The ‘Occupy’ movement has become widespread across the country with at least one message that is clear and most people agree on – ‘end the corruption in politics’. They have a slew of other messages that vary but we’ll stick to this one talking point. The Occupiers maintain that corporations buy politicians and therefore control the government. They want all money out of politics. This is completely understandable and most people would agree on this point except for one little thing: They have partnered with unions who contribute millions of dollars to politicking every single year. Have they forgotten that Trumka visits the White House often? Talk about corruption!
Unions spend a fortune on elections and lobbying on issues each and every year. According to OpenSecrets.org, several Unions are considered ‘Heavy Hitters’ when it comes to lobbying Congress:
Union Lobbying
Union leaders, who were initially cautious in embracing the Occupy movement, have in recent weeks showered the protesters with help — tents, air mattresses, propane heaters and tons of food. The protesters, for their part, have joined in union marches and picket lines across the nation. About 100 protesters from Occupy Wall Street are expected to join a Teamsters picket line at the Sotheby’s auction house in Manhattan on Wednesday night to back the union in a bitter contract fight.
So not only has the Occupy movement embraced the multi-million dollar a year politicking unions but the unions have even found a way to make ‘useful idiots’ out of the Occupiers. What is also ironic is that many Union Presidents are IN the 1% (which falls right under $344,000). The Occupy movement is holding hands with the very people that help corrupt and buy the political system and also happen to be 1%ers – those who appear to be the most revolting to Occupiers. This is what hypocrisy looks like.
Granite State Independent 
November 13th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Eh. I had a guy dressed in a sharp suit come by one morning, shake my hand, and tell me, “I’m in the 1%, and I support what you’re doing.”
The concentration of wealth is so crazy, it’s not really about one in a hundred people. It’s about one in hundreds of thousands. “One percent” is just the catchy phrase.
The real issue is not that we have rich and poor. We always will. I’m fine with that. But when the people who run this country get paid million dollar bonuses on top of their million dollar salaries to make bad business decisions that hurt their own companies, that Uncle Sam has to then bail out to the tune of billions of dollars, and we-the-people pay for those bad decisions with lost jobs and lost houses — something is wrong.
Conrad.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
Conrad , get a grip. You miss the point. The number of people who get mega salaries and bonuses a tiny part of the so called one percent. If one works hard, has a good job, one can lead a comfortable life. To get those jobs back, we need to get rid of the cancer that is in the white house in 2012.