The Occupy Wall Street protests have generated plenty of commentary as to what their demands should be. The media elite, and yes, even the liberal elite, have denounced the protests as a bunch of hippies or listless spoiled college students looking for something to do.
The truth is the American people have been lied to for so long. They were told if they worked hard and followed the law they would be able to make it in America. They'd be able to get that house with a white picket fence. They'd be able to raise a family and spend time with that family.
Simply put, we lack security. We lack economic security.
Before World War II ended FDR laid out a vision for the future of American prosperity and a future for how Americans would work and live. This vision was one of stability, peace, and most of all, economic security. He laid out the Second Bill of Rights.
The Second Bill of Rights was never enacted into any meaningful law. It was never enshrined in the Constitution. It was promised and with the death of FDR, forgotten by the very people who were supposed to ensure security for the American People. If these promises had been followed through, the Great Recession would have been, perhaps, more bearable. Maybe we wouldn't have the anger and gridlock that we see today.
The American people should be demanding. They should be angry with how far down this path we've gotten. They should also take a long look at their own apathy and cynicism in government and its role in alleviating what ails our society.
The demands of the Occupy Wall Street movement should be as follows:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
BLS Job Opening Survey data shows 3.2 million job openings in July of 2011. During that same month we had 13.9 million unemployed people. Yet the rich seem to think that one of the reasons that there are unemployed people is because they are simply too lazy to go beg for a job at Burger King.
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
More and more, as inequality grows, families have to rely on two incomes to support themselves. Elizabeth Warren wrote a brilliant book on the subject, and the video above contains her talking about it.
This erosion should be an outrage, yet it happened so slowly that it was believed to be the norm. The American people shouldn't settle for this.
The right of every family to a decent home;
In 2010 there were 1.05 million seizures of homes by banks. 2.9 million foreclosures were filed. Think about that for a moment. These are actual homes of actual families being seized. In some instances banks are bulldozing homes that were foreclosed on.
This is all happening when 3.5 million people experience homelessness at some point within a year.
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
As of 2010 50 million Americans lack access to adequate health care. Really no more comment on that figure.
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
Social Security and Medicare were large acts in American politics with wide repercussions. It offered broad security for seniors in economic terms and in wellness terms. Yet this isn't extended to every American, and in these times of high unemployment, many Americans are feeling plenty of economic fear. This fear is poisoning our society.
The right to a good education.
The U.S. has some of the best colleges in the world, yet Americans pay a hefty price to get this world class education.
From CNN:
Student loan debt is on the rise, and fewer graduates are getting jobs to pay back what they borrowed.
College seniors who graduated last year owed an average of $24,000 in student loan debt, up 6% from the year before, according to a report from the Project on Student Debt.
Americans need affordable access to college and that education should be world class. Until the least among them gets the best possible education, the greatest will shine that much dimmer.
This is where America is today. We can do so much better.
The politicians are controlled by the rich. They are bought out in whole and any threat to their wealth and to the system they put in place is met with derision and mockery, as well as character assassination.
Americans shouldn't stand for the treachery and they should support Occupy Wall Street because it isn't just about getting on TV or giving idle hands something to do. It is about their lives. It is about an economic system that punishes those that play by the rules simply because they don't sit on piles of cash. It is about balancing wealth in America so that when she prospers, we all gain from it.
Simply put, the rich fear Occupy Wall Street and what it stands for because it is about the demands of those with the numbers to make something real happen.
America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens.
These rights are worth fighting for.