The 53%: We are NOT Occupy Wall Street
The 53%: We are NOT Occupy Wall Street
http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/26/news/economy/occupy_wall_street_bac...
@CNNMoney October 26, 2011: 9:50 AM ET
Frank Decker has a message for those at Occupy Wall Street.
They call themselves the 53%...as in the 53% of Americans who pay federal income taxes. And they are making their voices heard on Tumblr blogs, Twitter and Facebook pages devoted to stories of personal responsibility and work ethic.
The number originates in the estimate that roughly 47% of Americans don't pay federal income tax, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The 53 percenters stress the fact that they are paying the taxes that support the government assistance the protesters say they want.
Kevin Eder was among the first to galvanize those who wanted to differentiate themselves from the thousands of people rallying across the nation to raise awareness of the growing economic gap between the rich and everyone else.
In early October, Eder created the Twitter hashtag #iamthe53, which has since been posted in hundreds of tweets as the backlash to Occupy Wall Street mounts.
"I would never identify myself with those occupying Wall Street," said Eder, 26, a business analyst in Washington D.C. "The frustration was born out of people claiming to speak for me who don't."
Meet the Occupy Wall Street protesters
Many of those tweeting share the belief that the protesters need to stop complaining about the government and financial institutions and start looking for work. Ken Gardner, an attorney in Dallas, joined the conversation because he opposes government handouts."We don't want to be the 53% who carries the 47% on our shoulders," said Gardner, who thinks more people should pay federal income taxes.
Eder's hashtag helped inspire Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of the conservative website RedState.com and a CNN contributor, to set up a Tumblr blog called "We are the 53%." It mimics Occupy Wall Street "We are the 99 percent" site.
The 53% site gives a voice to those who reject the contention that most Americans are victims of the system, said Josh Trevino, "quasi-official spokesman" for the blog.
"What the 99% is missing is the element of personal responsibility," said Trevino, who is also vice president at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation. "The 53% want to bring that into the conversation."
More than a thousand people have sent in entries to the 53% site, which generally features their photo next to a piece of paper that outlines their views, as well as their struggles and work histories.
"I am responsible for my own destiny," writes one 34-year-old father of three. "I will succeed or fail because of me and me alone."
"I took jobs I didn't want. Why don't you?" says one poster to the protesters. "Suck it up and become part of the 53%."
As Frank Decker read through the posts, he felt he could relate. A public school teacher in Vancouver, Wash., Decker and his wife lived below the poverty line until they decided to go back to school to become educators. He sent in a post because he wanted to share his story.
"We didn't go through all that struggle while raising three kids to support people who don't feel they need to work or people who feel they are entitled to something they haven't earned," said Decker, 44.
At this point, neither Keder nor Trevino plan to shift their 53% efforts from the online world to the physical one. But they are both surprised at how popular the backlash has become.
"It's lasted far longer than we thought and it's become much bigger than we thought," Trevino said. "It's not over yet." 
-
Comment by Jesus_Was_A_Man_Or_Myth_Or_Both on October 28, 2011 at 8:05am -
Re, Republicans in General who have nothing better to do with their lives than whinge, whine and worry about the poor not paying income taxes we can only hope that they suffer politically in election as in this David Frum comment.
The GOP Brand
Frum thinks its in tatters:
The identification of the GOP as mouthpiece for the selfish interests of the wealthy is a stubborn image, difficult to overcome at the best of times. For three years, however, Republican leaders have been doing their utmost to confirm the stereotype – and to quash and quell any attempt to counter that stereotype. Did we really spend months and months arguing that one of the things most wrong with the US tax code is that the poor and unemployed pay too little tax? Yes we did. Head shake.
-
Comment by Dustin on October 28, 2011 at 9:31am -
wow Arcus, I didn't even know you could diversify across the worlds markets in different countries ... I need to look into this when I set up my portfolio ..
-
Comment by David Brown on October 28, 2011 at 11:24am -
Apparently irrational and ridiculous opinions and belief systems aren't the exclusive domain of religious believers. If It isn't bad enough that the Uber-wealthy are gorging themselves at the trough, they also have apologists like Sassan K and the like defending them. The protesters are simply normal people sick of the disgraceful and shameless gluttony displayed by the banks, financiers, industrialists and politicians. Their greed has destroyed so many lives and when they screw the global financial system up the government bails them out so they can continue to do it all over again. Unbelievable! The world is being raped by these pigs and still so many of you don't get it.
-
Comment by Dogly on October 28, 2011 at 12:05pm -
So, Arcus, you think that individual U.S.citizens should invest 75% of their money in foreign countries, and only 25% in our own country? I am not a flag waving, jingoistic, patriot, but I find your recommendation contemptible, and unconscionable. I'm horrified!
-
Comment by Dogly on October 28, 2011 at 12:28pm
-
Arcus, I just found out that you are not an American, but from the Czech Republic. I take back that contemptible comment. You can not be expected to concern yourself with the well-being of Americans. You say that you are planning to move here. I hope you care more about us after you have moved here. You're attitude is very like that of Cuban exiles here, who are so afraid of communism that they oppose every effort we make to improve the fairness of our system of government. I have noticed that people from countries with few civil rights, do not appreciate our efforts to retain - unabridged - every single right enumerated in our Constitution's Bill of Rights.
-
Comment by Matt Novak on October 28, 2011 at 12:48pm -
@Dogly... You are the reason why the Entire world hates Americans...
-
Comment by Erin The Dub on October 28, 2011 at 2:32pm
-
"No one handed that to us."
Um. Hello. You're white. By mention of your wife, you appear to be heterosexual (or could at least pass for it). You do realize this ensures that you will never be subject to unfair job discrimination, right? In the jobs world, you have a more secure place than others with the same education as you but differing personal traits--it is an unfair system from which you (and I) directly benefit. You *earned* your degree. You were *handed* job security.
Maybe in 20 years, after you've worked your ass off your whole life only to find your pension, social security, and Medicare completely drained, you'll realize you backed the wrong pony when the corporate oligarchs you elect are being as condescending as you're being now, telling you to just stop whining and get another job to pay for your medicine and hip replacements, and that retirement is a privilege, not a handouts program.
-
Comment by Arcus on October 28, 2011 at 2:52pm -
"you think that individual U.S.citizens should invest 75% of their money in foreign countries"
Yes. One thing is being patriotic, another thing is making stupid investment decisions. Your income is already highly sensitive to the US economy, why make your wealth sensitive to it in addition? It's about not putting all your eggs in one basket and has nothing to do with patriotism.
"I just found out that you are not an American, but from the Czech Republic."
I'm Norwegian, but I live in Prague.
"You can not be expected to concern yourself with the well-being of Americans."
Yet I do. :)
"You say that you are planning to move here."
One of many options. My current goal is to be transferred to our sister office in Curitiba or Bangkok. But I've lived in the US for almost 4 years and like a number of things about the country. The ability to become obscenely rich is one of the major draws. I'd rather be one of the 1% than protest them, but then again, we did not have a remote control in my family until 1992...
"so afraid of communism"
It's a fairly rational fear. I'm not only "afraid" of communism, I'm afraid of totalitarianism of any flavor.
"I have noticed that people from countries with few civil rights"
You mean like going out for a beer when you are 18 type civil right? Or having the right to receive a quality higher education for free? Or the right of free access? I've noticed that people from countries supposedly high in such having a fairly limited idea about what they are and what they entail... ;)
-
Comment by Dogly on October 28, 2011 at 3:51pm
-
Matt, I didn't realize the huge degree of influence I have on the world! I thought people hate us because we keep attacking and occupying their countries, buying up their natural resources, and manipulating their elections. Silly me!
-
Comment by Dogly on October 28, 2011 at 4:17pm
-
Matt, please explain your statement.
What's new today
Forum
UFO/ET Phenomenon
Started by Resist ET Intervention in Pseudoscience, The Paranormal, and Conspiracy Theories. Last reply by Matt Giwer 55 seconds ago. 178 Replies 1 Like
Blog Posts
How Jesus' Views on Marriage Proves Yahweh's Laws are NOT Absolute OR Jesus is Mistaken
Posted by Cathy Cooper on May 17, 2013 at 10:00am 0 Comments 0 Likes
Events
-
Frederick Beer Week
May 11, 2013 at 12pm to May 18, 2013 at 6pm – Stillpoint Farm, MD
0 Comments 0 Likes
Services we love
Check out our new mobile/tablet version of Think Atheist! www.ThinkAtheist.com/m
© 2013 Created by Morgan Matthew.
You need to be a member of Think Atheist to add comments!
Join Think Atheist