I've been a lefty all my life; I believe in democracy and the social safety net. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is how I live. But I don't really understand how the Occupy movement works.We should increase the tax on the rich and put a cap on how much a CEO can pull in. Multinational corporations shouldn't be allowed to form and focus should be placed back on small businesses. Banking practices should be changed.
It seems to me that the Occupy movement should be focused on changing systems of taxation and banking regulations. But how can you shift the power away from the 1% without making changes at Federal level? On their own the banks and the bosses aren't going to say, 'Hey you're right, here's half a billion." There is no Bastille to storm.
I'm glad Occupy is out there making us aware of the inequalities. Undoubtedly Occupy has raised the awareness of those in the House of Commons too. The "underrepresented who represent the 99%" should get out and vote and be represented. Vote in Members of Parliament, or vote in representatives on all levels, who get bills passed to change banking regulations and taxation. Bills passed to forgive the debts of 3rd world countries.
Write a treatise. Get the NDP to present it in Parliament. Get the New Democrats to put forth a bill with your concerns. Again and again and again. Capitalism won't dissolve but it's worth a try. Then the time the next election comes around, it'll be an issue, a plank in someone's platform. In Canada we live in a democracy but less than 60% of the eligible population bother to vote. Unfortunately voter apathy has left us with a majority Conservative government for at least 4 more years.
It seems the Occupy movement is turning into an "us versus them" movement of the marginalized or under-employed who seem more pissed at the cops right now than the banks. I have to say that the Occupy website says more about who they are than what they want. There is "music in the cafes and night and revolution in the air" it just seems to be better focused.
