Occupy Wall Street/ Tea Party
As time has passed by, there has been an increasing concern about the United States economic position. The Republicans and Democrats have yet to make a compromise about a plan to help improve the economy, other than the American Jobs Act. President Obama formed the American Jobs Act, which would increase taxes for the rich, increase employment, and tax cuts for middle-class families. Congress did not pass the act because they felt that there wasn’t enough money to fund the American Jobs Act. Therefore, we are now left with the majority of the country unsatisfied with the government and the President of the United States.
Since, there has not been a change with the inequality, corruption, and greed in the U.S.; the people of New York have decided to protest by occupying Wall Street. The people have decided to sleep outside in groups in the city of Manhattan and various other places. The Occupy Wall Street movement is a group of people that feel that their viewpoints need to be heard. The people feel that everyone does not have equal opportunities to obtain a job and that there is plenty of discrimination, when trying to obtain a job. Also they feel that there is too much corruption in the U.S. because of violence, tax invasion, crime, etc. The people feel that the rich are only looking out for their own interests and care nothing for those who are not rich.
The Occupy Wall Street movement feels that the working class are treated unfairly for the simple fact that they have higher taxes than that of the rich people. The Occupy Wall Street movement are seen in the eyes of some as Democrats because of their beliefs and viewpoints. The people that are a part of this movement feel that in order to improve the economy; we must have a bigger government, more people in control, more spending, etc. Overall, the people in this movement demand better paying jobs with transportation, education, and a healthcare system. I agree with the Occupy Wall street movement simply because I feel that in order to boost our economy we must spend more and that everyone should have a better paying job.
The functionalist viewpoint of the Occupy Wall street movement would be that inequality is inevitable and is necessary in order to sustain structure in our society. A functionalist would say that there must be some sort of balance in our society, where some people are rich and others are poor, in order to keep people employed and motivated to work harder to reach America’s idea of success. Also, a functionalist would say that corruption is necessary too, in order to keep people employed, making money, paying taxes, etc.
The conflict viewpoint of the Occupy Wall street movement would be that the people are going against the government, people in higher power, in order to fight in what they believe in. The problem is in most cases that the people with more money always tend to win. Also, a conflictionist would point out that there is conflict between the Democrats and Republicans based off each other’s viewpoints, but not on a personal level.
The interactionalist viewpoint of the Occupy Wall street movement would be that viewpoints, the media, reactions, and actions change all of the time. The movements, thoughts, ideas, are all apart of how individuals act with one another. Their viewpoint would be that these are people are tired of working hard but not being rewarded the way they should for their hard work. As a society, we tend to overlook those who help us to be in the high position that we are in. The behavior that these people have to the government is hostile. The people involved in the movement are protesting now instead of at an earlier time is interesting to sociologists. Sociologists wonder if the downward spiral of the economy and the President’s unsuccessful attempt to improve it is what sparked the people of New York City.
The Tea Party are a group of people that feel that there should be a smaller government, less spending, and no high taxes on the rich. Some people feel that this is only a way of the rich people maintaining their control and wealth. Other people feel that there might be too many people, who are a part of the government. Maybe, a smaller government would be simple, easily controllable, and more organized than the people in the Congress and Senate. The people apart of this movement consider themselves to be Republicans. I disagree with the Tea Party because I feel like there should be more consumers buying products and that a bigger government is necessary in order to hear the opinions of many people.
The functionalist viewpoint about the Tea Party would be that a smaller government would be useful to help maintain social structure throughout the country. They would feel that unfairness in this case would be good. The conflict viewpoint about the Tea Party is that neither movement can come to an agreement and that conflict will not be solved any time soon. The interactionalist viewpoint about the Tea Party is that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and their actions. They feel that we will do what we want based off of needs, wants, motivation from others etc. The differences between the Tea Party and the Occupy wall street movement is that The Tea Party wants a small government, less spending, and no tax hike, whereas, the Occupy Wall Street movement wants a big government, more spending, and tax hike on the wealthy.
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Comments
I like your conclusion agree with you on most of what you have presented. The working class who can't go to college because they are not book smart still need jobs like industry and small factory, NAFTA took this all away. The Affordable Healthcare needs some more work done to it. I think if they work together they could make it better.
We need more equality, jobs, less crooks, and a system where both parties work together, get things done and stop slamming each other.
Look at the candidates that are running for president. I have to turn them off they can't tell us what they want to do because they are too busy telling us all the bad stuff their opponents did. Great Hub.
I thought your comparison between the two movements to be interesting. For me, it boils down to which direction each movement would take us. I believe that the occupy wall street movement would take us in the direction of more government control over our daily live.....socialism/communism. On the other hand, the tea party movement would move us in the direction of less government control.
I'm lucky in that I spent my entire childhood in a very poor neighborhood. I saw first hand how dependence on the government (bigger government) can destroy families for generations. I'm also old enough to remember when there was a Berlin wall. On the east side of the wall was socialism/communism, but on the west side of the wall was democracy, where the people control the government, instead of the other way around.
The Berlin wall provided a perfect comparison of the two types of government. Many people died while trying to escape from the east to the west, but as far as I know, no one died while trying to go from the west to the east. Also, many people have died trying to escape Cuba to the shores of Florida. It should make people think about why people are willing to die in an attempt escape those types of governments.
The best we can do is provide equal opportunity, and assistance when needed, but to give the government complete control over our lives is a very dangerous thing.
Although this occurred quite some time ago, the most I knew about both movements was related to headlines, although the Tea Party got more publicity so I knew more about that. However, your article points out the fundamental differences between the two movements and in this way, it creates a good base on which to read more about each movement and know where they are coming from. Very helpful for uninformed people of these movements, like me. Great hub.
Hi, torilynn,
You are most-welcome. I just told you the truth. And THANK YOU for following me--that meant the world to me. Keep up the great writing.
- AUTHOR
@Suhailandmydog thanks for commenting and I'm glad you liked my writing style.
Ah those Tea Baggers and Faux News followers!
If it weren't for right wingers, Democrats would have solved the problem.
"The right is wrong" - a book by Ariana Huffington
"This left feels right" - an album by Bon Jovi.
Loved your writing style!
You are very welcome, torrilynn,
I do agree. We cannot survive with the Koch brothers, bullying and greed in the free world.
We do not really have a middle class for now they are saddled with paying their share, and the super-wealthy.
Keep up the great work and I want YOU to follow me too.
I would love that.
Kenneth
- AUTHOR
@Kenneth thank you for agreeing with me on my position of Occupy Wall Street. I will definitely check out your hubs and will become a follower indeed.
Hi, torrilynn,
Great read and great writing. Thanks for sharing your wisdom. Voited up and away on this piece which was well-written.
I was all for Occupy Wall Street and wanted these protesters to get some positive results from their protests. They were in a fight with a "Goliath," without a sling.
Bravo for their efforts.
I cordially invite you to check out my hubs and then be one of my followers.
I would love that.
Kenneth/ from northwest Alabama
- AUTHOR
@ocfireflies thanks for the positive feedback and for agreeing with me on my viewpoints of the matter.
I know this piece was written a while back, the issues you raise are still relevant. Unfortunately, this much time later and little yet to be done.
I respect you for writing about such complex and sometimes controversial issues. Very nicely done and Voted as Such!
Kim
- AUTHOR
@rebeccamealey thanks for reading this hub of mine and also for your positive feedback !
Very well written, and should help everyone from high school students to adults understand the economic conflicts in society today!
- AUTHOR
@AudreyHowitt Im glad that you enjoyed my article and my overall perspective about which government would work the best.
I thought this was an excellent anaylsis--and I enjoyed your willingness to address a sometime controversial set of considerations--
- AUTHOR
@Will I agree with you they figure its either one way or the other instead of being able to come together and decide mutually
In my opinion, both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements are so blinded by their ideals that they fail to see that they need each other in order to fix this. To them the world is stark black and stark white, that childish "your either with me or against me" mentality. And that mentality, again in my opinion, is doing more harm to this country than Obama and the democrats (and the republicans for that matter) ever could. We need the best of both ideals, not another civil war (figuratively speaking of course). It's just too bad that both side hate each others guts so much that they can't see it. But that's just what I think.
- AUTHOR
@cclitgirl thanksfor the positive feedback that you have given me and im glad that you found my hub great. also, thanks for sharing this article with others.
Great hub and analysis of current affairs. Your writing is spot on and I keep wondering how we'll move forward: everything is still so divided and I wish we could find a middle ground. Awesome stuff here! Voted up and shared and tweeted. :)
- AUTHOR
Lol okay good :)
I didn't expect to change your mind overnight :-)
- AUTHOR
I see your view points about there being a large government therefore creating or attracting people who aim to be powerful in order to feel some sense of control. However I still stand by my original choice but i do appreciate your comment. Thank you.
I like your conclusion, even though I don't agree with your stance overall. The idea of large government and regulation seems nice in theory, and even in some European countries it worked for a while, but any large organization is prone to corruption because power attracts greedy people. That can be government, corporations and even churches.
If we could effectively keep government small, by refusing to let it expand and throwing out anyone who doesn't speak for the people who elected him (or her), we wouldn't have an economy that is starting to choke businesses. Government was never meant to be a welfare state - it was never about taking care of people, it was a body that kept people free. For some reason today, we have the idea it is supposed to feed and clothe us.
I'm a little confused by one of your assertions. You support consumerism and I am totally with you on that one. But President Obama gave bailouts to giant mega corporations which did not pump up the economy, it was a band aid to help keep jobs. I love that W. Bush gave a tax credit to taxpayers, but it was way too small to have a significant impact on our economy. Cutting taxes would do that.
We should start with property taxes and end with income taxes because both of those imply ownership over your land and your job. Of course that tax burden also creates a larger government and now we have a large government with less money flowing into the economy - see where I'm going with this? You can't have larger government and increased consumerism.
There are a lot of problems in this country created by increased government control and interference and most people don't see that, so they think that we need MORE government involvement. It's kind of like cutting off a limb because it is bleeding too much from the same knife that cut it in the first place.
In any case, thanks for the stimulating hub, I did vote it up because it was very sensibly and thoughtfully written.
- AUTHOR
true i agree with your comment 2besure. our government in a since is money hungry and greedy constantly wanting the power to have over anywho. is it basic human instinct to want power to have that control or is it truly necessary in order to maintain a stable government.
We are definitely at a crossroads in American history. Will it be one nation and just for all or only those who have the money to buy it! Once the tea party got into office, they fell prey to the same corporate greed as most of them. The GOP claim to be fiscally responsible, yet had not problem with Bush starting 2 wars and not paying for them. Lip service...
- AUTHOR
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate the feedback and that you found my analysis interesting.
Very interesting analysis, Torrilynn. I agree that the Tea Party faction wants less government spending and taxes. The Occupy Movement generally want less corruption in government, Wall Street, and business in general. The most devastating and indicting difference is that the Tea Party organizations are sponsored by right wing business people like the Koch Brothers to achieve their own ends. The Occupy Movement is totally autonomous and thus less influential. Excellent Hub.
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