Jared Bernstein <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein> Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities GET UPDATES FROM Jared Bernstein <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/becomeFan.php?of=hp_blogger_Jared Bernstein> <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=jared-bernstein> <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/login/> Like 402 Occupy Wall St.: This Is Not a Head Scratcher Posted: 10/4/11 01:09 PM ET <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/occupy-wall-st-this-is-no\ _b_994388.html?view=print&comm_ref=false> React Inspiring <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/occupy-wall-st-this-is-no\ _b_994388.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#> Greedy <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/occupy-wall-st-this-is-no\ _b_994388.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#> Typical <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/occupy-wall-st-this-is-no\ _b_994388.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#> Scary <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/occupy-wall-st-this-is-no\ _b_994388.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#> Outrageous <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/occupy-wall-st-this-is-no\ _b_994388.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#> Amazing <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/occupy-wall-st-this-is-no\ _b_994388.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#> Innovative <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/occupy-wall-st-this-is-no\ _b_994388.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#> Infuriating <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/occupy-wall-st-this-is-no\ _b_994388.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#> Follow <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/economic-crisis> Economic Crisis <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/economic-crisis> , <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/wall-street> Wall Street <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/wall-street> , <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/economy> Economy <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/economy> , Wall Street Protest <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/wall-street-protest> , Occupy Wall Street <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/occupy-wall-street> , Wall Street Protests <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/wall-street-protests> , Business News <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/business> share this story 325 193 27 Add to collections View My Collections > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/?action=collections> Collect articles and browse other HuffPost members' collections. Learn More > Get Business Alerts Sign Up Submit this story digg reddit <http://reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjare\ d-bernstein%2Foccupy-wall-st-this-is-no_b_994388.html&title=jared-bernst\ ein: Occupy+Wall+St.%3A+This+Is+Not+a+Head+Scratcher> stumble <http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.c\ om%2Fjared-bernstein%2Foccupy-wall-st-this-is-no_b_994388.html&title=jar\ ed-bernstein: Occupy+Wall+St.%3A+This+Is+Not+a+Head+Scratcher> Last night I heard a story on NPR about the Wall St. protest that is now spreading <http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-street-protesters-h\ ope-to-plant-seeds-of-a-national-cause/2011/10/03/gIQAiBmKJL_story.html?\ hpid=z2> to other cities. The gist of the story was: "what are these protests really about? What do they want?"
I'm sorry, but that's just not a head scratcher. Do these news analysts think it's a coincidence that they're occupying Wall St. as opposed to Columbus Ave north of 79th? As Andrew Sorkin put it <http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/03/on-wall-street-a-protest-matures\ /?ref=business> today (after writing that the message was "at times...hard to discern"): ... the demonstrators are seeking accountability for Wall Street and corporate America for the financial crisis and the growing economic inequality gap. I'm not saying everyone down there is ready to give a clear exposition of the facts of the case, but commentators can stop scratching their heads now. I've been writing about these problems for decades. Sometimes they've gotten a little better, but mostly they've gotten worse. Before the downturn, the share of income held by the top 1% was 23.5%, the highest since 1928 and more than twice the 10% level of the late 1970s. These are growth shares, as in they have to sum to 100%-when one group's share goes up like that, everybody else's has to shrink. That doesn't mean real income values can't rise for other groups, of course (though it does imply slower relative growth, compared to the high end). But in fact, the middle class and the poor haven't seen that either... the decade of the 2000s saw middle-incomes decline <http://jaredbernsteinblog.com/the-lost-decade-for-the-middle-class/> in real terms for working-age households. The recession just made those incomes fall faster. Protest movements are often born of two interacting injustices: the lack of opportunity and the lack of accountability by the persons perceived to be blocking that opportunity. Given the facts of the income distribution, the trends in real middle-class incomes and poverty, the failure of policy to do much to change these trends, the government bailouts of the only class that's benefited <http://jaredbernsteinblog.com/a-tale-of-two-economies-and-the-inequalit\ y-dragon/> from the recovery so far, the absence of clear punishment/accountability for the financial and political institutions that helped inflate the debt bubble that continues to squeeze economies across the globe, and the dysfunctionality of the current political system (they're arguing more about whether they can keep the lights on than whether they can help solve the economic problems), the more interesting question is what took so long for such protests to show up? Update: A colleague sends me to this site <http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/> which puts a face on much of the above (hat tip: HS). This post originally appeared at Jared Bernstein's On The Economy <http://jaredbernsteinblog.com/> blog. Been to Occupy Wall Street Events? Show us your photos, tell your storyIf you've been to an Occupy Wall Street event anywhere in the country, we'd like to hear from you. Send OfftheBus your photos, links to videos or first-hand accounts of what you've seen for possible inclusion in The Huffington Posts's coverage.
