Wall Street Wallys

I have been watching the Occupy Wall Street protests for the past while, and I really don’t get it.

I understand why the protesters are upset, and truly we should all be upset by the way that the fat cats have ruined our economy for their own and their stock holder’s financial benefit. These people have taken pretty much the whole world to the brink of economic collapse and instead of tossing them into jail, the government bails them out with billions of dollars and allows them to continue with business as usual. None of them suffered as much as the poor working folks that lost their homes and savings.

I think to some degree we can all share some of this guilt. How many of us called or wrote to our MPs or MPPs demanding that something be done? How many of us are invested in pension funds and RRSP’s and have no clue about what companies are parts of these funds? I don’t know where the money is invested, but I do know I am not getting a very good return. I was talking to my friend today and he told me that he has $7,000 in a savings account and the interest earned for the month was 6 cents! What?

The Royal Bank’s 2^nd quarter profits for this year were $146 million, which is up $36 million over the same period last year. Remember that last year we were in the deepest part of the recession. Now, I understand that they are in the business of making money, but shouldn’t they also be in the business of looking after their clients? I have always thought that a happy customer is good customer that will stay with you and continue to do business with you. I guess that is no longer true.

So, back to the Occupy Wall Street guys. It is my belief that the point they were trying to make has been made and they are now losing the good will of the people that originally were their supporters. It seems to me that it is now a battle of wills between the protesters and the civic governments. To date, I haven’t heard of one fat cat banker offering to pay back the monies that they have stolen from the people. When I say stolen, I mean stolen within and with the support of the law. To my way of thinking, the protesters would do well to pack up their tents and sleeping bags and do something else to capture the imagination of the rest of us.

I am thinking they should try to do what they are saying the Wall Street Wallys and their cronies in government aren’t doing. Help the people! Raise money to feed and house those that need feeding and housing.  Give the people some help. Support the politicians that are honest and interested in helping. Get them elected and effect change in that way. It is easy to say that the system doesn’t work, but it is quite another to find an alternative.

I don’t like the way things are, but I do see good people trying to make a difference and if we support them then perhaps, just perhaps the world will be a better place tomorrow.