Occupy Wall Street has taken center stage for the Democratic Party and their enthusiasts. The ragtag mob of malcontents is getting support from unions and the likes of billionaire hedge fund guru George Soros, both connected with the Democratic Party. As the occupiers attract more media coverage, they become more belligerent. Rather than running for cover as things run amok, former Obama administration official and Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren claimed credit for the "intellectual foundation" of the movement.
Frontline big-city mayors are growing weary of the unruly throngs because of the problems they have created for their citizens and visitors. In Oakland; Atlanta; and Providence, Rhode Island, city officials are taking steps to shut down OWS operations and return their cities to normal. Simultaneously, in an obvious attempt to win over young people before the 2012 election, President Obama told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show that "people are frustrated," and then he offered to forgive student loans and more.
OWS activists tend to be young, naïve, and foolish, and they have no agenda. The protesters are against things like corporate greed and income inequality, and they are for fairness and taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Few if any of them have a grip on the facts. For instance, in 2008,
- the top 1% of earners in the United States paid 38% of federal income taxes;
- the top 5% of earners paid 59% of federal income taxes;
- the top 10% of earners paid 70% of federal income taxes;
- the top 25% of earners paid more than 86% of federal income taxes;
- the top 50% of earners paid more than 97% of federal income taxes;
- and the bottom 50% of earners in the United States paid less than 3% of federal income taxes.
In 2009, the top 10 percent of earners in the United States paid about 73 percent of federal income taxes, and about 47 percent of our fellow citizens paid no federal income taxes. In 2009, the bottom 40 percent of earners actually made a profit on tax day because they got more money back from the federal government than they paid in.
