For the last several weeks, the "Occupy Wall Street" protests have persisted without any kind of coherent or cogent message. Mainstream media seems somewhat baffled as the movement has no "head" or "speaker" or representative to outline the presumed demands of the movement. Their behavior, particularly in New York City and Oakland, California, has been chaotic and anarchistic. This has led not only to an absence of clear message, but to a backlash. Even CNN Money, usually a politically liberal news outlet, has joined the fray. Below is a story posted by CNN Money last week.
The 53%: We are NOT Occupy Wall Street
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Occupy Wall Street protesters might say they represent 99% of the nation, but there's a growing number of Americans who are making it clear they are not part of the dissident crowd.
They call themselves the 53%...as in the 53% of Americans who pay federal income taxes. And they are making their voices heard on Tumblr blogs, Twitter and Facebook pages devoted to stories of personal responsibility and work ethic.
The number originates in the estimate that roughly 47% of Americans don't pay federal income tax, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The 53 percenters stress the fact that they are paying the taxes that support the government assistance the protesters say they want. Kevin Eder was among the first to galvanize those who wanted to differentiate themselves from the thousands of people rallying across the nation to raise awareness of the growing economic gap between the rich and everyone else. In early October, Eder created the Twitter hashtag #iamthe53, which has since been posted in hundreds of tweets as the backlash to Occupy Wall Street mounts.
"I would never identify myself with those occupying Wall Street," said Eder, 26, a business analyst in Washington D.C. "The frustration was born out of people claiming to speak for me who don't."
Many of those tweeting share the belief that the protesters need to stop complaining about the government and financial institutions and start looking for work. Ken Gardner, an attorney in Dallas, joined the conversation because he opposes government handouts.
"We don't want to be the 53% who carries the 47% on our shoulders," said Gardner, who thinks more people should pay federal income taxes.
Eder's hashtag helped inspire Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of the conservative website RedState.com and a CNN contributor, to set up a Tumblr blog called "We are the 53%." It mimics Occupy Wall Street "We are the 99 percent" site.
The 53% site gives a voice to those who reject the contention that most Americans are victims of the system, said Josh Trevino, "quasi-official spokesman" for the blog.
"What the 99% is missing is the element of personal responsibility," said Trevino, who is also vice president at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation. "The 53% want to bring that into the conversation."
More than a thousand people have sent in entries to the 53% site, which generally features their photo next to a piece of paper that outlines their views, as well as their struggles and work histories.
"I am responsible for my own destiny," writes one 34-year-old father of three. "I will succeed or fail because of me and me alone."
"I took jobs I didn't want. Why don't you?" says one poster to the protesters. "Suck it up and become part of the 53%."
As Frank Decker read through the posts, he felt he could relate. A public school teacher in Vancouver, Wash., Decker and his wife lived below the poverty line until they decided to go back to school to become educators. He sent in a post because he wanted to share his story.
"We didn't go through all that struggle while raising three kids to support people who don't feel they need to work or people who feel they are entitled to something they haven't earned," said Decker, 44.
At this point, neither Keder nor Trevino plan to shift their 53% efforts from the online world to the physical one. But they are both surprised at how popular the backlash has become.
"It's lasted far longer than we thought and it's become much bigger than we thought," Trevino said. "It's not over yet."
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Disregarding all of the protests, lack of clarity, and obfuscation, the REAL question is, how do we get America to return to the positive, upwardly mobile values that have characterized its history? No one would argue that "the system" was gamed during the last decade to the detriment of almost everyone if not everyone. That is not the REAL question at issue. The system WAS gamed and, as with almost every taxpayer (whether an individual or an investment banking firm or a dairy farm or a taxidermy shop), if there is a legal way to either reduce liability or expand profit, each would do so because the system provides us with those incentives. The rules of the game are provided to each us, and each of us modifies our behavior to make the most of (aka "game") the rules.
The REAL question is, how do we re-introduce into American society the spirit of entrepreneurialism and feeling that "WE CAN ACHIEVE THROUGH HARD WORK", which are markedly absent from most people today. The answer lies in small business and the rules provided to us. America was built on the growth of small business. Exceedingly few companies started their existence as highly capitalized mature enterprises. Most successful companies grew from idea to concept, concept to plan, plan to model, model to prototype, prototype to product, product to commercial success. This, I believe, is what is the root of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, although their anger is directed against the wrong target.
The fact is that we are over-regulated and, even more importantly, improperly regulated by those who do not fully understand what they are regulating (e.g., Lehman Brothers could have a 33x debt to equity ratio under then existing regulations, but the regulators will argue ad nauseum and regulate whether the term "common stock" needs to be defined in registration statements and whether a brokerage firm can accept the deposit of certificates for shares of stock valued at less than $1.00 per share). This phenomenon is a problem which has existed at least since the late 1980's or early 1990's and is not limited, by any means, to my examples. America has lost its way, it has too many and incorrect rules and regulations, and it and needs to find the route home.
What is needed first is accessible credit, incentives for investors to provide reasonably priced non-predatory equity financing, an easily accessible public marketplace, and massively reduced regulation for small enterprises so that they are not driven to the venture/vulture capital community to seek growth capital. America has never had a revenue problem. We have had a problem of regulation and spending.
Some of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests have decried what is someone's "fair share". First, the facts. Of all Americans, only 53% pay taxes. This is an astounding fact and is clearly "unfair". Whether the lowliest or the highest, we all receive benefits of our citizenship and the "social contract" which our Constitution affords us. Further, according to the National Taxpayers Union, an independent non-partisan advocate group, based on 2008, the top 5% earners of adjusted gross income in the United States paid 58.72% of all Federal personal income taxes. The top 50% paid 97.3%. In other words, 50% of the taxpayers are basically providing a "free ride" for the remaining 50%. A situation which, by definition, is "unfair".
There are no quick and easy solutions. For America to regain its entrepreneurial spirit and to become re-engaged, basic systemic changes will need to be made, and they will not be easily accomplished. Entitlements are very difficult to reduce, no less eliminate. That being said, all of the entitlement programs are wonderful if there was a realistic way to pay for them. Unfortunately in today's environment, no one can afford them. Many of us have lived well beyond our means and have not even realized it. The only way to enhance our Constitutional "social contract" is to encourage greater economic growth, the bulk of which will come through small business. It is not possible for IBM to grow at 100% per year, but 10,000 small companies could, however, each grow at the rate of several hundred percent per year with very little cost to "the system". Our goal, as Americans, should be to encourage this growth by small business, which requires a massively reduced and simplified regulatory environment. Small business has roots in its community, it cares about its employees because they are not cogs or numbers, but members of a team with names, families, and relationships, it trains employees because it is in their best interests to do so, it pays employees, it pays taxes, and it provides a portion of the social backbone which America has, in large part, lost.
My call to Occupy Wall Street is as follows: You are protesting the wrong things and you are vilifying the wrong people. Help to simplify the system. Bring back America's entrepreneurial spirit and "can do" attitude. Bring your skills to bear and find a position in a field which you love or can at least tolerate, not with a behemoth firm if that is not what suits you, but with a small business where you can contribute and make yourself indispensible. By doing so, you not only resolve your own financial situation, but may find that you build yourself a permanent home and career with a firm and people who actually care. By doing so, you may ultimately help in addressing the basic systemic issues which are plaguing America and bring us back to the greatness which I believe will all deserve.
, a local newspaper that initially reported the news and does not immediately archive all issues online. Those stolen products were worth about $3,000, the paper said.
