I attended the Occupy Oak Park event in Scoville Park last Saturday. Friends have questioned my motives for doing so. Taken by surprise, I made some desultory comments about the First Amendment and importance of citizen participation in the political process. However, upon further reflection I feel that a more detailed explanation is appropriate.
I occupy because for the last 10 years the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars in unwinnable wars overseas while ignoring massive unemployment, a deteriorating infrastructure, and a failing economy at home.
I occupy because I disagree with U.S. Supreme Court pronouncements that corporations are people and money is the equivalent of free speech.
I occupy because we have the best political system that money can buy.
I occupy because our state and federal income tax systems are grossly unfair. Many major corporations pay little or no corporate income taxes, whereas most working Americans pay an income tax.
I occupy because in 2010 a staggering 46.2 million Americans (more than 15 percent of the population) lived in poverty. This is the largest number of Americans in poverty since the government began tracking this statistic more than 50 years ago. For the nation’s children, the poverty rate is more than 20 percent.
I occupy because in 2010 the number of Americans without health coverage was 49.9 million.
I occupy because, in the U.S., wealth is highly concentrated in a few hands. The top 1 percent of households own 35 percent of all privately held wealth. The next 19 percent — managers, professionals, and small business people — owned 50.5 percent. This means that the top 20 percent of the population controls 85 percent of all wealth. That leaves a paltry 15 percent to the bottom 80 percent of the population — the wage and salary workers.
I occupy because our capitalistic economic system benefits the very few and disadvantages the very many.
Al Popowits
River Forest