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New Yorkers Support #OccupyWallStreet And Want Millionaire's Tax
Good news for Occupy Wall Street protestors: 67 percent of New York City voters agree with protestors' demonstrations and 72 percent of New Yorkers statewide desire a Millionaire's Tax in order to increase taxes for those who earn more than $1 million a year. The numbers were released on Monday by two separate polls conducted by Quinnipiac University and Siena College.
An Occupy Wall Street campaign demonstrator holds a sign in Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street in New York October 17, 2011. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton) An even higher percentage, 87-10, had city voters saying that they were "okay that they were protesting."
Director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute Maurice Carroll commented on the Occupy Wall Street results:
It's a free country. Let them keep on protesting as long as they obey the law, New Yorkers say overwhelmingly. Critics complain that no one can figure out what the protesters are protesting. But seven out of 10 New Yorkers say they understand and most agree with the anti-Wall Street views of the protesters.
According to the poll released by Siena College on Monday, the tax has the support of 83 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents, and even 55 percent of Republicans.
The overwhelmingly popular statistic parallels the opinion of most Americans as shown in a similar survey conducted by Daily Kos in which nearly 75 percent of the country supported such a tax.
The proposal is a part of President Obama's deficit reduction plan unveiled in September to increase taxes on the wealthy. Back in August, the highly regarded investor expressed the need to stop "coddling the super-rich" in an Op-Ed piece for The New York Times. Buffet, the second richest man in the country according to Forbes, stated that he only paid 17.4 percent of his annual income, $6,938,744, in taxes last year.
The Millionaire Tax also has the support of Governor Cuomo, who according to Siena's survey, is still extremely popular with New Yorkers as he holds a 70 percent favorable rating. Last month, Cuomo spoke of the tax:
While I am against raising taxes in general, if taxes need to be raised to create jobs, balance the budget and lower the deficit then those increases need to be done at the federal level and on the wealthiest Americans, not the middle class.
Monday's results also revealed that most New Yorkers oppose the looming union layoffs that may leave 3,500 workers without a job.
17 Comments so far
Show Allwhew!
now what?
Another Bloomberg reelection? (*sigh*)
I don't think so.
He's on a downhill slide and it's going to be a cold icy winter.
Now what, indeed. OWS ought to begin deciding what actions to take next before the police and/or cold weather drive them out of the area. Perhaps a plan for a national General Assembly in person?
Not everyone does Facebook or Twitter. Such an Assembly - or a series of them in different regions - in person at a convenient time (weekend?) could give regular working people a voice in the whole process of where this movement is or should be going.
That's what we used to do after every antiwar demonstration during the 60's. We'd meet in, say, Cleveland, in a big auditorium with 2,000-3,000 people in the room to decide what to do next, and everyone who wished to got to speak (time-limited, of course). The group as a whole decided everything, like how long to spend on this action proposal or that one, etc.
Then we decided when we wanted to vote or if we wanted to vote. We always left the General Assemblies with an action to organize to keep the movement going and build it ever larger..
We built huge demonstrations in the streets. Millions of American people from every walk of life (cliche though that is, it's true).This new movement will, if actions that people feel they can do are ongoing. build to enough strength so that the movement's actions do, indeed, make a difference.
A good book by a participant and leader in the 60's and continuing is "1968: Marching in the Streets" by Tariq Ali and Susan Watkins. Just re-read it - lots of pictures of all that was going on that year. We were so busy day and night we could hardly keep up with the actions taking place all over the world.
Mind you, this was before pc's or cell phones - we used telephone landlines, leaflets, and word of mouth. It all works when people are ready.
Can't have enough of this, Cleanearth.
The Occupiers need to be shown the beaten path. ;)
Popular protest succeeds when there's a favorable wind behind it.
That time is NOW!
Discipline, intelligence, dedication, stamina are essential.
The rewards of success are incredible.
"But seven out of 10 New Yorkers say they understand and most agree with the anti-Wall Street views of the protesters."
........If seven out of 10 understand, then the "critics" need to educate themselves. ......Ass-kissing and ignorance are unacceptable excuses for "allegedly" not knowing what is being protested.
HuffPost. Ouf! Yeah, the polls may say what they like. We all know that. The difference can be found in "old Europe", that decadent, sun-enshrined part of the world that has suffered more than we can ever know. And here is what they say:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/10/14/reflections-for-the-us-occupy-movement/
Make of it what you will. It's not a vacation. It's not a happening. It's not a rock concert.
This is real. It will happen.
"If not us who"?
It won't be the politicians. Count on that.
Direct democracy
I remember the percentages of Americans who wanted Medicare for all - 58% - 67% and what happened? Corporate wealth going into politicians (both sides) and media. Any good ideas to fight Corporate power?
Get a clean sheet of paper and then draw on it as many triangles as you
can, any kind of triangle, then get one particular triangle, this
triangle could be the community or association you are a member at. Now,
we can imagine that the three points or corners of the triangle are the
three main provisions of society, the school, the industry, and the
market. I say provisions because in this community or associations, they
have these principles that all members must try to hold on to or stand
up to, like they are the general rules and these priciples are:
The Five Basic principles:
1) Don't be a burden!
2) Be independent!
3) Strive for equality!
4) Be practical!
5) Learn and improve!
Hence the three main provisions. They are all in the form of cooperative
or I call it the Cooperative Triangle. Since there is cooperative
ownership, the provisions are controlled by the associations, every
member are secured of job and education, and the control of the market
makes the prices of all commodities(products from other associations)
are kept in check and equal in exchange. Now imagine that all the
triangles are like this one and interacting with one another. Utopia?
Then look again at the five basic principles and look at the world of
the ordinary people, what principles are they holding up to? The five
basic principles, because these principles are principles that only a
human being can hold on to, and the ordinary people are just human
being, and the world of the ordinary people is the world of the human
being, and it is not Utopia.
The OWS movement already created a community, the only things that are lacking now are the establisment cooperative triangle and the formal unity to the five basic principles(formal unity because the informal unity already exist). Things that people would really think are worth fighting for.
-----sarda-----
When is everyone going to realize that tax rates are irrelevant. If you raised taxes to 100% and commerce stayed the same (which is impossible obviously) you would still never pay off the debt or get everyone free cheese.
The banks/federal reserve are the problem and I hope these kids wake up and realize it soon.
Good point.
It's also not just about "taxing the rich."
The question is what those taxes get used for and who decides and how they decide it. Hell, I don't mind kicking in a percentage of what I make for the "common good."
It would take nothing at all, technologically speaking, to provide check-boxes on a tax form for the tax-payer to indicate what percentage of his/her taxes he/she wishes to allocate for what purpose. Let the People vote with their checkbooks on how much money we put into healthcare, infrastructure or "defense."
I suspect the priorities would be a little bit different.
liberty & justice,
sj
9/11 was their "new Pearl Harbor" which aroused the public to allow the wars, to allow the Patriot Act, to allow the Continuity of Government to go forward. We now know that 9/11 was a false flag. Cheney, Rumsfeld, and many others probably coordinated the 9/11 "attack. Read "The Road to 9/11" by Peter Dale Scott. The bankers want the oil resources of the Middle East. They use our military to get it. They profit, and so do the millionaires that make up Congress.
PLEASE VOTE HERE TO INCLUDE RE-INVESTIGATE 9/11 AS AN OFFICIAL OCCUPY WALL STREET DEMAND. It has made the official
choice list due to popular demand! SPREAD TO TRUTH COMMUNITY!
http://coupmedia.org/the-sovereign-peoples-movement/6-re-investigate-the-attacks-of-9-11-2001.html
Will the government do something?
Yes they will, they will probably wait for dissent and mixed-up issues to come about in the group that will probably be the cause of the movement that "shook the world" to peter out and everybody begin to go home with a bit of frustration, and all is alright for those in power.
-----sarda-----
Democratic Governor Cuomo promises to end the millionaires tax and the Republican ruled New York State Senate supports Cuomo. A reminder to the 99% that the difference between the Republicans and the Democrats is the spelling, something the 1% has known for ages which explains why they bankroll both parties.