We are the 99%

• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-10-05 02:26

  Quote from Dempsie;608703:

  They're comparing the wealthy to everyone, you're comparing isolated areas to everyone.

  
  Actually I am comparing the have-at-least-somes with the have-nothing-at-alls.
  
  
  From what I see I think the point of this website is emotionalising propaganda for anti-business reactionism.
• Dempsie wrote on 2011-10-05 02:38

  Quote from Sumpfkraut;608706:

  Actually I am comparing the have-at-least-somes with the have-nothing-at-alls.
  
  
  From what I see I think the point of this website is emotionalising propaganda for anti-business reactionism.

  
  
  You still can't do that, the basis for that comparison is off, and I alluded to why. I would rather not get into a long drawn out response as to why, but I can if you need such justification.
  
  
  No, the point of the website is to draw attention to the fact even in such industrialized countries we have people who can barely make ends meet, let alone people in other countries worse off. It does play on emotion, but that is to allude to the gravity of the situation. It appears anti-business, but it isn't. No where on that website or in any of those people's remarks does it mention how much they hate businesses. They are just stating the absurdity in such monolithic companies paying less in taxes, combined in some cases, on income 100x more than the working class is making. It's unfair no matter who you are, big business or not, that they get loopholes to become more rich as we become more poor.
  
  
  Why do we have to live in a world where people go without? Why is it that those companies are allowed to go uninhibited when others fight restrictions on a daily basis?
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-10-05 02:39
  Those people are bored, spoiled brats. I'm far from being part of the 1%, but I'm also far from struggling. Sure, I've had to deal with school costs, debt and working crappy jobs. But if you are young and fortunate enough to live in USA, or even better, Canada.. you have no right to complain because many doors are open to you--you just have to be smart enough to not walk through the bad ones (like wasting your time/money majoring in something useless, getting involved in crime, etc).
• Dempsie wrote on 2011-10-05 02:42

  Quote from Yoorah;608715:

  Those people are bored, spoiled brats. I'm far from being part of the 1%, but I'm also far from struggling. Sure, I've had to deal with school costs, debt and working crappy jobs. But if you are young and fortunate enough to live in USA, or even better, Canada.. you have no right to complain because many doors are open to you--you just have to be smart enough to not walk through the bad ones (like wasting your time/money majoring in something useless, getting involved in crime, etc).

  
  
  Who are you to judge the importance of one's job? The people who make this world function are the ones who get paid the least, yet the ones who provide us with luxuries are the ones reveling in the income. How does that make the least bit of sense? Someone has to do those jobs, and they do it for next to nothing, so according to your logic, they just weren't smart enough to do something more "important" in your eyes.
  
  
  Get off your high horse.
• Chihaya wrote on 2011-10-05 02:52

  Quote from Kollin;608670:

  I'm almost done with high school and will be going to college soon and i am absolutely dreading it because of the costs. I am going to try and enter the Pharmaceutical field which has a fairly high demand for new employees due to the rapid growth of health care and pharmaceutical industries.

  
  
  Yep, the pharmaceutical field is rising in demand for some reason, and I know this because I'm working for a PhD in Pharmacy. I completely agree with Dempsie with the fact that some people are struggling to even survive.
  
  It really makes me appreciate my parents and all the things they've done and are doing for me to succeed.
  
  Hopefully, in the future, if I happen to be part of that 1%, I know what I'll be doing--trying to spread that wealth among the the 99% who really deserve better.
  
  

  Quote from Yoorah;608715:

  Those people are bored, spoiled brats. I'm far from being part of the 1%, but I'm also far from struggling. Sure, I've had to deal with school costs, debt and working crappy jobs. But if you are young and fortunate enough to live in USA, or even better, Canada.. you have no right to complain because many doors are open to you--you just have to be smart enough to not walk through the bad ones (like wasting your time/money majoring in something useless, getting involved in crime, etc).

  
  
  I beg to differ. You did not earn your current position. You were privileged to receive it by your parents.
  Some people don't even have a chance even though they have great talents.
  
  You would think it's unfair if one team started out with 100 points in soccer, right? That's a great analogy for the situation here between the 1% and the 99%.
  
  EDIT: I remember meeting a person who was homeless, but I can distinctively remember that he had a great voice. Hell, he could have debuted in American Idol! But who's going to accept an entry for a homeless person?
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-10-05 03:05

  Quote from Dempsie;608717:

  Who are you to judge the importance of one's job? The people who make this world function are the ones who get paid the least, yet the ones who provide us with luxuries are the ones reveling in the income. How does that make the least bit of sense? Someone has to do those jobs, and they do it for next to nothing, so according to your logic, they just weren't smart enough to do something more "important" in your eyes.
  
  
  Get off your high horse.

  
  
  Spoken like a communist. lol
  
  Importance has nothing to do with it. You just have to make good (or at least non-stupid) choices in life. This applies to your career just like it does to anything else.
  
  And I don't put down people who work crappy jobs, having been there myself. But people working those jobs shouldn't expect to be paid as much as an engineer, lawyer or whatever. Work, after all, is merely a fair trade of your skills (or risk) for a salary. Cleaners don't get paid as much as investment bankers, because there are many more people who can work as cleaners, etc.
  
  False sense of entitlement = fail.
• Episkey wrote on 2011-10-05 03:10
  Wow. Some of those stories are just ... Wow.
  I'm speechless. I knew times were tough, but it pains me to read these stories.
  And to think that there are worse people out there?
  It's almost as bad as to make you slash your wrists ... with lettuce.
  
  I'm currently in my first year of college, getting a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry.
  I desire to be a High School Chemistry Teacher, I hope by then - I'll be able to become one.
  
  Best of luck to everyone out there, I hope this whole Wall Street scene will get some attention.
  I've felt the some of the strain of being in the 99%. Thankfully, I've received Scholarship money.
  I pray that life and even existing never begins to be unbearably miserable. Things will get better with time, I believe.
• paladin wrote on 2011-10-05 03:18
  I know how these people feel
  My dad lost his job
  Were hanging just on the comfortable line by my mothers and brothers incomes
  If My mom were to lose her job before she retires in maybe 6 or 8 years(Me gettin my undergrad)
  I can either not go to college or she lose her retirement fund in order to support us
• Dempsie wrote on 2011-10-05 03:19

  Quote from Yoorah;608732:

  Spoken like a communist. lol
  
  Importance has nothing to do with it. You just have to make good (or at least non-stupid) choices in life. This applies to your career just like it does to anything else.
  
  And I don't put down people who work crappy jobs, having been there myself. But people working those jobs shouldn't expect to be paid as much as an engineer, lawyer or whatever. Work, after all, is merely a fair trade of your skills (or risk) for a salary. Cleaners don't get paid as much as investment bankers, because there are many more people who can work as cleaners, etc.
  
  False sense of entitlement = fail.

  
  
  Spoken like an illiterate.
  
  
  You failed to see my point at all. I am aware there are people who choose to do those jobs, never said there wasn't. I was just merely stating who are you to value the importance of ones job? As in why a lawyer should get paid more than a sanitation worker. They are both of equal importance in there respective rights in certain cases. They are the ones that allow this world to continue turning so that investment banker has the means to invest. If everyone made "good" choices, as you put it, there would be no one left to do the nitty gritty jobs that provide us with a functioning society. So, it is left that someone HAS to do that job, and just by default the people who get put in those jobs get inferior pay due to that.
  
  How does that work?
  
  
  Also, you said it has nothing to do with importance; although, it does. You even indirectly mentioned it in this post, the same post where you said it wasn't important. You said work is a fair trade of your skills or risk for salary, so who is it that decides which of these skills is more important? Is skill based off just the demand for that particular job? You made it seem like that when you said there are more 'cleaners' than investment bankers, so that's why they get paid less. Inversely, if everyone followed your advice of making your so-called "good" choices, as I said, there would be no one left to do the sanitation jobs and such, so according to your logic the salary should be proportional to that of demand.
• Chihaya wrote on 2011-10-05 03:25

  Quote from Yoorah;608732:

  Spoken like a communist. lol
  
  Importance has nothing to do with it. You just have to make good (or at least non-stupid) choices in life. This applies to your career just like it does to anything else.
  
  And I don't put down people who work crappy jobs, having been there myself. But people working those jobs shouldn't expect to be paid as much as an engineer, lawyer or whatever. Work, after all, is merely a fair trade of your skills (or risk) for a salary. Cleaners don't get paid as much as investment bankers, because there are many more people who can work as cleaners, etc.
  
  False sense of entitlement = fail.

  
  
  Please please please read my post!!
  
  Some people were not given the chance!!
  They were born in poor conditions, and even if they tried their best, someone else who could take advantage of them would crush their efforts.
  
  Of course, there is logic in your arguments, but you fail to realize that you're only talking about your own condition.
  I hope you can forgive me of my imprudence here, but I have a feeling that you're still protected by your parents or friends, since if you were alone in the world greedy people would be drooling at the sight of you, since you would be a perfect prey for them.
  
  Again, my point is that if someone's struggling in life, it MAY NOT BE THEIR FAULT!!
  It may be because they were scammed or something, like in a game.
  Don't try to blame their ignorance, because if there were no people who took advantage of them, they would surpass even yourself in terms of social and financial stability.
• Zid wrote on 2011-10-05 04:16
  I'm more inclined to believe it's a bit of bad choices mixed with "being at the wrong place at the wrong time" scenario for the displayed people on the 99% site.
  
  Luxury shouldn't ever outstretch your pockets, but that doesn't mean luxury should be heavier either.
• Bride wrote on 2011-10-05 05:26

  My father is 64. He was a public school teacher for 20 years before being let go. He was unemployed for 2 years off and on between night jobs and private school gigs. He is currently a security guard at a cigar factory. At 62 he had to borrow early from his retirement pension and may not have enough for 5 years from now. He makes $8/hr with a degree.
  My mother is 60. She has worked in the insurance industry since she graduated high school. She lost her job in February and has applied for 700 jobs and has started losing hope at ever finding one at her age. The first line of unemployment ran out and she is uninsured. She has type 2 diabetes and hypertension. She recently was hospitalized because she bought food instead of medication.
  Now they are having their home of 36 years foreclosed on. They are filing for bankruptcy next year. Their credit limit was lowered to $400 between two cards.

  
  .. :<<<
  
  my family filed for bankruptcy, lost our house, had to move in with my grandma and had hardly any money for a few years but it still wasn't as bad as some of these people's situations :I
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-10-05 05:28

  Quote from Dempsie;608739:

  Spoken like an illiterate.

  
  Attacking me because your logic is flawed. lol fail.
  
  I understand your argument, that both cleaners and lawyers are needed and that therefore both should be paid the same.
  LOL!
  
  I pointed out that you sounded like a communist because this is exactly how it was in the USSR, where I was born. And long story short: There was much fail to be had there, too.
  
  I already explained why lawyers are paid more than cleaners. It's perfectly logical. Think about it some more.
  
  

  Quote from Chihaya;608747:

  Please please please read my post!!
  
  Some people were not given the chance!!
  They were born in poor conditions, and even if they tried their best, someone else who could take advantage of them would crush their efforts.
  
  Of course, there is logic in your arguments, but you fail to realize that you're only talking about your own condition.
  I hope you can forgive me of my imprudence here, but I have a feeling that you're still protected by your parents or friends, since if you were alone in the world greedy people would be drooling at the sight of you, since you would be a perfect prey for them.
  
  Again, my point is that if someone's struggling in life, it MAY NOT BE THEIR FAULT!!
  It may be because they were scammed or something, like in a game.
  Don't try to blame their ignorance, because if there were no people who took advantage of them, they would surpass even yourself in terms of social and financial stability.

  
  
  Ah, my apologies; I have missed your post. xP
  
  Yeah, I know what you mean. Some people are just unlucky and they can't do anything to make their lives better. This is true, but it largely applies more to less wealthy countries--not to countries like the US and Canada. While the recession may have made things much more difficult in the US (compared to Canada, where I live), we're still the lands of opportunity compared to many places around the world. Look at all the illegal immigrants sneaking into the US, yet managing to not only make their ends meet and enjoy better quality of life than in their home countries, but also send their kids to college, and so on.
  
  Indeed, it was your mistake to assume that I'm one of those spoiled kids who was given a head start advantage by their parents. While my parents both hold engineering degrees, they have been unable to find decent work in Canada and have had to take up low-paying jobs. I've worked part time jobs to save money for my university education and help my parents with our living expenses. Life's not luxurious and you have to have proper expectations, but at the same time it wasn't bad, either. After all, Canada and the US are in fact countries built by immigrants who often arrive with next to little, and are able to prosper and build the nations through hard work.
  
  The people who are spoiled kids are those participating in those 99% protests, toting expensive DSLR cameras and smartphones while they complain about corporate greed, injustice and poverty.
• Kollin wrote on 2011-10-05 05:32

  Quote from Yoorah;608852:

  The people who are spoiled kids are those participating in those 99% protests, toting expensive DSLR cameras and smartphones while they complain about corporate greed, injustice and poverty.

  
  
  i somewhat agree with this, if their situations were bad they wouldn't have time to be sitting there protesting, they would be at work making ends meet. but, i don't know everyones story so i can't say 100% on this.
• Ithiliel wrote on 2011-10-05 06:34

  Quote from Yoorah;608852:

  
  The people who are spoiled kids are those participating in those 99% protests, toting expensive DSLR cameras and smartphones while they complain about corporate greed, injustice and poverty.

  
  
  Well, I hope you certainly don't consider me to be one of those spoiled kids. What in the world is a DSLR camera? o.o Never even heard of that, and I'm not an owner of a smartphone*chuckles*Just a regular phone for me, which I'm lucky to still have. I hardly doubt you are meaning to include me in the spoiled category and I don't even have a post on that tumblr, but it could be the case that some of those students posting on there only have access to certain things due to living in a dorm/friends.
  
  I know that's the case with me at least, I only have access to the internet and whatnot because I'm paying to live on campus. I was kicked out of my house before this semester, but I'm fortunate to have a place to stay once my semester ends. That being said....I really don't think either you or Dempsie should be flinging insults and judgments about one another. Communist? Illogical? Come on guys, you can discuss things rationally.