Pre-Occupy-Ed: How the Occupy Wall Street Movement Will Economically Destroy America

By Richard Roybal Jr.

On July 13th, 2011, Canadian-based anti-consumerist magazine, Adbusters Media Foundation, proposed the first occupation of Wall Street to demonstrate against income inequality, high unemployment, greed, as well as corruption and the influence of corporations on government. Since then, the Occupy Wall Street movement has been gaining momentum and continues to pick up steam. Attempts to quiet the protesters only expanded their influence and support. Many sympathize with the protestors ideas and understand their desire to challenge the system. However, the protestors opposition to Capitalism, support for radical wealth redistribution, and intense regulation of the private sector are threats to our economy and freedom. Occupy Wall Street does not understand their demands will not lead to improved economic conditions for the poor and middle class; it will further expand their hardships. Pre-OCCUPY-Ed investigates and exposes Occupy Wall Street and recognizes the results of their demands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477281185

Richard Roybal Jr.

Richard Roybal Jr. is a former Intelligence Analyst for the United States Army. His area of expertise is government and economics. He has served multiple combat tours in Iraq analyzing Iraqi politics, economics, terrorist threats, and Arab Spring/Revolutionary tactics. At 18 years old, he created a real estate development company which is still in business. He is an active community volunteer and mentor for ghetto youth in southern California.

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© 2012 by Richard Roybal Jr.. All rights reserved.

Edited by Jim Duffel

Illustrations by Kyle Richardson

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/15/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-8120-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-8119-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-8118-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012919477

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter 1   Misrepresentation Of The 99%

Class Warfare

Chapter 2   Taxes

The Reagan Tax Cuts

Clinton’s Tax Policies

The 1997 Tax Cut

Tax Increases On The 1%

The Buffet Tax Rule

Everyone Pay Their Fair Share

Guiding Principles

Chapter 3   The Domino Effect

When The Rich Fall

Only The Rich Will Pay

Chapter 4   A Bankrupt America

What Is Public Debt?

The Fed’s Manipulation Of Us Treasury Bonds

Chinese Treasury Holdings (Measured In Billions)

America’s Credit Rating Downgrade

Ows’ Ideological Fight

Will Create An Economic Burden

Chapter 5   Inflation

Monetary Control

Outsourcing

Wage Inflation

National Ruin

The Fed’s Manipulation Of America’s Currency

Occupy The Federal Reserve

Chapter 6   Out Of Control

Government Spending

What Is Out-Of-Control Spending?

Obama Enables Ows’ Socialist Views

Redefining Entitlement Spending

The Greek Government-Debt Crisis

Composition Of State Budget 2009 Expenditure

(Minus Public Debt Expenditure)

Operating Within Our Means

Chapter 7   The Needs Of The Poor

Vs. The Wants Of The Lazy

Falsifying Poverty In America

Blaming The Rich

How To Create Poverty

How To Create Dependency

Chapter 8   Government Healthcare

Is Not Healthy

How Greedy Corporations First Instituted Healthcare

The Cost Of Free Healthcare

Universal Healthcare Hinders Innovation

The Effect Universal Healthcare

Has On Businesses And Employees

Chapter 9   Education

The General Education Board

Federal Funding Erodes The Quality Of Education

On Higher Education

Is College Really Worth It?

What Do To Instead Of College?

Join The Military

Explore Non-Traditional Education

Start Investing

Start A Business

Chapter 10   Wages And Corruption

Unions, The Working Man’s Worst Enemy

Ows Putting A Foot In Their Own Mouth

Chapter 11   Epilogue

About The Author

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my wife Christina, thank you for putting up with the long nights and hours away from you to write and research this book. I could not have written this book without your support. To my mother Linda, thank you for never giving up on me and pushing me towards a better life. To my grandfather Ernest, thank you for being such a great role model. I am the man I am today because of you.

PROLOGUE

The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.—Maximilien Robespierre

In the early 1600’s, the societies of Europe were the earth’s intellectual leaders. Their idea of improving social growth consisted of taxes and religious restrictions. Rewarding self-achievement was non-existent. People yearning for a better life were forced to pack up and flee to the new world. Death was a possibility, but the desire for freedom and a chance to establish their own destiny was more important than living under a system where every aspect of their life was dependent on rulers or educators promoting government philosophy.

The desire for freedom of religion and self-reliance served as the foundation for today’s America and became the greatest social experiment ever established on earth. Many Americans fought and died in two world wars on the same lands their ancestors fled. After the wars, they cheered while rebuilding the war-torn cities.

The American spirit started to fade during the Vietnam War. Many of the American youth became flower children and demonstrations, much like Occupy Wall Street (OWS) of today, dominated the news. Images promoted by Hollywood and supported by educators of flag—burnings and spitting on military were broadcasted on TV. The fact of history repeating itself is evident when college-level educators are teaching government spin to our youth and offering encouragement to demonstrators with a disregard for the rights of others. If history repeats itself, will self-reliant families have somewhere to migrate?

On July 13th, 2011, Canadian-based anti-consumerist magazine, Adbusters Media Foundation, proposed the first occupation of Wall Street to demonstrate against income inequality, high unemployment, greed, as well as corruption and the influence of corporations on government.¹ Adbusters hoped to invoke change in today’s crony-capitalism by raising world-wide awareness, calling themselves the 99%. They claimed to use Arab Spring tactics to peacefully protest the unjust.

An internet group by the name of Anonymous admired OWS, and on August 23rd, 2011, released a video calling on protesters to flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months.² From there, other groups began to join OWS, including its current governing body, the NYC General Assembly.³ The word of a protest quickly got out, as OWS took full advantage of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. On September 17th, 2011, 1,000 protesters demonstrated in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City’s Financial District; as many as 200 slept overnight in cardboard boxes.⁴

Since then, the OWS movement has been gaining momentum and continues to pick up steam as the months pass. Americans are angry, but they are not exactly sure what they are angry about and they do not know for sure who they should be angry with. It is easy for them to point fingers at Wall Street, but Wall Street is in no way responsible for the financial crisis our country is in today.

Thousands of protestors were arrested for violating traffic laws, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. More arrests followed as demonstrations grew bigger, and the mainstream media exploited these incidents to their full extent. What was once a small protest full of disobedient underdogs is now a world-wide epidemic; this is the true strength of OWS.

Attempts to quiet the protesters only expanded their influence and support. Local citizens began viewing the protesters as their bullied little brother, and provided aid to their cause. Local authorities became symbols of ridicule as protesters refused to obey lawful orders. Any attempt by law enforcement to quell the protests instantly activates the masses in their defense. For every one person they arrest, two more join the movement. Allowing the movement to grow at such an aggressive rate will undoubtedly bring about a drastic change in America.

On October 15, 2011, tens of thousands of demonstrators staged rallies in 900 cities around the world, including Auckland, Sydney, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, São Paulo, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg, and Leipzig.⁵ In Frankfurt, Germany, 5,000 people protested at the European Central Bank. In Zurich, Switzerland’s financial hub, protesters carried banners reading We won’t bail you out yet again and We are the 99%. Several hundred protesters were arrested across the US. There were 175 arrests in Chicago, about 100 arrests in Arizona, 150 in Minneapolis, and more than 70 in New York City, including at least 40 in Times Square.⁶

On November 2nd, 2011, Occupy Oakland was able to shut down the Port of Oakland, the fifth busiest port in the nation. Police estimated that about 3,000 demonstrators were gathered at the port and 4,500 marched across the city.⁷

On December 6th, 2011, Occupy Our Homes, an offshoot of OWS, embarked on a national day of action to protest the mistreatment of homeowners by big banks. They believe the banks made billions of dollars from the housing bubble by offering predatory loans and indulging in practices that took advantage of consumers. In more than two dozen cities across the nation the movement took on the housing crisis by re-occupying foreclosed homes, disrupting bank auctions and blocking evictions.⁸

Whether we agree with them or not, most of us sympathize with their sentiments and understand their desire to challenge a system we know is corrupt. However, the protestor’s opposition to capitalism, support for radical wealth redistribution, and intense regulation of the private sector are threats to our freedom. OWS does not understand their demands will not lead to improved economic conditions for the poor and middle class; it will further expand their hardships.

Capitalism is the key to improving the economy. Capitalism is the system in which people are free to use their private property without outside interference. That is why it is known as the free market. It allows people freedom to choose their own jobs, freedom to sell their products at whatever prices they like, and freedom to choose among products for the best value.

Many Americans have taken capitalism for granted, and do not understand how fragile their freedom really is. Under a socialist government, jobs are assigned by the authorities. Prices are set and import and export quotas are enforced. In many socialist countries private property does not exist; everything is owned or could be confiscated by the government for the benefit of the people. OWS is undoubtedly protesting the wrong things; it should be protesting the expansion of government instead of calling for more government intervention.

OWS is underestimated, unorganized, dismissed, and outright laughed at, yet it continues to gain ground every day and is spreading at an unbelievable rate. They are growing in numbers and in strength. All that is needed is a catalyst of some kind. Once the OWS protesters reach their breaking point, this simple show of frustration may become a revolution. This may lead to incredible opportunity and risk.

The growing gap between the rich and poor is often followed by charismatic dictators who stand up to unite the people looking to change the previous system, as history has indicated. The most recent: Adolf Hitler in Germany, Mao Zedong in China, Joseph Stalin in Russia, and Fidel Castro in Cuba. As Americans, we must not dismiss history and assume we are the exception to the rest of the world. The people of these countries never expected their government to behave is such manors.

The apparent OWS slogan We are the 99% is persuading the masses to bring down the 1%. The poor want to blame the rich, and are looking for their Robin Hood. Supported by President Obama, OWS is able to achieve its primary objective: wage class warfare against the 1% and divide the country between the have and have not’s. OWS’ inflammatory rhetoric is designed to prey on fear and resentment to pit class against class by making the poor feel they are stuck in their current position, and also points at the Government to take care of them.

I predict we are at the infant stage of a coming revolution. I have made it my responsibility to awaken America so that we can restore it back to its core values that made it great. A nation built upon freedom, personal sovereignty, and justice. A nation where the government once again fears the people it serves; a nation where individuals take responsibility for their actions, and expect our leadership to take responsibility for theirs. A nation that rewards creation and value, and disdains the victim mentality offered by a welfare state. A nation where self-reliance and personal leadership is a badge of honor, and conscious capitalism is the foundation of prosperity.

My fear is that masses of Americans will side with their emotions rather than logic. This book was written to investigate and expose the OWS movement, and recognize the results of their demands. Protesting in support of idealisms is a very dangerous goal when used as a blanket for Socialism because it does not account for the critical distinction of how wealth is gained, and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding as to how individual prosperity is created. The vast majority of wealthy individuals have become rich by providing overwhelming value to the world through the creation of products and services in a free market. This is capitalism, and this is the primary reason why the US has enjoyed more prosperity than any other nation in history.

1

MISREPRESENTATION OF THE 99%

". . . Enlightened by a benign religion, professed, indeed, and practiced in various forms, yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and the love of man, acknowledging and adoring an overruling Providence, which by all its dispensations proves that it delights in the happiness of man here and his greater happiness hereafter—with all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people? Still one thing more . . . a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities."—Thomas Jefferson

I remember watching the news from my office in Baghdad when the Occupy Wall Street (which I will often reference as OWS for the sake of brevity) protest began. A relatively small, unknown group of disenchanted youth and computer hackers, known as Anonymous, decided to challenge the federal government and corporations to bring the ruling oligarchs to justice over the raping and pillaging of the global economy. They planted their flag on Wall Street, the symbolic doorstep of their enemy. They claimed to represent everyone, and yet they are no one. There is no leader. There is no organization. There is no one for the government to target or hold accountable. Their anonymity is their greatest strength and also their greatest weakness.

They label themselves as the 99%, but what is their real identity? Are they rebellious college students, hippies, Anarchist, Socialists, Communists, crazy conspiracy theorists, or something more? After all, how can you accurately label a group who has yet to label themselves or their purpose? I decided to search for the answer myself online, since I could not personally attend the protests.

I came across the We are the 99% website, which revealed:

We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we’re working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent. ⁹

There were hundreds of stories, generally consisting of untidy individuals in their mid-20s who blogged on the website’s wallpaper. They held signs leading viewers to believe their life was unfair, blogging such things as: "I find my dreams impossible to fulfill; I am unemployed; people on Wall Street treat me like a moron; I have a good paying job, but don’t have medical insurance; I have free medical because I left the US . . . I am a lucky one; I have a degree but can’t find a job; I am 24 years old and am $90,000 in debt from getting a college education; and I am the 99%". The list continues for hundreds of pages mainly revolving around the same subjects: corporate influence in Washington, financial debt, medical insurance, and a worthless degree.

Some stories were specifically aimed at belittling the 1%, but to my surprise, there was no clear indication of who the 1% was. It seemed as if OWS was comprised of anyone and everyone with something to say, which was the inevitable side effect of starting a movement in a diverse public venue without leadership or a clear agenda. While vilifying the rich is a popular and