thoughts before I go to work...

Typically, these thoughts are sent to my partner in an email but once-in-a-while, I feel the need to post on our blog.  What happens that, you, the reader do not see, is the fact that Vic catches all my spelling errors because my mind is moving faster than my fingers and I simply do not see the errors...  So, I want to thank him for that, but also want to draw the reader's attention to another fact that is happening right under our noses...

The protesters, in all their unique innocence, are creating an economic impact in NYC - sometimes, this is referred to as the velocity of money.  For every $1 spent in an economy, $8-$10 are generated as the dollar moves from one hand to another hand.  Some of the protesters have sleeping bags, but others are paying for motel or hotel rooms; some of the protesters brought food with them, but others have to purchase their meals, and still others are spending money on transportation and personal hygiene products that I find curiously interesting.

Depending upon how long this protesting will last, the economic impact for the city of New York could be substantial.  While all those protesters are becoming a bother, there is an economic incentive to perpetuate the protest.  Some will come out of curiosity and spend more money on their unplanned sight-seeing trip.

I recall back in the 1970's when I was managing a non-profit organization, I would explain to the Board of Directors that negative publicity in many cases, was just as valuable as positive publicity because the community was paying attention to us, where normally they would not.

But, is all this protesting misplaced or misguided? 

Do you think that any of these protesters realize that 50,000 children went missing this past year? 

Do you think that any of these protesters realize that the NBA pre-season has been completely canceled because the owners and the players cannot agree on how many millions of dollars the players need to receive? 

Do you think any of these protesters realize that bullying in our elementary and high schools is on the rise as is spouse abuse?

Alex,
I don't think any of these other issues have anything to do with the non-violent protests up in New York or, for that matter, in the other cities like Washington, D.C.  People are pissed.  This uprising has more to do with Wall Street greed, people who took down the U.S. economy and made huge profits, while the taxpayers bailed them out.  None were prosecuted, bad on the O man, and corporations are hoarding dollars making profits off investments rather than ramping up the economy by hiring more workers.  Why would they be concerned with the bullies in a High School when their fight is called survival?  Unemployment and Under-employment; politicians sitting on their assets; GE and other companies making major investments in China and Brazil; so on and so on.  Half the people marching and having the sit-ins don't even know there is an NBA lockout.  They could care less.  Vic

Vic.
My list of issues do not have anything to do with what is going on up in NYC is precisely the point.  For years, these non-violent protesters have ignored what our politicians and what our business leaders were doing, until the economy went south, and jobs were lost that now these people fear will not come back.  They were not concerned when they were asking for more money in their paychecks.  They were not concerned when they asked for retirement and medical programs for their families.  They were not concerned when fruits and vegetables remained at a low cost because non-US citizens were willing to work for below minimum wage.  They were not concerned when Nike started manufacturing athletic shoes overseas so Americans could pay less for them than they would if Americans manufactured them.  They were not concerned when gasoline prices increased as long as they had jobs and could ignore the price increases.

If they are really concerned about what is going on in this country, why did they wait for so long to speak out about all these injustices?  Why did they not vote in previous elections.  What is happening in this country is because most Americans did not care about what anyone did, as long as they had a job.

These protesters while non-violent are basically living with a "selfish" "me-oriented" attitude and are now crying because no one told them to watch out for the greedy politicians and businessmen along the way.

If they want to work, go back to school and study math and statistics, engineering and science because there are plenty of jobs in those fields.  Study nursing because we have a shortage of nurses in this country.  Instead of protesting the greed on Wall Street, go back to school and learn a skill.  How many of these protesters, I wonder, still spend money on cigarettes?  Will they protest again 20 years from now because they have lung cancer?

Protesters have to care about it all, not just 1-2 items that only pertain to them...  that was my point and the point of my list...
Alex