The Seeds of Reform

The “Occupation” protests are picking up steam and I am left wondering what brought them about and how the end game will be played. My first question is who, exactly, is participating?

Without a doubt, some are anarchists, plain and simple. They are in favor of dismantling the financial system with no vision of replacing it with anything at all. And they may be the most vocal and, as such, bear the greatest responsibility for getting the ball rolling. That’s OK, you know. The Viet Nam War protesters were initially comprised of ultra-doves, if you will. Their vision of no war, never, nowhere was overly simplistic, but played a major role in spreading the movement to virtually every nook and cranny of the country.

There are others coming to realize that the middle class, or at least what we’d come to call the middle class, was shrinking. In fact, the perceived earning power of this group has stagnated or decreased over the past decade or so, but was hidden through the creative financing tools of home equity loans and such. Now, deeply in debt and/or underwater on their home loans, they’re now seeking some retribution from the powers-that-be (in this instance, the financial industry).

Added to the mix are students and recent college graduates that can find no jobs and no hope in a stalled economy. These are the least noble of the demonstrators, I’d say, because they seem to feel entitled to a good job at a good wage simply because they went to college. If only they were the first to find the field they chose four years ago is no longer offering the greatest promise or reward. In light of their “me first” frame of mind, though, it should come as no surprise that they’ve joined the fray based on some semblance of unfairness.

Regardless of the position held by any single demonstrator, is the collective angst justified and well-aimed? I’d say so. Big bank bailouts have had little or no effect on the outlook of the average American. All the while, their balance sheets have returned the the robust figures of 2007. And the gap between the have’s and have not’s has never been greater. But now what?

First of all, are you still giving the big banks your money? Some of us are tied to them through mortgages, etc., but some are not. And those that aren’t should move their funds to smaller, more responsible institutions. (I left B of A after their refusal to account for bail out expenditures and am now wed to Wells Fargo. Yes, they took a bail out, too, but only when it was forced upon them. Uncle Sam didn’t want us to be able to identify the weaker sisters, it seems.) 

The only way to change the shape of the financial industry, though, is by legislating greater restrictions and closer oversight. They’ve proven that they are unfit to police themselves and there are no other options absent instilling some sort of corporate conscience into the upper echelons of management. (Good luck on that one.) Which means a degree of political activism is required from each demonstrator and anyone sympathetic to their plight.

I’ve recently suggested not voting for any incumbent nor donating any money to any campaign in an attempt to weed out career politicos and the influence that big donations ensure. Another option is not voting for any candidate running for a particular office should you find none acceptable. This is kind of the “none of the above” approach, but would speak volumes if, say only a third of the voters cast a vote for a particular position. Don’t confuse this with not going to the polls in the first place. By doing that, you’ve simply identified yourself as a non-participant and that’s the last thing you should want.

Another option is to step outside the traditional political parties and their trappings and log on to AmericansElect.org. This movement is perhaps the best chance we’ve seen in  a long time to alter the way we choose a president. If you are the least bit put off by “politics as usual”, you owe it to yourself to at least drop by the website for a look-see. What’ve you got to lose?

Should the occupiers grow tired of assembling and simply go home and sit back down in front of their nearest electronic display, then their heartfelt demonstrations will have been for naught. Like it or not, the only solution to the banking fiasco is through our political system and the only way to change that is from the ground up. Grass roots efforts will always change systems far faster than relying on any group of folks enjoying the fruits of the status quo.

So let’s all hope that something special is germinating and let’s all take pride in assisting  its growth and maturation by getting reacquainted with asking questions and doing our best to change the way Washington does business. Occupying Wall Street and other venues is a good start, but to be successful we must also occupy the voting booth.