"Occupy" Movement Spreads To Florida
(Posted October 17, 2011 07:50 am)
(Photo source: Facebook, © unknown)
TALLAHASSEE,
FL - Crying economic foul, thousands of protesters -
part of the Occupy movement, born in the shadows of Wall
Street - have taken to the streets in cities across
Florida. Occupy Tallahassee activists surrounded the
historic Capitol dome. They are of all ages and
backgrounds. One is retired lawyer Tann Hunt, who says
when big corporate money talked, everybody walked.
"Not one person, in Countrywide or Bank of America or
any of them, was indicted. It was a failure of our legal
system."
Many of the protesters are college students and young,
educated professionals who cannot find work. They're
asking why one percent of the population controls the
nation's purse strings, including some of the elected
officials sworn to represent the people.
Some in the financial industry have painted the crowds
as disorganized or unsophisticated. They say Wall Street
has to do well in order for the economy to recover.
Many of those protesting carry signs and banners bearing
slogans like "stop corporate greed" and "people before
profits." One of those picketing at the Capitol is Julie
Hauserman, a communications professional who sums up the
protesters' grievances.
"What we're doing is reaching a critical mass among
people - many, many people in this country - who are
dissatisfied by the fact that our democracy has been
hijacked by corporate interests and corporate money."
The protestors are convinced that the wealthy get tax
breaks on everything from private planes to luxury sky
boxes, while billions of dollars in budget cuts are
hitting the middle class. Of particular concern to the
Florida protesters is what they see as the "tea party"
agenda of Gov. Rick Scott, who has approved teacher
layoffs and funding cuts hitting education and reducing
care for elderly and disabled Floridians.
Links:
Information about Occupy Tallahassee is available at
www.facebook.com/occupytally
Information about Occupy Florida is at
https://sites.google.com/site/occupyflorida/.