What is Occupy Wallstreet?

[kandrathe]

You miss the point. With enough money and/or influence, you can get away with murder (which some people have). Equal opportunity is not there, it's all about what influence you can exert through your money and/or connections. This means their is not equal opportunity for everyone.

Well, I do know what you are saying. I just disagree. Business *must* comply with EEO, OSHA, ADA, and any number of other laws requiring equality of opportunity. If you violate them, you *will* get slapped with a court case eventually, and the history of court action is in favor of plaintiffs.

It has everything to do with equal opportunity. There are barriers to entry and no matter how hard you work, if you do not have someone their to recognize you and move you along, you'll be stuck. I've seen too many times where the person that doesn't do anything, but has the connections gets moved up the pipeline, but people that work hard that don't have the connections get ignored. The whole point of the American Dream™ was that if you worked hard you could move up, that isn't the case anymore. Effectively, the American Dream™ is dead and you do not have an equal opportunity to move up because you worked hard, instead you now move up based on who you know which is more along the lines of nepotism instead of a good work ethic.

I think you may be putting too much burden on just what the *American Dream* is... From James Truslow Adams, Epic of America in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" -- regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.

There is no promise that if you work hard you will "move up", get promoted, or be rich. Just that you will have an equal chance to improve your station. Barring pure servitude, we all do have the opportunity to save our earnings, invest them as we see fit, own a home, gain new skills and market them. What prevents this?

My experience, and that of my siblings has been exactly this. My grandfathers were farmers, my dad was a truck driver (in the Teamster's union), and I was a computer programmer, then highly paid IT consultant, until I joined non-profit Academia. My younger sister has a Ph.D. in genetics with numerous patents, and my older sister is a Chemist researching polymers, also with numerous patents. Yes, there is nepotism (or favoritism) at times, or corruption and the world isn't entirely fair. Sometimes it's down right cruel, and evil (if you believe in that sort of thing). But, part of getting "The American Dream", is also learning how to avoid the bad roads. For me, the philosophy is simple. I don't get beat up in biker bars, because I don't go to biker bars. I don't get in trouble with the cops, because I try not to break any laws. I don't lose money on investments, because I do *alot* of research before I invest. When I "win" I'm pleased, but when I lose, I move on. If I find myself working in a company where there is nepotism, corruption, or seedy bosses, I quit and find a new job. In fact, I was pretty tired over 30 years of working for high stress, fortune 50 jobs, where I eventually had to fly 3 times a week, wear a $500 suit (and strangle myself with a tie), work 80 hours per week, and never see my wife and kids. So, for me, the "pursuit of happiness" had little to do with position, or income. I'm living *my" American Dream.