Honestly, I think these protests are intended to deflect attention from the White House, in regards to the last 2-3 years of economic policy making that hasn't produced the results we were promised. Otherwise, why are they starting now? It would have been more salient to raise these concerns back in 2008 ...

Furthermore, to allege that "corporate and Wall Street greed" is the only reason behind the current economic predicament is to ignore the role that government played in this (and, to a lesser extent, organized labor). I'm not saying that Wall Street (Bear Stearns, Lehman Bros., Merrill, B of A) and corporations (AIG) didn't play a role, because they clearly did, but to portray them as being the only actors responsible is disingenuous. The Federal Government in the 1990s prodded banks to develop the sub-prime mortgage market, and the White House resisted efforts by the CFTC to rein in over-the-counter derivatives. Republicans don't get off scot-free either, as they controlled both the White House and Congress for six years in the 2000s and didn't do anything to head off these risks.

That being said, while most of the TARP money lent to the financial sector has been repaid, the biggest *non-payment* so far has been from the automobile industry, which is beset by onerous labor contracts. The challenges facing state and municipal governments stem primarily from the fact that they rely too much on taxing the wealthy (whose average net worth plummeted during this crisis, thereby reducing tax revenues to government), exposing the prohibitive costs these governments pay to unionized labor and pensions.

Of course, all of this is lost on the twenty-something protesters who are banging drums, blowing horns and waving pseudo-socialist red flags on the corner of Jackson and LaSalle Street in Chicago.

On a slightly trival note, could I just add that any cause that encourages women to remove their tops, I am fully behind.

Honestly, I think these protests are intended to deflect attention from the White House, in regards to the last 2-3 years of economic policy making that hasn't produced the results we were promised. Otherwise, why are they starting now? It would have been more salient to raise these concerns back in 2008 ...

Under a capitalist and free country, they can do whatever they want with the money. If they like, they can burn it to warm their hands.

But we don't have a free country or we have capitalism. China has more economy freedom than US. Business here are look to China. This is how sad this country is.

The occupy wall street people are ill inform. It is not capitalism that failed, it is corny capitalism that had failed. Our government with central planning has failed us. A true capitalism would like those "too big to failed" just failed.

To me, Capitalism can't work without balance. Socialism definitely doesn't work!

Capitalism only works when there is a high moral fiber. Rich people only get rich in my opinion because of the shoulders they have stood upon whether it be laws, people, family, education system, highways, etc...

Here in Hawaii, the wealthiest are those that tap into the State and Federal Government for their gravy train. It is disgusting to see and I hope someday to see it end. And by the way, these are people that lean HARD RIGHT!!!! Funny how that works. As long as it is for them, then government programs are great.

"If so -- if this is really about "the 99%" -- then you need to understand a few things.

Some of you already do. To those, this article is redundant. To the rest, and to the majority of the people in this nation, it is not.

Last night I appeared on Dylan Ratigan's show. You can watch the segment, and should. I used the word financialization, which a few people emailed me about and asked me to explain.

Thus, this Ticker.

So what is financialization anyway? It is the process by which something very ordinary (say, a TV set) becomes financed. In doing so there is inherently created the use (and usually the abuse) of leverage..."

On September 27th Lauren Ellis published an essay in Mother Jones Magazine entitled “Is OccupyWallStreet Working?”

The essay argues that Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is not working because the movement has no clear message and is not demographically representative of those who are affected most by the current economic problems. While Ellis does raise important points about movement-messaging and political representation, she in no way tries to understand the internal logic and outward expression of OWS.