens. Another bitch said that we shouldn't end subsidies because there are some "good" companies that we could give it to. I had to explain to them all that subsidies is a primary reason why the lobbyists are such a big problem.

Another person said that we should just get rid of lobbyists altogether, I had to explain to him that it's a constitutional right.


Idiots....

>>397762
See:
>>397780

This is what the protesters are. People who know what the fuck the protest is about are few and far between. I went to one, but didn't take part in it - bunch of fucking morons there.

Aight i was behind this movement at the beginning but they're starting to piss me off now. they aren't coming up with any ideas to solve the issues they are bringing up, they don't have any focus or agenda, they've deteriorated into a bunch of fucking ignorant looking hippies.
They are right, there is a serious problem with american capitalism today, and the fact that one percent controls more then 50% of the wealth is a major problem, but we need SOLUTIONS to fix the problem, not random yelping voices.

>>397870
Protests like this always devolve this way.

It attracts all the hipsters, unemployed and homeless. A lot of them don't even know why they are protesting, they are just pissed off now.

>>397780
>I heard one guy say that the military budget was 50% of our overall budget.

It's not half the budget...but it IS as much as the next ten countries combined. He probably meant to say the US accounts for half the world's defense spending, which is mostly accurate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures

700 billion fucking dollars...holy fuck. Hell, we only need to outspend China & Russia combined to still be #1, and there'd be half a trillion left over.

>>397510
moron detected

math is objective, you fool

>>397639

>So about those bail outs.
>Keep sucking corporate cock, morons.

God dammit, stop making me hate liberals for not having a clue what the fuck goes on financially in this country.

>>397946
>You are now aware that we spend over 3 times that much on welfare and entitlements

This is so retarded, i wish they would stop using 99%, They do not represent the entirety of the 99%, most of which are fine and perfectly ok with their situation. Can they use the 19.8%? ie the 20% of the 99% who are whinging about this shit.

>>397780
Lobbying still seems pretty ridiculous and unfair to me, though as a non-American I only understand the basic premise of it.

>>397946
the people at chinese and russian airplane manufacturers are patriots
the people at lockheed and boeing airplane manufacturers are capitalists out to screw as much money out of the government as possible

the 1% exists because we allow it

They owe everything they have to the 99%

>>398009
>idon'tthinksotim.jpg
if you did then america would have proper healthcare and no niggers in poverty (not being able to afford the basics of life)

This wealth gap over the last 30 years is not the result of success, it is the result of blatant theft from the American people. The 1% committed grande larceny.

Most of you are too young to comprehend this.

>>398058
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

>implying you can rationally 'own' anything
>implying your printed paper is worth anything to me
>implying you have any real power over me
>implying

>>398071

I don't think you know what you're talking about. Entitlements are by far the largest part of The United States budget. Get educated before you use a condescending tone, Eurotrash.

>>398038

It can get pretty retarded, but it's guaranteed as a right according to our constitution. You won't see the constitution being edited any time soon. The same general grey area exists with campaign donations.

OWS are ignorant faggots.

>>398408
wow fantastic post i totally can't rebuke your iron clad reasoning

>>398423
In all fairness, that IS the Occupy movement in a nutshell.

I don't really have a problem with the protesters, but I wish they would stop shouting at me when I'm pass by on my way to work.

>>398021
Please be trolling. The "99% vs. the 1%" thing is just the catchy glorification of the protesters' cause.

>>398091
I wouldn't outright disagree, nor would I completely agree. I would say that the "1%" more or less abused its set limits to take advantage of Americans (not unlike the Carnegie era). Such is capitalism.

>>398408
>>398408
>>398408
>>398408
>>398408
>>398408
99% are. Only a meager 1% probably know their shit through and through, and even this minority will likely disown the movement due to the overwhelming concentration of mongoloids. TL;DR Yeah, OWS are ignorant faggots.

>>397371
You should give back to the community you used to make yourself wealthy, so yes.

And the amazing thing about the people opposed to the movement is that they change the topic of the debate from the influence that corporations have on our government to the protesters background themselves.

>OWS
>not a bunch of ignorant idiots

It's a shame. The right idea with the wrong mindset.

I don't care if they want to help people, that's not their responsibility
It is, however, disgusting and abhorrent that they manipulate the government, the system, and the economy, in a perverse casino where they gamble billions of dollars with each other and butcher the poor with no real responsibility at all

They didn't "work harder" to get their money. They worked as hard as everybody else, they just knew the system better or started off on a better foot - and yes, it is their responsibility to not completely rob blind the workers who've pushed them to the top.

I'm glad that the Occupy movements actually gained some ground. If you would have gone to OWS you would have seen how amazing it truly was. Everything was done by direct democracy with a 9/10ths vote being the passing margin. They had committees for everything and were able to constantly supply entertainment, food, tents, and clothes to all the participants. It was very well organized for a decentralized movement.

Now yes, there are a lot of people there that just want to say "fuck the corporations!" and don't really understand what they're talking about, but there were a lot of opportunities for people to learn about these things at OWS.

Sure there was/is no central mission, but that wasn't/isn't the point. The point was to give the people a way to express their frustrations and give them the tools to be able to actively participate in their government.

tl;dr the h8rs don't know what they're talking about

>>398716

>you are now aware that this is inherent in the system of democracy.

>>398071
No, you would just have more people getting paid sit on their ass all day long and do nothing, which means that American taxes are going to people who do not/do not want to work. Some entitlements I can agree with, like disabled Vets, but a line must be drawn somewhere. Free healthcare for emergency purposes I could support, but only if managed competantly.

>>398408
Although that may be true to a degree (and I'm most certain it is), that is still an ignorant statement unto itself.

>>398044
Cultural differneces.

>>397762
Not everyone is a philanthropist and there is still no honor among theives. Unfortnately. alot of the people you would deem "atrocious" had to lie, steal, and cheat to get where they are; they just didn't get caught (Bernard Madoff, Charles Ponzi) . But then again, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. You could also look at Bill Gates or Steve Jobs as more modern-day Carangies given their philanthropic work. (Not that all three of them didn't have skeletons in their closets as well, as I'm sure they did)

>>398716
A lot of this stems from the fact that we don't have a true free market economy and in the system of corporate capitalism we've set up, businesses are only attempting to maximize profits instead of actually doing business.

>>398846
America isn't a democracy, its a rebublic.

I think some of the stuff they are doing is great.

The mass moving of money out of the banks is great, the boycott of certain companies for the holiday season is great, the voting for political candidates is great, the holding intelligent and civilized discussions with city councils is great, and so on.

However, I really hate the "let's take to the streets and be revolutionaries" and "us vs them, fuck the police, police are eeeeevil" mentality I really hate.

Notice how one group of action gets things done and one just disrupts the peace and lives of others.

Also sage because this discussion is fucking everywhere.

The 99% are rioting in the streets and destroying shit left and right, yet nothing is on TV.

We had a huuuuge problem when the Tea Party had pictures of Obama as a witch doctor, but panic in the streets is met with silence?

>>398966
Only the idiots that are in it to be "revolutionaries" have that sort of mentality.

Also, our police are pretty evil.

>>398969
This is what is called a media blackout.

>>398980
So are people when they get in large groups and develop a sense of mob mentality, where they think they can get away with anything and not get caught because of their large numbers.

Also, I hate the "it's a conspiracy" discussion, I've seen several people post about the CIA, Jews, and so on.

>>398910
America is actually a republic.

>>398839
>Sure there was/is no central mission, but that wasn't/isn't the point. The point was to give the people a way to express their frustrations and give them the tools to be able to actively participate in their government.

You see, there's an inherent problem with just aimlessly expressing frustration. It does nothing, and it attracts ire from society at large.

I wish these occupiers wouldn't pay lip service to the movement being nonpartisan, and just admit it's a movement for liberal douchebags only. That way, there might actually start to be a mission statement and actual demands. They would have an ideology and people might actually be able to address them.

I'd be all for this, because the movement would start to discredit itself regarding its ideology, instead of the retarded hijinx the members pull.

As a right-wing libertarian I'm highly disappointed in them. It could have become a movement for young people such as myself to get involved politically, and affect change, instead it's just a bunch of dirty liberals with their retarded ideas.

>>399069
Being a libertarian myself and having gone to OWS a few times, I can tell you that it's not just a bunch of dirty liberal hippies. It REALLY IS nonpartisan. Sure there are some anti-corporation big-gubment liberals but there are also a lot of free market capitalists and libertarians and all sorts of people there. A lot of people have taught each other about their viewpoints and had a lot of inspiring lectures on many a subject from economics to philosophy.

As time passes we will see what the Occupy movements grow into, but I have a lot of hope for them.

>>399069
>It could have become a movement for young people such as myself to get involved politically, and affect change
And what, pray tell, do you think you could do to affect change? The thing about the OWS tactic is that it's designed to create a subculture. If you see OWS and think "They're protesting the banks" or "They're protesting not enough gov't handouts" then you're missing the bigger picture - individuals within the movement have individual concerns, but the bigger picture is that they all share one thing in common: They're all pissed as fuck at the current direction. Even more, it's not so much a matter of specific policies, but it's a cultural issue. The only way to change culture is to introduce a superior culture to it, which is the ultimate aim.

I mean, what else are you going to do? Rant on 4chan and then go vote for the "lesser of two evils"? The argument here is that at least showing up to vote will change the game - it doesn't. Look at Ron Paul. He has a VERY sizable group who does everything they can to support him, but what kind of candidates does the Republican Party shit out? Turdbags. Voting is merely a stopgap until certain prerequisites have been met, namely the above-mentioned cultural shift.

Hell, the superior culture doesn't need to be left or right oriented. It would be better if it redefined the meaning of governance in America, and the way that politicians relate to their constituents.

>>399104
>Being a libertarian myself and having gone to OWS a few times, I can tell you that it's not just a bunch of dirty liberal hippies.

I suppose if you wanted to be a stickler with the definition, it is nonpartisan. I've participated with my local OWS more than a few times. I suppose I should have let on to this earlier. The vast majority of the protesters are extremely liberal (think Marxist line of thought), and the rest are a minority of misplaced libertarians who thought they would find like minded individuals. The liberals poison the discourse. It would be one thing if it was an informed liberal that I could butt heads with, but these people are 99% ignorant. Pun intended.

I still participate with them though, this poster said it well (>>398966). There are a lot of initiatives that people of all parties can get behind, but they're so damn insufferable most of the time. One thing that I don't understand is how they can so easily reconcile their mistrust for government and their apparent want for more of it! *sigh*

I rarely actually go to the GA though.