During the final session reserved for comments, discussions became somewhat heated when a man stood and said through the “human mic,” “We are all God’s children. We should not label each other.” Another man responded, “Issues of inequality should be at the center of discussions." A woman added, “Don’t mention God. It makes me feel like I have to hide my agnostic beliefs.”One's head spins.
Showing posts with label Occupiers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Occupiers. Show all posts
The Occupiers Speak (You Can't Make This Stuff Up)
You can't make this kind of stuff up.
To The Occupiers: My First Job Was Shovelling Gravel, What Was Yours?
My sympathies do not lie with the Occupiers. However, there are some systemic problems in the US worth addressing. I suspect the Tea Partiers will do a better job than the "give-us-free-condoms" Occupiers at addressing these, but I'll leave that for you to decide.
Here's my list:
1. US federal government "equity" policies which required banks to throw money at anyone with a pulse -- even if that pulse was sustained by welfare cheques. This was a flight from conservative fiscal reality with devastating consequences. Home ownership is an earned right, not a birth-right.
2. The federal government's aiding and abetting of the banks by easing good-sense policy constraints, etc. in the name of fuelling an artificial prosperity.
3. The immoral and unethical if not illegal actions of the banks in milking the real estate bubble for all it was worth, including creation of those slice-and-dice mortgage instruments. When scouting for real estate in Phoenix, I came across one property where the purchase price was $285,000, and the mortgage was for... $300,000. That's right, folks. The owner had negative equity in the property from the get-go.
4. The federal government's bailout of the banks, unaccompanied by censure and restrictions going forward. "All gain, no pain".
5. The federal government's student loans program which has apparently enabled universities to charge ever-increasing tuition fees, leaving graduates deeply in debt and, in this economy, with no viable game-plan to pay it off.
6. The assumption that life should be easy and "meaningful" jobs plentiful. To the Occupiers: My first job after university was shovelling gravel. What was yours?
Has the US passed its tipping-point? Probably. Because the tipping point is moral, and those with power have lost the moral restraint necessary for good governance. Much easier to live the good life now at taxpayers' expense. Kick the consequences down the road. The US needs a religious awakening, at just a time when Christianity is oozing out of American life and consciousness.
And that's the way the Ball bounces.
Here's my list:
1. US federal government "equity" policies which required banks to throw money at anyone with a pulse -- even if that pulse was sustained by welfare cheques. This was a flight from conservative fiscal reality with devastating consequences. Home ownership is an earned right, not a birth-right.
2. The federal government's aiding and abetting of the banks by easing good-sense policy constraints, etc. in the name of fuelling an artificial prosperity.
3. The immoral and unethical if not illegal actions of the banks in milking the real estate bubble for all it was worth, including creation of those slice-and-dice mortgage instruments. When scouting for real estate in Phoenix, I came across one property where the purchase price was $285,000, and the mortgage was for... $300,000. That's right, folks. The owner had negative equity in the property from the get-go.
4. The federal government's bailout of the banks, unaccompanied by censure and restrictions going forward. "All gain, no pain".
5. The federal government's student loans program which has apparently enabled universities to charge ever-increasing tuition fees, leaving graduates deeply in debt and, in this economy, with no viable game-plan to pay it off.
6. The assumption that life should be easy and "meaningful" jobs plentiful. To the Occupiers: My first job after university was shovelling gravel. What was yours?
Has the US passed its tipping-point? Probably. Because the tipping point is moral, and those with power have lost the moral restraint necessary for good governance. Much easier to live the good life now at taxpayers' expense. Kick the consequences down the road. The US needs a religious awakening, at just a time when Christianity is oozing out of American life and consciousness.
And that's the way the Ball bounces.
The Occupyification of St. Paul's Cathedral
Image by jimmyharris via FlickrMeanwhile, a protester insists that Jesus would be outside with them (hopefully without the defecating-on-peoples' doorsteps, flashing, and pleas-for-condoms bits).
The protesters do fit the profile of the kinds of people Jesus sought to win and save, though...
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