Good coverage of OWS

Good coverage of OWS, pictures. This is from Riverdaughter, a chemist recently laid off. Respectable middle aged lady, professional class. See her last half dozen or so entries, covering a week or so.

http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com

Debunking the WSJ's 'poll' of OWS

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/what-occupy-wall-streets-critics-are-really-trying-to-accomplish/2011/10/18/gIQAr6MIvL_blog.html?wprss=plum-line

Azi Paybayrah obtained the internals of the poll from Schoen[the WSJ author], and it contains these radical findings: Only six percent say “income inequality” is what frustrates them most about the political process. Only four percent of protestors want the movement to achieve “radical redistribution of wealth,” while 35 percent want it to emulate the Tea Party by exerting more influence on the Democratic Party. It finds that a huge majority wants tax hikes on the rich, but so do other polls. It finds strong support for more regulation, but Wall Street reform is also supported by majorities. The poll finds that less than a third would be prepared to resort to violence — and over two thirds wouldn’t.

Putting aside whether this poll should even be seen as representative at all, it portrays a movement that seems to want to work within the system to achieve change that isn’t all that radical after all.

WSJ 'poll' - the actual questions and answers

This is from a journalist who saw the actual questions and answers and disagrees with the WSj about their interpretation.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2011/10/3790409/survey-many-occupy-wall-street-protesters-are-unhappy-democrats-who

[M]any of the protesters consider themselves Democrats, many will vote for Obama in 2012, and, relatively speaking, "income inequality" doesn't actually rank too high on their list of grievances.

What frustrates you the most about the political process in the United States? {Open Ended}

30% Influence of corporate/moneyed/special interests
21% Partisanship
15% Joblessness
7% Corruption
6% Income inequality
5% Everything
3% Our democratic/capitalist system
3% Stagnant middle class wages
2% Entrenched bureaucracy
2% Bush tax cuts
2% Obama abandoned left
2% Military spending
2% Federal Reserve


Also, fascinating:

What would you like to see the Occupy Wall Street movement achieve? {Open Ended}

35% Influence the Democratic Party the way the Tea Party has influenced the GOP
11% Break the two-party duopoly
9% Promote a national conversation
9% Engage & mobilize Progressives
8% Not sure
7% Direct Democracy
5% Overhaul of tax system: replace income tax with flat tax
4% Single payer health care
4% Radical redistribution of wealth
4% Pull out of Afghanistan immediately
4% Dissolution of our representative democracy/capitalist system

[ Resorted in order of priority ]

More details at the site.

for someone who claims he's in the 1%....

Which row of this chart are you on? It shows the top 1% beginning at $400,000/yr.

http://solutions.powersimsolutions.com/Ranking/images/Table.jpg

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Worth reading: says we need more tax brackets at the top.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2010/08/16/100816ta_talk_surowiecki