I was in New York this past week attending the mid-year Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) conference at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism building (which happens to be next door to Parson’s School of Design and the gorgeous New York Times building).
A big topic of conversation at the conference was the Occupy Wall Street movement and how the anger at the banking world seems to be spreading all over the world. This past weekend, protest movements sprang up around the world, much to the consternation of some in the political world:
- 2,000 people protested in Amsterdam
- 30,000 in Rome protested, lighting cars on fire and breaking bank windows
- 7,000 people marched in Brussels, Belgium, near the Dexia Bank building
- 3,000 gathered in Denmark for an Occupy Denmark rally
- Protesters marched in Berlin and Frankfurt. The organizers of the rally, United for Global Change, told CNN that 951 cities in 82 countries would take part
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange led protests on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral, in London
- Protests were also held in Stockholm, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Tokyo and Zurich
“We are the 99 percent” seems to be the rallying cry at the moment. That’s a reference to the 1 percent of the population that controls the vast majority of wealth.
I said this morning on my radio show that I’m not quite sure where this will all wind up, but with no end in sight to the recession, the slow-burning anger that is fueling these spontaneous, social-networked rallies has the potential to erupt into something quite meaningful.
Radio Show Notes
We had a number of callers talking about their 401(k)s and required minimum distributions. Someone called in to say that Bankrate.com’s calculator is easy to use. I checked it out and it is easy to use. Here’s a link to their IRA Required Minimum Distribution calculator.
I also talked about the Equifax Finance Blog. Check out my story on Money Management: Money Mistakes Celebrities Make. I’m not quite sure why we ascribe money management acumen to folks just because they’re celebrities and they make a lot of money, but we do. Here are some money mistakes you’ll want to avoid making, I think.
And don’t forget my Home Equity Blog at CBS MoneyWatch.com. This week on the blog, I wrote about what you can rent for $20,000 per month, and a little post about Heath Ledger’s Tree House that’s up for sale. Tomorrow, I’m posting about a new Coldwell Banker survey of older and younger baby boomers and their attitudes about real estate, so be sure to check it out.
Finally, I talked about how I’m going to be publishing a book for a client – a first novel. The book is called Oxford Messed Up and you should check out the gorgeous website we built for the author, Andrea Kayne Kaufman. Sign up for my free weekly newsletter and you’ll be among the first to know when the book is going on sale.
(If you want to know more about the content and communications strategy company we’ve built, Think Glink Publishing, please check out our website.)
Have a great week!
Dear Ilyse,
I listened to WSB’s rebroadcast of your Sunday 10/16 show the AM hours of Monday 10/17. I must say that you have lighted a fire that I can no longer contain. Your expertise is certainly in financial matters, but when the politcal influence comes into play, you ignore many facts…especially with the “Occupy Movement” around the world! This is not just an anti Wall Street movement, this is an anti capitalism movement. The roots of the movement are deep in Marxism. Somehow, you are locked into this wall street, bank and jobs issue. Yes, this is also one of their tenets…but so are many others! Forgiveness of all debt, both foreign and domestic. A minimum wage…whether working of not of $20 per hour or living wage of $40,000. Income caps on earned income…basically a Greece type economy for the entire world. You are doing an injustice to many of your listeners who obviously have less education and sophistication shown by some of the call in questions, acting like this movement is for the good of all! Sorry, but I must respectfully disagree with your position. To cherry pick one tenet of many to suggest a movement is for the good of all, I find absurd. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity for an exchange of ideas, but Ilyse, you really are off the mark on this topic.
Respectfully
The only salvation for the 1%….. along with the intimidated politicians who they have-bought-&-paid-for….is for them to be the objects of the ancient Czech Hussite sport…. Defenestration….
PS…. Having lived in Prague [1989-1995] and still maintain a frequently used condo there… I can vouch for the fact that the castle walls are still there and available for a round of world wide defenestration…
I think to ascribe any one idea to the occupy wall street protests would be foolish. There are many people there for many reasons. The root of the problem is that 1% of our population own 43% of our wealth and have bought and paid for politicians so that the masses are not represented and those will conscious are bullied into the ranks. We’ve been spoon fed propaganda by faux news and we’ve lost our values. Everyone used to have the ability to improve their lives if you worked hard and played fairly but that’s not true anymore. People who have been upstanding citizens, paid their taxes, worked hard, struggled to pay their bills and then bam—-because of the scammers who crashed the real estate industry these same people have lost their jobs, their homes and everything they’ve ever worked for. That’s not right. And the kids coming out of college owing $40,000 or more have no job prospects but have bills to pay. We are the 99%
[…] 2011 Posted on October 16, 2011 by Ilyce R. Glink GA_googleFillSlot("wp-top-bar"); Occupy Wall Street: What Consumers Are Angry About. Ilyce discussed this topic along with other questions from callers, providing personal finance […]
Anyone who has listen to these occupitards, knows that they cannot express any meaniful thoughts or solutions to any of the problems this country faces, all they want is a free ride. Sounds like Socialism to me..
These people are tire of politicians and wealthy people continuing to take all they can away from those people them. They keep adding money in their pockets and letting the lower and middle class people pay the rest by increasing taxes and so many additional fees which people won’t recognize. They try to make it so subtle so it can be unrecognized. Stand for justice and never give up for standing for the right thing, be strong and change always happens when the voice of the people cannot be shut down. These people want their voice to be heard and it will be heard.
Just so it’s clear where I’m coming from — I voted for Reagan and Goldwater, but I also spent time in jail for protesting Viet Nam/Cambodia and had my very own file with the FBI (I was a newspaper reporter) until the anti-war files were made public (and destroyed).
I’d be much more impressed with the Right if it demanded accountability and responsibility of business. I’d be much more impressed with the Left if it demanded accountability and responsibility of government. And people who complain loudly and vehemently — online or in public — would be more impressive if they offered solutions and demonstrated personal responsibility.
The fact is that people who milk the system — no matter whether they cheat on taxes or toss hazardous waste in their trash, whether they cheat to collect unemployment or merely defend obscene profits and drive gas hogs — screw us all … because we have to pick up the tab eventually for everyone’s irresponsibility. And yes, I know politicians talk about responsibility endlessly — but do you ever notice how responsibility is mostly demanded of the other guy? That, like charity, begins at home. And that is what made America impressive, when we did right and focused on making our world better … instead of thinking we are smart to “get ours while the gettin’s good” and complaining about how They are so unfair. Hogwash.
We are lall frustrateed by the lingering malaise of the economy but we don’t sit in a park beating rums and repeating slogans If you listen to the occupy people they are senseless , ramble on and are mad about the banks and Wall Street . BUT their grievances can better be addressed by occupying the White House and the Congress . Government is what is causing the problems . What these kids have been taught by their Socialist professors is to blame the Rich , the banks etc . Most of them have never worked a day in their life and have no idea how commerce works . They need to blame the Dodd Frank regulations . Dick Durbin paid off with campaign contributions by former aides and his mandating how much banks can make and for what , Blame Barney Frank and Chris Dodd for the lack of scrutiny of Fannie and Freddie . Fannie and Freddie never should have been nationalized by Johnson . Nixon took us off the Gold standard . Government mandated “affordable Housing ” too much Government, kids . Start thinking not following like sheep
50 years ago I was marching and singing with them protesting the war and the failures of our Korean and Viet Nam “strategy”??? Today, these kids and sundry are nothing but Marxists, socialists, “takers” and educated failures who never learned accountability and responsibility. Borrow money? Why pay it back? Feed on government services?…..we”re entitled to them. The sooner they turn the fire hoses on these bums and rinse them off, the better. They have no purpose other than to destroy “free enterprise” and perpetuate their entitlement syndrome and place pictures on “Facebook”.