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Showing posts with label Occupy Wall Street Protest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Occupy Wall Street Protest. Show all posts
CEO pay in the U.S. jumped a minimum of 27% this year (my pay, like that of the vast majority of Americans who are still fortunate to have a job, didn't increase this year, or the last, or the last) yet the gop and tea-baggers are refusing to raise the tax rates on the income and capital gains of the 1% AND it seems yet again the democrats are going to cave and pass legislation that protects the economic inequality plaguing the nation. Congress is waging class warfare on 99% of the country and Pres Obama has become the Commander-In-Chief of this force of 535 whose motto has become to serve and protect the obscenely rich, the greedy, the corporate welfare queens and the military-industrial complex.....
While the incomes of so many Americans remain the same size or get smaller, corporate chiefs can't say they're suffering in quite the same way.
American CEOs saw pay increases of between 27 and 40 percent last year, according to a GovernanceMetrics International survey cited by the Guardian. In addition, the median value of CEOs profits on stock options jumped to $1.3 million from $950,400.
This, even after Congress passed financial reform regulations that included provisions aimed at making CEO pay more transparent by allowing shareholders to weigh in.
The survey's findings may resonate with Occupy movement activists, who have been railing against income inequality since the protests first started. Indeed, CEO pay by itself exceeded the amount that his or her corporation paid in income taxes in at least 25 cases last year. And in the year before America's highest-highest-paid corporate chief netted more than $145 million, U.S. median income fell to below $27,000, meaning half of all earners made less than that.
But John Hammergren, CEO of healthcare provider McKesson, isn't the only boss taking home the big bucks. JPMorgan Chase Chief Jamie Dimon got a $19 million raise in 2010 and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein netted an extra $3.6 million in bonuses last year.
The news is a good sign for people in the top one percent of earners, who saw their incomes drop by roughly a third in the official years of the recession, according to a recent report by The New York Times. Still, even after that fall, the net worth of one percenters remained 200 times higher than that of the median national income, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Some CEOs even got huge pay packages for not doing their jobs. Eugene Isenberg took home $100 million for dropping his title as CEO of Nabors Industries in October. While Dougless Foshee, the CEO of natural gas pipeline operator El Paso, became eligible for an exit package worth $95 million after the company was acquired by rival Kinder Morgan.
Still, some don't seem to mind the huge CEO paydays. The vast majority of corporate shareholders say that CEOs are being compensated correctly, according to an October study from research firm Equilar.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post said an increase to $1.3 million from $950.000 is a 70 percent increase. It is a 36.8 percent increase.
What other jobs do the richest Americans hold? Find the answer below:
10. Business Operations (Nonfinance)
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Percentage of top 1 percent with occupation in 2005: 3 percent Percentage of top 1 percent with occupation in 1979: 2.4 percent
NOT all 1%ers are greedy pigs. Some recognize the social contract they have with the nation, and know income inequality is wrong. Some of them have joined together in the group called Patriotic Millionaires For Fiscal Strength, advocating for higher taxes on the wealthy, those making over 1 million dollars a year. Typically, the repiglicans and tea-baggers response has been for these people to donate the difference between what these people pay in taxes and what they think they should be paying to the US Treasury. That is rejected by the PMFS because it doesn't fulfill the social contract obligation the rich have to the nation and would only go to subsidizing the truly greed of the 1%. Check out this call from Dan Berger on HuffPost, a millionaire, in support of higher taxes on the wealthy, and take the time to click on the link to their website. You can sign their letter to congress to raise taxes on the 1% even if you're not a millionaire!
Some conservatives complain it's class warfare to harp on income inequality and to say the rich should pay higher taxes. Philadelphia's Dan Berger, an avowed member of the richest 1 percent of Americans, says calling attention to uneven incomes is a step toward averting class warfare.
"The wealthy in this country have the biggest stake because they own the most wealth and property," said Berger, who made his millions as a trial lawyer pursuing antitrust, environmental, and civil and human rights cases. "Since they have the biggest stake, they have the biggest stake in ensuring harmonious political and social relations and conditions in society."
Berger, 64, is a major donor to liberal causes and the Democratic party, which he would like to prevail in its effort to reduce the deficit by raising taxes on millionaires such as himself. To that end, he joined a group called "Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength," which is devoted to lobbying for taxes on its own members -- the super rich.
Incomes for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans grew faster than for any other income group over the past few decades, according to a recent report from economists at the Congressional Budget Office. From 1979 to 2007, the richest 1 percent saw their after-tax income soar by 275 percent. It grew by 65 percent for the next 19 percent, under 40 percent for the next 60 percent, and just 18 percent for the bottom fifth of taxpayers.
It's against this backdrop Congress is wrestling with how to shrink the federal budget deficit, with Republicans opposed to tax increases and Democrats against spending cuts to social programs. The Obama administration has said allowing the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000 would raise $866 billion over 10 years. Democrats have also pushed proposals to hike rates solely on those earning more than $1 million per year.
Berger said he sees widening income inequality as a moral wrong, but also something the well-off should worry about for more practical reasons. "In enlightened self interest you would think the wealthy would go along with [reducing economic inequality]," he said. "There are a limited number of countries you can pack up and move to in the event things get totally out of control."
He said the unrest manifested as Occupy Wall Street protests across the country represents the "tip of the iceberg" in terms of what could happen if people really get angry one day. "I do see a link between the Patriotic Millionaires and Occupy Wall Street," Berger said. "They dramatized the issue. I think just dramatizing the issue is a step forward."
EYEWITNESS report and video from Mother Jones reporter Josh Harkinson of the raid and eviction of the Occupy Wall Street protesters at Zuccotti Park in NYC. What a sad comment on this nation's political leaders that the raids and evictions of the Occupy Wall Street protesters had to take place in the dead of night and involved the banning and even the arrest of reporters to hide the governments actions. This would be expected in a country not claiming to be a democracy, but any more we shouldn't be surprised it is happening here too......the protesters showed what democracy looks like, the government and the police showed what fascism looks like....
By about 4 a.m. today, New York City police had pushed the media out of Zuccotti Park and were preparing to evict the few dozen protesters who remained. Yet there I was, standing in the park amid a gaggle of high-ranking officers, quietly watching the whole thing unfold.
"You gonna occupy awhile?" one officer cracked to another.
"Yeah," the other guy smiled.
I stood next to them against a short granite wall, trying to avoid notice.
Like the other reporters who'd swarmed to Lower Manhattan to cover the eviction, I'd quickly discovered that the media was not allowed here. The police had created a one-block buffer zone around the park—in some areas two or three blocks—and were refusing to admit even the most credentialed members of the press. A New York Times reporter had already been arrested, a member of the National Lawyers Guild told me. I feared that Occupy Wall Street's big day was being censored.
As occupiers streamed out of the park, harried by baton-wielding cops, I resolved to get inside. Shielded from view by a car, I slipped under a barricade and came to another blockade across the street from the park's southeast corner, where I cut through a hole and was quickly approached by a police officer. "I'm not an occupier," I told him, holding out my business card.
"That's great, he said, pointing away from the park. "But you are going to have to wait on the other side of the street."
I waited, and when nobody was looking, I crossed back over as confidently as I could and entered a scrum of suit-wearing police brass and cleanup workers scrubbing the park's sidewalk. Nobody bothered to stop me as I strode up to the park's northern entrance and stopped against a wall, a few yards from where police in helmets surrounded the the remaining occupiers.
Next to me, an officer was telling an important-looking guy named Eddie about "the intel we've had over the past couple of months" about "the severely mentally retarded, the ones that are real fucked up in the head, and have been violent in the past." He went on: "They are a little off kilter. They're off their meds. They haven't had meds in 30 days."
"I'm only 24 hours off mine," Eddie joked.
"It's good for you, Eddie," the cop said. "You've got to come clean every once in a while."
As the two men talked, a sweaty-faced man wearing a neon vest over a business suit walked up and started tearing protest signs off the wall."I couldn't wait," he said. "Destroying things never felt so good."
"Really," someone said, almost inflecting the word as a question.
"They're fucking assholes," the guy in the suit shot back.
Another guy came up to Eddie. "How are we about hooking up the fire hydrants?" he asked. "We talkin' to somebody?"
"Do it. Do it," Eddie said over the roar of a garbage truck.
A few yards away, the last occupiers took turns waving a large American flag. Huddled inside the park's makeshift kitchen, they seemed as diverse as Occupy Wall Street: There was a shaggy punk in a spiky leather jacket. A young girl in a red sweatshirt that read "Unity." Clean-shaven guys wearing glasses. A shirtless occupier named Ted Hall, who has led an effort to hone the movement's "visions and goals." All of them surrounded a smaller group of occupiers who'd chained their necks to a pole.
A white-shirted officer moved in with a bullhorn. "If you don't leave the park you are subject to arrest. Now is your opportunity to leave the park."
Nobody budged. As a lone drum pounded, I climbed up on the wall to get a better view.
"Can I help you?" an burly officer asked me, his helpfulness belied by his scowl.
"I'm a reporter," I told him.
"This is a frozen zone, all right?" he said, using a term I'd never heard before. "Just like them, you have to leave the area. If you do not, you will be subject to arrest."
By then, riot police were moving in, indiscriminately dousing the peaceful protesters with what looked like pepper spray or some sort of gas. As people yelled and screamed and cried, I tried to stay calm.
"I promise to leave once the arrests are done," I replied.
"This is a frozen zone," one cop insisted. "You could be injured." His meaning was clear.
"No, you are going to leave now."
He grabbed my arm and began dragging me off. My shoes skidded across the park's slimy granite floor. All around me, zip-cuffed occupiers writhed on the ground beneath a fog of chemicals.
"I just want to witness what is going on here," I yelped.
"You can witness it with the rest of the press," he said. Which, of course, meant not witnessing it.
"Why are you excluding the press from observing this?" I asked.
"Because this is a frozen zone. It's a police action going on. You could be injured."
His meaning was clear. I let myself be hustled across the street to the press pen.
"What's your name?"
His reply came as fast as he could turn away: "Watch your back."
Josh Harkinson is a staff reporter at Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. Email him with tips at jharkinson (at) motherjones (dot) com. To follow him on Twitter, click here. Get Josh Harkinson's RSS feed.
Do you appreciate fair and factual reporting on Occupy Wall Street? Please donate a few bucks to help us expand our coverage.
While Occupy Oakland fails to take a firm position on the use of "black bloc" tactics, occupiers around the country worry that further vandalism could tar the movement at large.
THE local, state and federal governments have not hesitated to arrest and prosecute nonviolent Occupy Wall Street protesters across the country for demanding those responsible for the recession be held accountable, including the arrest and prosecution of some of the "leaders" of the banking-financial cabal. NOW the U.S. Justice Dept is considering granting civil and criminal immunity to these same people on Wall Street. Rep Tammy Baldwin D WI has introduced a resolution
"Congressional Resolution: Banks "who engaged in fraudulent behavior should not be granted criminal or civil immunity for potential wrongdoing related to illegal mortgage and foreclosure practices...the Federal Government and State attorneys general should proceed with full investigations into claims of fraudulent behavior by the banks". So far only 27 members of the House are co-sponsors. We, the 99%, have the right to demand accountability for those who have committed the financial crimes that have devastated our nation. Click the link to sign the petition demanding no immunity for wall street banks.
We recently achieved a big victory for Wall Street accountability.
Over 100,000 of us took action with friends across the progressive community, and we killed a proposed 50-state deal that would give criminal and civil immunity to Wall Street banks. But now, top Justice Department officials are trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They have been pushing hard to bring the Wall Street immunity deal back from the dead.
Fortunately, Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) leaped into action with a congressional resolution opposing Wall Street immunity. Within days, 27 of her colleagues signed on -- and the more co-sponsors we get, the more pressure the Justice Department will feel to back off. Can you sign on as a citizen signer of Baldwin's resolution against Wall Street immunity? Click here to sign.
We'll deliver these signatures to local congressional offices -- and make calls to Representatives like Frank Wolf urging them to sign on to Baldwin's resolution.
As more members of Congress join Rep. Baldwin in speaking out, the Justice Department will increasingly realize that a backroom deal with Wall Street is impossible -- and undesirable. This fight is happening in public view, and the public demands real accountability. Click here to be a citizen signer of Tammy Baldwin's resolution.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, Kristiane Skolmen, Conor Kennedy, Jordan Krueger, and the rest of the PCCC team. Named The Nation's "Most Valuable Online Activism of 2010"—thanks to you. Help us continue our effective, independent progressive activism.Chip in here.
ANOTHER source for up to date reporting on the Occupy Wall Street protest in NYC from Mother Jones, click the header to go to the live blog, and also sign the petition to Mayor Bloomberg and the U.S. Conference of Mayors to stop the repression and arrest of reporters trying to cover the story.........
And more live coverage from Occupy Wall Street's international day of action.
What comes next after New York authorities evicted protesters from Zuccotti Park?
Josh Harkinson is a staff reporter at Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. Email him with tips at jharkinson (at) motherjones (dot) com. To follow him on Twitter, click here. Get Josh Harkinson's RSS feed.
Do you appreciate fair and factual reporting on Occupy Wall Street? Please donate a few bucks to help us expand our coverage.
Early Tuesday morning, the New York Police Department forcibly evacuated Zuccotti Park, home of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The move provoked a clash not only with protesters but with the press. In what appears to have been a coordinated effort to block coverage of the raid, the police barred many journalists from reporting on the police action.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the police kept the media away “to prevent a situation from getting worse and to protect members of the press.”
But according to the New York Times, one journalist told a police officer “I’m press!” and the officer just responded “Not tonight.”
If the mayor of our country's largest city thinks protecting the press means silencing them, we're in big trouble. And he’s not alone. Police harassment of the media has been reported during "Occupy" protests in Chicago, Denver, Oakland, Portland and beyond. More arrests are expected today as protests continue nationwide.
It’s time to tell mayors across the country to uphold our press freedoms.
The NYPD is using more than words to fight journalists. On Tuesday, 10 reporters were arrested, another was put in a choke hold, and others were subjected to police harassment.
In fact, since the birth of the Occupy Wall Street movement two months ago, 23 journalists have been arrested2, 3 and countless others have been roughed up, tear-gassed and pepper sprayed. There have even been reports of police using high-powered strobe lights to disable video cameras and block people from recording their actions.
UPDATES on the Occupy Wall Street protest in NYC and around the country following the crackdown and eviction actions by the local, state and federal governments. Click the link to get live updates from HuffPost...
By COLLEEN LONG and VERENA DOBNIK - Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has upheld the city's dismantling of the Occupy Wall Street encampment, saying that the protesters' first amendment rights don't entitle them to camp out indefinitely in the plaza. (CLICK HERE OR SCROLL DOWN FOR LATEST UPDATES)
Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman on Tuesday denied a motion by the demonstrators seeking to be allowed back into the park with their tents and sleeping bags.
Police cleared out the protesters in a nighttime sweep early Tuesday. The judge upheld the city's effective eviction of the protesters after an emergency appeal by the National Lawyers Guild.
The protesters have been camped out in privately owned Zuccotti Park since mid-September. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he ordered the sweep because health and safety conditions and become "intolerable" in the crowded plaza.
After the ruling came down, protesters were allowed to reenter the park, albeit without any bulky items or large backpacks. Even with the restrictions, however, the mood among the protesters was reportedly jubilant.
Crowds cheer on the livestream as protesters remove barricades on the south side of the park.
Chants of "Who's Park? Our park!"
Police stand by, watching.
According to the livestream, police have blocked off Beaver and Broadway and are only letting some people through.
Police say only people who work or live on the street can pass through. They are asking for identification to use the street.
One man has been denied passage to go to the subway, even though he is not a protester.
The Occupy Wall Street Movement and its sister protests are taking part in an international day of action on Thursday. Protests were planned in Belgium, Germany, Spain and across the U.S.
In downtown Los Angeles, hundreds of protesters planned to shut down streets during the morning rush hour.
Demonstrators were set to gather at 7 a.m. at the Bank of America Plaza and then march to 4th and Figueroa streets.
Members of Occupy Los Angeles and Good Jobs LA are calling on Congress to hold Wall Street accountable. They're targeting Bank of America for taking bailout money and paying its CEO a hefty salary.
The barricades at Zuccotti have been opened and people are streaming into the park, apparently now able to bring in large backpacks without problem.
Someone yells "The kitchen is open!"
The Christian Science Monitor filed an early dispatch on the on-going march on Wall Street. The newspaper reports:
The march is due to kick off a day of action at the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street movement two days after police cleared a camp of hundreds of protesters from Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan on Tuesday.
"I feel like this is a beautiful moment to take back our streets, especially after the eviction. We need to prove we can exist anywhere. It's gone beyond a single neighborhood, it's really an idea,'' said Rachel Falcone, 27, from Brooklyn.
Most rallies by the 2-month-old movement have numbered in the hundreds of people in New York. A spokesman for the protesters said Wednesday they expected tens of thousands for this one.
Peter Cohen, 47, anthropologist from New York, wore a suit for the protest in a bid to improve the movement's image.
"I have a job and (the suit) on because I'm tired of the way this movement has been characterized as a fringe movement,'' he said. "I'm not looking for money, I'm not looking for a job, I'm not a professional activist, just a normal citizen.''
Anthony DeRosa points out that today's Day Of Action marks the first time Occupy Wall Street is literally trying to Occupy Wall Street
The NYCLU reports that the four intersections to Wall Street are blocked by protesters. Police threatening arrests if the protesters don't disperse.
@ RDevro : As they chanted, "This is a non-violent protest," NYPD broke through Deutsche Bank barricade, knocking people down. Three arrests. #ows #N17
