We see right now the protests happening around the world called Occupy Wall Street. The people are angry and this is their way of expressing their anger at what is happening in the world today. It is making an impact because it is already part of the political conversation and it is already being infiltrated by the powers that be to demean it. This is a great example of what happens when people stand together. But is what they are protesting only a small part of the problem?
Our country was created to be a bottom line society, the opportunity to make a better life for ones self and family. The reason why most people came to this country was to be free land owners, again the opportunity for a better life. Over the years, the changes in our country have been to make it a better country but we never strayed from being a bottom line society. Each war, each technological change, each improvement we did made the country better but an end result was it also created a larger economic gap between its citizen's. Its seems only now where the gap has become so large that we see it as a problem. This gap needs to be reduced to bring our country back to the way it should be.
So even though we protest the way Wall Street has been allowed to be destructive on our country, it is only a small part of the problem. As with alot of our problems we only seem to focus on a small part or something that clouds the real problem. When you only focus or fix part of the problem, the issues will still exist, it is like only cutting off the one of the heads of a three headed dragon. Each problem has to be tackled because if they are not dealt with then it will continue to be an anchor on the country. The answer to the problems cannot be fixed by one person, one election or even one president. It is something that has to be done by everyone, the citizen's, the politicians and yes even the greedy Wall Street executives that are being protested. If all levels do not get involved, then all levels do not have a voice and that is what is happening now. We have ignored our problems to where we are not hearing all of the voices that need to be listened to.
So what are the other problems we are seeing as a bottom line society. Obviously, the greed and corruption on Wall Street has been the highlighted one. What about the corporations of America that have also used greed and manipulation as part of business? What about the politicians? Have we ever looked back on the good or bad part of the changes that we make from a financial aspect? What about us as citizen's, do we really think we have no stake or responsibility in what is happening in this country? Is it now time for us to look at the in efficiency of our country that may have caused us to not keep up with the every changing world?
Corporations have been allowed to make changes based on greed that effect people's lives yet no one has held them responsible for it. Enron, World Com, the list goes on and on. The companies make millions, even billions, of dollars of profits and millions of dollars of cash on hand, yet are still laying off workers or sending jobs to cheaper countries. The agencies and representatives that are suppose to be protecting the countries are being deregulated or are understaffed to provide the support.
Have we ever thought about when we fight for something to be changed how the financial impact effects us all? When something is bad and should be removed, do we ever wonder how we are going to replace the financial impact of it? For instance, slavery was a bad thing and should have been changed a long time before it was. However, the financial impact to the country for abolishing slavery was billions of dollars loss to the economy, something that hurt several states. Mississippi went from one of the richest states in the country to one of the poorest because of this one thing. Should there not have been something in place to help replace that loss?
Do we really think that we as citizen's get a free pass on responsibility in this crisis? We are the consumers that drive the business decisions that are made. We are the one's who vote these corrupt people into office yet complain when they are corrupt. We are the ones who complain that our taxes are too high. Just by going to buy your coffee at Starbucks instead of the mom and pop coffee shop down the street, you have effected our economy in a way you may not have realized.
I believe that we have always been an inefficient society, we have always done more work than we needed to get the end product. We always wanted to be paid more for doing that same work, even if that work was not efficient. Now people are asked to do even more work for the same pay, which still makes it inefficient but harder to accept. We lay off someone and expect that work to be taken up by someone else, who then gets stressed out and leaves as well. Have we ever just bothered to go through our processes and see where the inefficiencies are and do the right amount of work for the right pay?
I see these as the problems because they have always been the problems of our society, no matter how far back in our history you go. We just have either chosen to ignore them or maybe they were hidden beneath a pile of other problems that never allowed them the priority they should be given. Well, now is the the time to give these problems that priority. Maybe Occupy Wall Street is the start of that priority but it should not be the end.
Our country was created to be a bottom line society, the opportunity to make a better life for ones self and family. The reason why most people came to this country was to be free land owners, again the opportunity for a better life. Over the years, the changes in our country have been to make it a better country but we never strayed from being a bottom line society. Each war, each technological change, each improvement we did made the country better but an end result was it also created a larger economic gap between its citizen's. Its seems only now where the gap has become so large that we see it as a problem. This gap needs to be reduced to bring our country back to the way it should be.
So even though we protest the way Wall Street has been allowed to be destructive on our country, it is only a small part of the problem. As with alot of our problems we only seem to focus on a small part or something that clouds the real problem. When you only focus or fix part of the problem, the issues will still exist, it is like only cutting off the one of the heads of a three headed dragon. Each problem has to be tackled because if they are not dealt with then it will continue to be an anchor on the country. The answer to the problems cannot be fixed by one person, one election or even one president. It is something that has to be done by everyone, the citizen's, the politicians and yes even the greedy Wall Street executives that are being protested. If all levels do not get involved, then all levels do not have a voice and that is what is happening now. We have ignored our problems to where we are not hearing all of the voices that need to be listened to.
So what are the other problems we are seeing as a bottom line society. Obviously, the greed and corruption on Wall Street has been the highlighted one. What about the corporations of America that have also used greed and manipulation as part of business? What about the politicians? Have we ever looked back on the good or bad part of the changes that we make from a financial aspect? What about us as citizen's, do we really think we have no stake or responsibility in what is happening in this country? Is it now time for us to look at the in efficiency of our country that may have caused us to not keep up with the every changing world?
Corporations have been allowed to make changes based on greed that effect people's lives yet no one has held them responsible for it. Enron, World Com, the list goes on and on. The companies make millions, even billions, of dollars of profits and millions of dollars of cash on hand, yet are still laying off workers or sending jobs to cheaper countries. The agencies and representatives that are suppose to be protecting the countries are being deregulated or are understaffed to provide the support.
Have we ever thought about when we fight for something to be changed how the financial impact effects us all? When something is bad and should be removed, do we ever wonder how we are going to replace the financial impact of it? For instance, slavery was a bad thing and should have been changed a long time before it was. However, the financial impact to the country for abolishing slavery was billions of dollars loss to the economy, something that hurt several states. Mississippi went from one of the richest states in the country to one of the poorest because of this one thing. Should there not have been something in place to help replace that loss?
Do we really think that we as citizen's get a free pass on responsibility in this crisis? We are the consumers that drive the business decisions that are made. We are the one's who vote these corrupt people into office yet complain when they are corrupt. We are the ones who complain that our taxes are too high. Just by going to buy your coffee at Starbucks instead of the mom and pop coffee shop down the street, you have effected our economy in a way you may not have realized.
I believe that we have always been an inefficient society, we have always done more work than we needed to get the end product. We always wanted to be paid more for doing that same work, even if that work was not efficient. Now people are asked to do even more work for the same pay, which still makes it inefficient but harder to accept. We lay off someone and expect that work to be taken up by someone else, who then gets stressed out and leaves as well. Have we ever just bothered to go through our processes and see where the inefficiencies are and do the right amount of work for the right pay?
I see these as the problems because they have always been the problems of our society, no matter how far back in our history you go. We just have either chosen to ignore them or maybe they were hidden beneath a pile of other problems that never allowed them the priority they should be given. Well, now is the the time to give these problems that priority. Maybe Occupy Wall Street is the start of that priority but it should not be the end.
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