Three years after the collapse of Lehman brothers that spurred a major global economic downturn, American citizens have finally kicked up a storm and have begun to question the government's methods. Demonstrators have been camped out in Manhattan's financial district since September 17 protesting against income inequality, corporate greed and the power of financial institutions. New York financiers, they say are to blame for the economic crisis that has struck countless ordinary Americans and reverberated across the global economy.
The Obama Administration failed miserably to keep its promise of resurrecting the economy. "When the financial meltdown happened, there was a feeling that, 'Wow, things are going to change. Obama is going to pass all kinds of laws, and we are going to have a different kind of banking system, and we are going to take these financial fraudsters and bring them to justice. And then slowly this feeling that he's a bit of a gutless wonder slowly crept in, and now we're despondent again," voiced one of the protesters.
A blogger wrote, "If the Federal Government used American tax dollars to bail out the failed corporate banks, is it so wrong to be upset? We need a way to address this issue. The Occupy Wall Street movement provides a medium for discussion, in lieu of the media that has become complacent."
Although the protest was originally proposed by Adbusters magazine, the demonstration has no appointed leader. Other groups have begun to join the protest, including the NYC General Assembly and U.S. Day of Rage. The protests have brought together people of many political persuassions. The earlier disorganized protest has now started to take shape and gain worldwide momentum. Close to about $300,000 in cash also has been donated, through the movement's website and by people who give money in person at the park, said Bill Dobbs, a press liaison for the movement.
More than 70 New York protesters were arrested on Saturday. While about 175 people were arrested in Chicago after they refused to leave a park where they were camped. There were nearly 100 arrests in Arizona; 53 in Tucson and 46 in Phoenix after protesters refused police orders to disperse. In Denver, and in Sacramento about two dozen people were arrested. Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was among about 20 people arrested in California, after failing to follow police orders to disperse.
"Occupy" Wall Street inspires worldwide protest
Inspired by Spain's "indignant" movement and the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in the United States, people took to the streets on Saturday, October 15 in a rolling action targeting 951 cities in 82 countries around the world.
Masked anarchist "black block" protesters set fire to cars on Rome's central Via Cavour, causing the petrol tanks to explode. Tax office and defense ministry buildings were targeted with explosive devices and smoke bombs, media reported. A group of masked people also broke into archaeological sites near the Colosseum. One 60-year-old was reportedly injured in the face during attempts to halt the radical left-wingers, while police deployed water cannons against them.
The movement has spurred Indian sentiments too. DNA reports that several Puneites gathered at Shaniwarwada on Saturday to take part in a poster campaign in support of the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement.
The volunteers said they were inspired by the protests carried out in Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, France and recently in the US against the system. "Anna Hazare, through his movement, revealed the lacunae of the system. We want to raise these issues that have engulfed the nation on a global forum by supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement," Bal Krishna Sawant, who took part in the campaign, told DNA.
US Government's response
Since the Occupy Wall Street movement kicked off last month, big banks and their employees seem to have made a point of ignoring it, with some privately writing it off as no more than a badly organized nuisance.
But as the protest has expanded from a few hundred people in a little park in Lower Manhattan to thousands across at least two dozen cities, gaining support from labor unions, celebrities and politicians, it has become harder to ignore
As the Occupy Wall Street movement continues to grow, the response from the government has gradually changed; contemptuous dismissal has been replaced by whining, says Paul Krugman in a blog post in the Economic Times.
"For the financialization(sic) of America wasn't dictated by the invisible hand of the market. What caused the financial industry to grow much faster than the rest of the economy starting around 1980 was a series of deliberate policy choices, in particular a process of deregulation that continued right up to the eve of the 2008 crisis," he said.
Obama, whose poll numbers have fallen over his handling of the stagnant economy and high unemployment -- has voiced sympathy with the grievances of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement but has done so cautiously, not least because of his own economic team's ties to the financial industry.
"The president will continue to acknowledge the frustration that he himself shares about the need for Washington to do more to support our economic recovery and to ensure that the interest of the 99% of Americans is well-represented," spokesman Josh Earnest said when asked whether Obama would offer a message for Wall Street protesters on his trip south.
News reports now suggest that, Obama, will soon embark on a campaign-style bus tour today to rally support for his stalled jobs package trying to tap into public anger at Wall Street excess to turn up the heat on congressional Republicans.
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