[Dragaera] Off-Topic Discussion: Occupy Wall Street

[Howard Brazee]

On Dec 14, 2011, at 4:09 PM, andy wrote:

> Eh, legislature has become the biggest arena for regulatory capture. Business used to focus more on penetrating the commissions and governing bodies tasked with overseeing their particular bailiwick, and influencing congress critters was the means to that end.  Now industry is quite simply going for the jugular, and you have private entities like Koch industries starting political entities such as the tea party.  I always have been and remain a firm believer in sunshine laws, with full disclosure in bill creation and campaign financing.  If there was some bloodless way for the OWS movement to help with that (such as kicking the moribund journalism in the country square in the jibblies so they get off their chubby butts), I'd be whole heartedly behind them.  The whole thing just seems incredibly amorphous and goal-less (is that even a word).  It's the anti tea party. OWS seems to have vast intelligence and no point, whereas the tea party had zero intelligence and the great focus of a fat kid on a biscuit.
 
History shows that OWS type activities *have* made differences in the past.    The point may be "general dissatisfaction", but that may be enough.

The Tea Party seems to be wanting authorities to tell them unambiguous solutions/blame.    This has always been popular in times of uncertainty.   Currently this has gone beyond finding scapegoat races, behaviors, and political positions - it also includes science which isn't so authoritative with its answers.     But lots of the OWS aren't that certain of their goals (although it isn't hard to Google lists of OWS goals).