wearethe99percent:

- If you work hard, you should be paid hard. 

- If you believe the USA is GREAT, you shouldn’t be “proud” of disproportionate struggling just to survive. 

- We have created more wealth through capitalism than any other developed country.

- That wealth, created by OUR WORK, has ALREADY BEEN REDISTRIBUTED upwards towards 1% of the people. YOUR money has ALREADY been taken FROM you.

- We used to be able to have a great standard of living on ONE income. They’ve eroded that away. Now we’re “proud” to work multiple jobs because it means we’re not “lazy”. Were your grandparents lazy?

- You should not be grateful to your boss for your paycheck. Your boss should be grateful to you for his/hers. 

- We’ve lowered our own quality of life standards because the 1% has successfully conditioned us that our own “laziness” keeps us struggling. It is the WORKING class which hold down 2+ jobs and barely make it. That is the opposite of lazy.

- Slavery (or “lowered labor costs”) is a result of unchecked capitalism. Except our chains are now invisible, in the form of DEBT, which we are encouraged to incur at every step of our lives, from our education (as an “investment”) to shopping (as a “patriotic duty”.)

- Check the stats: WE WORK HARDER and LONGER than any other population in any other developed country with the WORST benefits and have among the WORST standard of living and most income inequality, because we’ve bought the narrative that having it any other way is SOCIALISM.

- In the entire history of capitalism, it has only ever been 1% who have controlled the vast majority of wealth. The greatest trick they’ve ever pulled is convincing us that we can one day be a part of it too. Except that it’s never happened. Not even in the “great” country of “opportunity”, America.

- If YOU don’t like living in a society where yes, even stupid, lazy, ugly, fat, poor, non-white, non-christian people get healthcare, help when they’re down, protection against predatory capitalism, then YOU leave America and leave it for the 99% to FIX.

- As for me? Healthy, unemployed, no health insurance, worked since I was 15, have a graduate degree from an excellent university in Washington, DC, virtually no credit card debt, $95k debt for school, my immigrant parents are retired, my brother’s in law school. And I’m sure we’ll be fine as long as no one gets sick or has an accident. I have plenty of family living in Europe. Don’t tell me they prefer our system or that they’re “lazier” than we are. They just value life in a way we’re told not to. 

- I am a proud (and lucky) 99%er. And so is everyone I know. 

- You deserve better. We all deserve better. 

To the 1%: Winter may slow these protests, but Spring will soon come.  You didn’t think you would last forever, did you? 

AMEN!