Wall Street Protests

[Chubminnow]

Kind of curious what some of you think about all of it? These protests sure are growing, hitting all the big cities, etc...Today when I was taking my walk in downtown Louisville during lunch there were some protestors down there...they had set up their main camp along the Belvedere I think. From what I could tell it just looked like a bunch of young college kids who hadn't truly gotten their feet wet in the real world yet.

Then on the way home on the radio I heard there are labor unions that are going to start joining in on the fiasco????

It feels like a revolution is about to start in this country or something, but at the same time I don't think a lot of these youngsters have any true idea what it is their protesting in the first place.

[Bobby Headrick]

These youngsters probally know more than you think. They are seeing first hand their familys problems, their familes splitting up, the reality that a college education might not be a reality for some, as lons and grants are getting tight. It has to start somewhere and they are doing it, the "more experianced in life" seem not to be doing anything but bickerin and going to their jobs, if they have one. they cant do anything else, for fear of losing their job. maybe something will come of this,"well say you want a revolution well ya know, we all wanna change the world". Maybe change is finally gonna come.

[Tyme2fish]

My dad can whip your dad. Same mindset.

[zx150]

I think they are doing it just to say they are doing something. They interviewed a bunch of them and they did not know why they were there.

[GeoFisher]

scary stuff.............I also saw some interviews where they simply want to blame wall street for all the worlds woes.......

The street has an equal part in the problems, but labor and government is JUST as to blame.

The problem is everyone wants to blame everyone else........there are NO solutions.

Love him or hate him, Reagan had SOLUTIONS.........Clinton had Solutions.........Bush 2 to some respect, had solutions.............

Right now.......no solution, and lots, and lots of folks whining and pointing fingers.

Later,

Geo

[bassin_bug]

I think they are doing it just to say they are doing something. They interviewed a bunch of them and they did not know why they were there.

The mindset of most of those "kids" is to follow whatever goat is leading the sheep for that particular day. It is currently some dingbats hired by "XYZ Organization of Deadbeats." That 'group of the moment' doesn't agree with Obama's recommendation to put delinquent student loans into the hands of collectors and have the students pay up, which will bring in billions of dollars.

If you put them 'under the lights' and asked them to explain banking and finance, they couldn't get to first base. There is a 21 year old female in my husband's family who didn't get a college loan but got a lottery scholarship which requires repayment if they don't keep their grades up. It also included a nice amount of cash for housing and food, as well. She suddenly turned into a hotshot-genius. The first thing she did with the cash was go out and buy herself a new car; the nice 2004 Nissan Altima that her mom paid cash for, just wasn't good enough for her to ride in. She used the money she made working at Pizza Hut to make car payments and lived in her mom's basement. She started partying and stayed drunk from Friday night until Monday morning instead of studying. She not only flunked, she got kicked out of college and her mom kicked her out of the basement. Now the Lottery people are demanding their money back. I heard she's moved up into the big corporate world and is now working at Chuck-E-Cheese and living with a Mexican illegal whose job is to ask "Would you like fries with that?" I sure hope the sperm bank dries up before they reproduce.

[Chubminnow]

Decent thoughts and idea's on the subject from each one of you, thanks!

Headrick - what you say makes sense, yongsters seeing the adults problems, etc. And who knows more than they do about graduating from college and STILL not being able to find work in their chosen field, in case anyone doesn't know this scenario happens often, especially now more than ever. So I guess in some of those kids minds they're thinking what have they got to lose?

Geo - Me and you think the same on a lot of subjects (not sure this is good, lol)...You're correct, the street has equal part in the problems, as well as labor and government. I also think you're correct in that everyone wants to point fingers at someone else for all the problems now days. What it TRULY comes down to is it don't take rocket science to figure out that if you only bring in $100.00 dollars per month then you better not be signing for loans that is going to cost you $90.00 dollars per month and expect to be able to live on $10.00 dollars per month for the basics of month-to-month living until said loan is paid off. It ain't gonna happen, the bumps in the road of life will catch up eventually. So in a lot of cases I put the blame directly on the people.

Bassbug - I feel your pain. I have one (or two) of those types in my family as well. Different situations, but similar.

[Chubminnow]

Of course on the flip side...looking way back when, there were a bunch of young folks (hippies), taking to the streets to boycot the vietnam war and everything else, women wanting equal rights, burning their bra's, etc.

It's the younger crowd that does't have as much to lose I guess, so they can take the risks. Or for those that have lost their jobs, their healthcare and their homes, think about them too, what do they have to lose at this point?

It still bothers me though...and I hate to see the unions get involved in it like they are beginning to. But in the end what do all these protestors expect to gain from their efforts? I mean seriously. Do they expect the banks to give in and start making loans easier to get? I thought that's part of what got us in this mess to begin with?

Go on a freakin' diet people! Learn to do with less...It's called self discipline and self control.

"You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need."

[kygorski]

"You can't always get what you want", tell that to a wall street lobbyist! Bank bail out were caused by a lack of ethics, and just pure and simple greed.If I went out on a street corner and started selling "gold " bricks, I'd soon be arrested and charged with fraud, not if you're a giant invest bank, the tax payers will buy all the "gold bricks " you can sell. Need a degree for a job? What job? high school conselers are still touting computer programing, they never did it, and dont know its a gone profession.Young people are graduating from secondary schools with 30 to 40 thousand dollar debt, and taking next to menial jobs.Yeah I remember "hippys" protesting viet nam, I also remember one of my friends father, a decorated marine, saying his sons life was wasted in a place that didn't mean anything to us.

[GeoFisher]

"You can't always get what you want", tell that to a wall street lobbyist! Bank bail out were caused by a lack of ethics, and just pure and simple greed.If I went out on a street corner and started selling "gold " bricks, I'd soon be arrested and charged with fraud, not if you're a giant invest bank, the tax payers will buy all the "gold bricks " you can sell. Need a degree for a job? What job? high school conselers are still touting computer programing, they never did it, and dont know its a gone profession.Young people are graduating from secondary schools with 30 to 40 thousand dollar debt, and taking next to menial jobs.Yeah I remember "hippys" protesting viet nam, I also remember one of my friends father, a decorated marine, saying his sons life was wasted in a place that didn't mean anything to us.

Computer programming is NOT a gone profession.........sure a lot is being out sourced, I KNOW, but there are a significant number of positions that will never be outsourced, and the project leaders and planners are generally kept onshore.

On top of that, there are a significant number of companies bringing stuff back onshore.......As India and the former Soviet states catch up, their economies are seeing double digit inflation. They are building infrastructure to support the growth, but workers are also DEMANDING WAGES.

Attrition in the big shops in India is horrible and trying to get good SLA's from them is pretty much impossible. Companies trying to do business don't want to train folks over there and train someone else in 4-5 months. All the savings in offshoring are lost in training dollars. Companies are seeing that, and evaluating that, and BRINGING JOBS BACK..........Simple as that.

Later,

Geo

[RoadToad]

Ditto what Geo said. High school counselors should be touting computer science degrees. Get one of those and a few years of hands-on experience somewhere, and you'll ALWAYS have work.

[Chubminnow]

From what I'm gathering all these protests are due to the bail outs handed out on wall street....is this correct? If so, it's a little late to be protesting don't you all think? The bail outs happened, it's all water under the bridge now...what's to protest? How do you protest the only money system that makes this country (and world) keep moving along? What other options are there...besides paying cash for everything? Hey...that's an idea.

Get a life protesters!