Monday, October 03, 2011

Occupy Wall Street, and then what?

I have a great deal of admiration for those who have taken to the street, especially Wall Street, to protest what unbridled greed has done to our country.  It takes courage to do that when one's job, or the possibility of getting a job in this down economy, is threatened by your action.  While many have taken issue with some of the coverage, some of the better coverage still show up the weaknesses of this movement.  I believe that we need to have more media savvy folks step forward as volunteer spokespersons for this grassroots effort.  This need became so apparent during a CNN segment that I watched last week..  The journalist stopped a protestor and said something like this: "I see you have a case against the excesses of capitalism.  What would you like to see in its place?"  Then, with the microphone in his face, the protestor just stood there, lost for any words.  

As a political party, Greens can not allow that loss for an alternative explanation stand.  There needs to be an answer to that question if Greens are to have a chance with a national candidate.  Lacking that answer, there will be no electoral success.  

If anyone believes that this is not very serious. then they need to read the Bloomberg News investigative report on the Koch Brothers, David and Charles, and the privately held corporation that funds so much of the Tea Party efforts. 
For six decades around the world, Koch Industries has blazed a path to riches — in part, by making illicit payments to win contracts, trading with a terrorist state, fixing prices, neglecting safety and ignoring environmental regulations. At the same time, Charles and David Koch have promoted a form of government that interferes less with company actions.
 That is about as blunt as one can get.   So every time you hear a Congressman talk about ending excessive regulation, or gutting the EPA, you are experiencing the effect of Koch power. Knowing that, what are the alternative for Greens?  As a political party, Greens do not have a single answer to that question?  There is no economic theory that sets Greens apart from the others. 

Perhaps the only thing we can agree on is that we need to put an end to Corporate Personhood.  Most Greens support Move to Amend with varying degrees of enthusiasm.  If that is the single alternative idea that we have, then we need to get Tea Party Angry that this fiction is still allowed.

No comments: