What is Occupy Wallstreet?

[kandrathe]

Whats essentially being said here is if we follow the mindset of the Occupy movement, we all suffer in the long-run as the taxes would eventually trickle down to everyone to balance things out as our appetites grow. What is REALLY needed is not to tax the super rich huge rates, but a complete tax overhaul to make things fair and balanced for everyone, one that closes as many loopholes it can in the process. The Occupy movement has good basic idea, but it's muddled with anger at the rich and in it's current form would never work. But this [tax movement] is only one faucet of the cadre of ideas swelling from the Occupy movement. They really need more direction.

I agree with the article writer, but I don't think they suggest any one solution other than that ideological boneheads should not be welcome in either political office or voting booth. "...what matters is what works, not what you call it."

But, for example, social mobility... Currently, it is both the educational goals, and the cost to attain it that are out of whack. We don't need $100,000 debt ridden college educated office assistants, or bank tellers. Its nice to have, but it's not a requirement. The reason it's sometimes now requirement is that businesses have not found that high schools have properly prepared people to fill what should be an entry level, low skill job. So, bank tellers tend to be struggling business or accounting majors, and general office workers are English, history, and social science majors. We need high school graduates who can read, write, and do math. If they can't they need to fail high school.

I think another area where we fail is in how we determine what is an US company. There should be a clear benefit for being one (import/exicese duty, tax rate, what have you...). A US company should have it's headquarters in the US, pay US taxes, and employ most of its labor from the US. Then, and only then would they get the benefits of being considered a US company. And, there should be a different tax rate for US companies that do not depend on the government for hand outs. 10% for those that go it alone, and keep it at 35% for those that feed at the public trough (even a little).

It takes *real* leadership to implement fundamental changes to the society.