Occupy Melbourne/Wall St discussion

[PumpkinZulu]

I have also listened to some of the protesters on 774 and I agree with you, their points were vague. It was actually quite disappointing. Many people in Melb are now also protesting against the fact that people were brutally removed from city square, rather than the original cause. It's very hard to get the message through mainstream media though, because that's not the flavour of the current situation; 'unruly' protesters etc are what's gaining attention atm, which is unfortunate, as these protests should remain peaceful.

[fionas]

I think David Cameron has said that no government manager should be paid more than x times the average wage. Something like that is tangible and if the protesters said that they would like to see a cap on CEO salaries (which are far higher relatively than they were two decades ago), I think they would have a lot of people agree with them. Or advocate for the phasing out of negative gearing on investment properties. I'm not saying they are the best policies (I haven't spent enough time weighing those up) - just examples of what I'd like to see from them - simple, tangible ideas.

[Miss E]

Many people in Melb are now also protesting against the fact that people were brutally removed from city square, rather than the original cause. It's very hard to get the message through mainstream media though, because that's not the flavour of the current situation; 'unruly' protesters etc are what's gaining attention atm, which is unfortunate, as these protests should remain peaceful.

To be honest, this is what I find most disturbing about the whole situation. In my opinion it goes against our democratic right to protest.

While the American's may have some sort of agenda, I have to be honest and say that I think the Australian (Melbournian's in particular) are really just taking a stand against capitalist ideas that they see as unjust and inequitable. Personally I agree with that stance. But at this point I think there is very little to be achieved by what they are doing...

Perhaps capitalism is reaching the end of its line... I don't know. But I do know that real change is unlikely to be born out of the Wall Street occupation and the other occupations that are going on around the world. Especially when the protestors don't have clear voice or a clear agenda. For them to be successful in bringing about real ideolistic change they will need to work within the system, form their own political parties, have a clear agenda and a singular voice. Provide the people with a vision and an ideal to pursue. Right now, they're a long, long, long way from gaining the support of the people, even though I suspect most agree with their underlying ideal.

[Maruschke]

The Robin Hood tax won't work. Here's why.

The big corporation bosses want a certain amount of money in their bank account at the end of the year. If you tax them an additional 1%, they will just raise their own salaries enough to cover the cost. The expense will be passed back to us in two ways... either the price of goods/services will increase, or they will employ less people. It doesn't make economic sense to pass a Robin Hood tax.