The Frugal Flambe

garvs: This pisses me off to no end. 1. You are the 99%. No way...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:59:30 -0400

This pisses me off to no end.

1. You are the 99%. No way are you the 1% richest portion of America. You are in the 99% of the country that are not millionaires. That’s what 99% refers to. I know you are trying to dissociate yourself from the Occupy Wall Street Movement, but whether you decided to or not, you are the 99%. Sorry.

2. Your in-state public university is funded by tax dollars. Without that government assistance, you wouldn’t be where you are now. You would have had to either get a full-time job right out of high school or go into debt paying for college. Lucky for you, the government provided you with a more affordable education. Unlucky for your future children, the government is running out of money to pay for that.

3. Being in the 99% doesn’t necessarily mean one is in financial trouble. It means one is not part of the 1% that controls the nation’s wealth. They say you vote with your dollar…well guess who has the most votes? It’s a financial AND a political power issue. Being in the 99% means you don’t have money to contribute to campaign funds or PACs. It means, you lack the resources to compete with the political power the 1% are able to yield. Claiming to be in the 99% is not synonymous with being in debt, or wanting money from the government. Yes, there are financially secure middle class citizens out there! Yes, they, too, are in the 99%.

4. Even if people in the 99% are having financial struggles, not everyone is in financial trouble because of their own “bad decisions.” Did I choose to have a head injury that made health insurance VERY expensive and impossible to even QUALIFY for prior to “Obamacare?” I’m pretty sure I didn’t, and I’m pretty sure my parents (who helped significantly with costs) didn’t. I’m pretty sure my friends and family didn’t choose to have their company freeze raises (including costs of living raises) three years ago. I’m pretty sure life just happens and you can’t always control it.

5. I also work my ass off at NOT my dream job in order to afford to LIVE and to have health insurance and pay for my medication and NOT depend on my parents continuing to help me. I do not have a car at all. I do not have an iPad. I do not have a smart phone. I do not have a credit card. I buy most of my posessions second hand. I do have a small amount of debt, but because of how I live, I can make all my payments on time. I still want change. Not so I can have material goods or less debt, but so that I can have a VOICE, so that I can live in a country that is MUCH closer to a democracy than our current system. I want change so that I don’t have to go to a voting booth and choose between the two candidates corporations and the 1% have deemed acceptable. You know how those candidates made it onto that ballot? They had successful campaigns - campaigns funded by the wealthy 1% and corporations. I don’t have that kind of money, so I don’t really have a vote. And I want a vote. I want a voice. I want reform. I want corporate accountability. I want campaign reform. I want education and medicare to be more important to the government than foreign wars. But most importantly, I want a reason for my opinions to matter. I want, regardless of gender, race, sexuality, or financial status, my vote to be more than the empty token it currently is.

6. Also, I’m pretty sure the Occupy Movement isn’t just about getting out of student loan debt, fyi.