I’ve seen a significant amount of misunderstanding on the concept of the claim that “we are the 99%”. Most of the misunderstanding seems to come from skeptics as to the movement’s purpose and effectiveness (which is rather annoying, actually). So, to combat the confusion, I thought I’d take a little bit of time to explain the concept in a little bit of depth.
- Source: Congressional Budget Office
Simply put, the wealthiest 1% is placed on one end of the equation, and the remaining 99% is placed on the other. Why go after the top 1%? Why not the top 3% or the top 10%? The graph to the right shows that the top 1% is significantly different in terms of average household income (before and after taxes). Their income has risen dramatically over the last 30 years while everyone else’s (the 99%)…. hasn’t. As you can clearly see, the 1% is… special. In effect, they made themselves “the 1%”; not the occupation movements which have sprouted all over the planet in recent weeks.
So what does that mean for everyone else? It means that if you don’t fall in the 1% category, then you are a part of the 99%. Whether you like it or not. So, let’s take a moment to explore these implications further…
This movement, as a whole, has targeted the wealthiest 1%. When we say that we are the 99%, we are not saying that we have 100% support from the 99%. We are members of the 99%, and we are expressing our grievances to the injustice that is affiliated with the graphs above. There are, after all, consequences that are attached to those graphs. So how about those who “disagree” with the movement’s motives and objectives?
The beauty behind this movement is that as long as you are a member of the 99% financially (as outlined by Congress in the charts above), then your views and ideas are also represented in the movement. The movement itself is composed of a body of people that disagree with each other on a wide range of issues. Since the movement is also composed of everyone’s opinions on various issues, this means that you are also a member of the 99% ideologically as well.
We function as individuals. Those that you see marching, protesting, and occupying have elected to do so on their own accord. Those who are against the protesters and disagree with the occupiers are still a part of the equation and therefore the movement. Their ideas are taken in and reviewed on the individual level and are considered just as important as everyone else’s.
If you decide not to partake in the movement, then all it means is that your voice will not be heard. It doesn’t mean that you are excluded, nor does it mean that your ideas are worthless or unacceptable.
We are the 99%. The only “us” and “them” that can be found in our vocabulary is merely mathematical. Hopefully this clears up the confusion.
17 Responses to “Editorial: “What IS the 99%, Exactly?””
good work, Rich…
The rich have been shipping jobs overseas since 1972, R.C.A. was the first that I know of, when Ronald Reagen fired the air traffic controlers and the unions didn’t back them up (united you stand divided you fall) they really started to move jobs overseas, a report on 60 minits showed how Niki could make a pair of tennis shoes in India and because of there lower monatary policy they coul make a pair of shoes over there ship them over here where shipping and packageing and placing them in the stores only cost them $2.00 dollars and the would sell them for $112 dollars for a 110% profit, we need to stop all trade overseas and stop all manufactured imports
Why do they send the jobs overseas? Let me see. Lower taxes, lower labor cost, less job killing regulations. I am a union member and I have seen how the unions up north run rampant. They inflate labor cost, and put ignorant rules on their contractors. If we won’t business out of politics let’s get the unions out of them too. I believe in the missions of TRADE UNIONS(NOT labor or public sector), but it all needs to get under control.
I would love to see 1000 times more made in USA items in stores. But the only problem is I can’t think of anything that is American anymore. I hate to say that. We do need to tax imports coming in though. Everything that is imported should be taxed.
Well said Rich! I don’t exactly understand how the Occupy movement is shaping up and what it is about, but I also respect that fact that it is still so new. The original Wall Street group is not even into it’s first month and new groups seem to be appearing all over the country every day.
I do not understand some of the commentary I’ve seen on this site and the reaction from other media organizations and individuals where they are “against” the Occupy movement. How can you be against something that is still so new and has not really outlined any concrete plans or goals? Or writing off the entire group as a bunch of “malcontents”, “hippies” or “anarchists”? All of those assumptions seem premature and unfair. How do they know? I don’t, so I am witholding judgement.
I also understand that it is not too hard to find many signs that our country is in serious trouble. The gap between rich and poor is growing exponentially, people are worker harder for less money and many of the infrastructures we rely on are teetering on the edge of collapse (education, healthcare, physical infrastructure, etc). I do not pretend to have solutions for these complex and multifaceted problems facing our nation, but I recognize that the current political and financial systems are not helping (and are a huge part of the problem). The other part of the problem is that we, as a society, have not been actively engaged in our political and governmental system. Shame on us. We can’t really point fingers, when more people vote in the most recent American Idol competition than in the national and local government elections. And if we are honest with ourselves and each other, neither party represents our interests. If they did, no one would have to lose their home because of medical debt bankruptcy or have generations of children and adults who cannot read, much less write, a single sentence. I don’t exaggerate, just research our illiteracy rates, infant mortality, health and disease rates and other indicators related to quality of life compared to other industrialized countries.
So, let’s stop moping about government and do something about it. I may not agree with everything about Occupy all the time, but I am willing to do something to change the status quo.
I’ve heard that voting statistic as well. Sickening, isn’t it? And very representative of how these problems were allowed to continue as they have.
We have issues here at home that have gone neglected for far too long. Flooring statistics, such as the average 50% graduation rate of America’s class of 2011, or our infant morality rate, just to name two examples, are absolutely unacceptable for any country that carries a 1st world status. We are lagging behind the rest of the civilized world on many fronts. And it’s not only causing needless pain and suffering here, but frankly, it’s also rather embarrassing on the world stage.
While everyone might have their own ideas on how to “fix things”, most of us can agree that there is indeed much that needs to be “fixed”.
Agreed. Good start Rich,… (and I hope I’m not the only one who sees the irony in your name here – no offense intended.)
Now, what is it that we want? As my mother often said, “Life is not fair.” I am sure most of us understand that. Surely we don’t want to do away with the 1%? (Of course, based upon your summary, some of us probably do – and that’s a sad thought.) So, specifically, what do we want? What change do we want to bring about? I’m not so eager to jump on the Hope and Change bandwagon as I once was.
Maybe we can start with what I want? I want my kids to have a fair shot at a decent education through our public school system. Part of that relates to taxes, corruption and greed – how the money is spent, but a bigger part relates to other parents. Parents who don’t care enough about their own children to help them with homework, ensure that its being done, read with or to their children, but instead blame the teachers, the system for their children’s failures. I want my kids to not be judged or hated because of the color of their skin or the spelling of their last name, or simply because they are beautiful. I want my kids to have a fair shot at making the team and not because other parents “figured it out” and held-back their kid (a couple of years) for “developmental reasons.” I want my kids to go to college, with or without my financial help. I want my kids to find decent work with a decent wage and not miss opportunities because more privileged kids are given them. I want my kids to find good spouses, should they choose, and to raise my grandchildren in a world that has figured all of these problems out. That’s what I want for my kids and yours, and for the 100%’ers.
So I ask again, specifically – and realistically, what do we want to change?
Btw – I chose American Capitalist because I believe in the entrepreneurial spirit, and that hard work and dedication do make a difference. I believe that capitalism is better than most every alternative and that there are extremes unfortunately (or fortunately) in everything. As my wife likes to say, “Everything in moderation.” As I like to say, “Get to work!”
I too, believe in capitalism. True capitalism. That means that nobody is “too big to fail”. If you make crappy products, and nobody wants them anymore, then you should fail. This is what capitalism is.
Keep in mind that “we” don’t have a single objective. Remember, we are the 99%. If we begin to issue group complaints and demands, we lose the right to make that claim because we wouldn’t be representing the 99% anymore. Nonetheless, I’ll give you my personal take on what you’ve said. Education is my specialty.
For starters, let’s clarify the “public” in “public education”. Public education isn’t public at all. Your schools are determined for you, based on where you live (often by zip code). You are not authorized to put your children into any unauthorized “public” school. Libraries are public. Mail delivery is public. Public schools are anything but. This wouldn’t be a big deal if all of our neighborhoods looked the same. Yet, individual schools are funded mostly (in the 90 percentile range) by the property taxes of the neighborhoods that they service. Low income neighborhoods have low income public schools (and typically produce low income citizens) whereas high income neighborhoods are on the inverse. This practice, although common, not only spits on the Brown v. Board of Education ruling that tossed out “separate but equal”; in today’s schools, they are actually separate and unequal.
It is by this mechanism that the privileged stay privileged, and those who aren’t, are deemed “unwanted” by today’s work force. The ultimate problem here, aside from blatant injustice, is the fact that they’ve actually gone way too far with it. Today there are over 2 million high skill / high pay jobs in the United States that are sitting vacant because we literally do not have enough “smart” people to fill them.
Our public school system is wretched. This, we all know, but few truly understand the magnitude as far as how screwed up it really is. You may have found my other reply mentioning the average 50% graduation rate of America’s Class of 2011. And that statistic is based on those who actually stuck through to make it to their senior year. Our drop-out rate is flooring as well. We have standardized test results (which is controversial in itself) that demonstrate that these kids are lucky enough to know how to tie their own shoes by 9th grade. The only word that I can find that comes close to describing our public education’s state of affairs is…. “grotesque”.
What should we do? For years we’ve debated the issue without result. My suggestion is to look at the most successful nations in education. One country (Norway, Sweden, or Finland – I can’t remember which) has a system in which schools are privatized and sovereign. Tax money is then given to everyone to be used for tuition (enough for full tuition) at a school of their choice. Because schools are having to compete with each other for tuition money, the curriculum and teaching methods are top-notch, and the results that this system produces make them the most educated in the world. There isn’t any bureaucracy or other tangled web of garbage to prevent anyone from becoming a productive contributor to the economy.
Again, well said Rich. Insightful too. Thank you.
More tomorrow.
Excellent point Rich about the too big too fail. I whole heartedly agree that NOBODY is too big to fail. I can get behind the end of CRONNIE capitalism. That’s is a major problem. But taxing corporations more will NOT create jobs in America nor will itbridge the gap between what a CEO makes and what a janitor makes.
Whole-heartedly agree
I have read all the posts above including the original editorial by Rich asking “What is the 99%, Exactly?” and the replies, and agree that this is a worthwhile and respectful discussion of issues, far advanced over what passes for political debates on TV by various organizations allowing the Democratic, Republican, and even Libeterian political candidates to participate. These “spectacles” apear to me to be more about showboating and one upsmanship by the candidates appealing to the lowest common denominator viewer who prefers to be entertained than informed.
I want to encourage everyone “really” concerned about and wanting a solution rather than just continued fruitless complaining to consider two issues 1) go to the website or FB site of Professor G. William Domhoff
http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/class_domination.html
and just read his remarks about “Who Rules America?” with an open mind, 2) considering all the myriad problems facing the US today, what is the one fact that seems to be most destructive and divisive resulting from the corporatism excess of capitalism as experienced TODAY in the US? ………………..my answer is that capitalism is NOT the problem, Mr. American Capitalist, but rather the EXCESSES of capitalism (or what I refer to as corporatism). IMO, the most damning problem causing so much of the present antagonism between the 99% and the 1% is simply that money talks and big money OUTRIGHT BUYS control of the federal goverment and to perhaps a lesser but still important extent the state goverments by buying politicians who then become obligated to the big money interests as they are elected and become the “representatives of the people” of the US (or each individual state). If, miraculously, all political campaign activity in the US were to be strictly financed by the public with absolutely no individual/corporate money input, again IMO there would be two immediate benefits: 1) the wealthy 1% would no longer OWN and RULE the US goverment and 2) the assinine spending of millions of dollars on pathetic campaing propaganda would stop and those dollars used more effectively/fairly elsewhere.
Of course I could be wrong about all this and perhaps God does indeed smile on the wiley, crafty, selfish, ruthless- to- individuals- and- the- environment, and hypocritical American ELITE.
Perhaps the thing that bothers me most about the occupies agenda, such as it is, is the claim that it represents the other 99%. When the truth is it represents a very small proportion of the population. Not that they don’t deserve to be heard as much as anyone else but the name co-opts a lot of people who might statistically be in the 99% but don’t support them either.
You’re still thinking about this as if it’s a traditional model. There isn’t a specific ideology that comes from the movement.
The 99% actually does represent the 99%. The occupation is just a soap box for individuals to stand on. Those who “disagree” aren’t going out there and standing on the soap box. So the only voices that are being propagated by the movement are the ones that they are hearing. The movement actually represents all opinions, and therefore, the entire 99%. Get it now?
Sorry but it doesn’t represent every one. You cannot claim to represent anyone you do not have express consent from,
Its the same principle when the Tea Party claims to represent the Middle class.
As to it being a traditional model it is one of the oldest models in history harkening back to Athens. But in Athens you would not claim to represent anyone who had not given you permission to speak for them.
I just stumbled onto this blog (as usual, you can blame a Facebook post), and am rather delighted to see some of what I’ve been hoping at least part of this occupy movement is about. I’m seeing rational dialogue, intelligently presented, by people who seem to know how to put egos (and justifiable anger) on the shelf in the name of creating some understanding. it’s also interesting to see one of the posters define him(?)self as American Capitalist, while challenging the bastardization of that term by the crony corporatist paradigm.that has dominated the scene for way too long. As for me, I stopped using that word “capitalist” years ago; although I am a lifelong libertarian (and mostly an anarchist), and believe in the sovereignty of individuals and free-market economics, I’ve never been all that comfortable with trying to make money from the work of others solely as an investor of capital. And with the extent to which I’ve seen those of such a desire bend and often break rules of ethics and integrity with vaporware products, companies and other concepts (dotcoms, derivatives and other ‘bubble’ devices — past, present and yet to come) … I doubt that’s gonna change soon.
As I say, excellent comments all. I only hope one part of this Occupy thing also attacks (along with bringing some of these thugs to justice) the wars both overseas and at home (e.g., on “some drugs” – but not the ones from Big Pharma that people are actually abusing and dying from?), the bailouts and other corporate welfare forms, the repeal and reversal of the ‘Uniting (and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism’ Act, closing of Gitmo …
You have a chance to succeed at what my fellow Boomers failed to do in the ’60s: restoring a degree of liberty to our society, while ending an imperialist intervention abroad. I hope you succeed where we did not.
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