Occupy Wall Street Protests not working? What do you think?

[SamuelRSmith]

Mr Khan said:

SamuelRSmith said:

austin2359 said:

SamuelRSmith said:
Why is it that the people who like to claim that money isn't everything, are so obsessed with getting equal pay?

Why is it that many on the left, who say they stand for equality, only care about one element of equality - monetary. Why, to them, is everything about money?

Because everything is too expensive.  You shouldn't have to slave yourself and whore yourself to corporate America just to have a roof over you head or gas in you tank.

 

I can understand that some people have unrealistic expectations, but people with reasonable expectations are still getting screwed.

First and foremost, the vast majority of jobs in America are  within small businesses, so you're not "whoring yourself out to corporate America".

Second, you don't slave, nobody is forcing you to work anywhere. Taxing people, and giving that money away is slavery and theft.

Third, "expectations". You shouldn't expect anything from anyone. Expectations is oh-so-close to entitlements. Nobody is entitled to a roof over their head, or gas in their car - because those things cannot be provided without stealing from someone else.

Many people say I'm a radical right winger... I don't see how having to work for a living can be considered radical.

This is the root of the moral contamination that has warped our values since the days of John Locke: this notion that private property is the most unalienable right that we can have as humans. This notion is counterintuitive to psychology, and counterintuitive to all moral systems, even those invented in the days of the utilitarians and early capitalists.

It is the right of all humans to meet certain minimums of welfare. Food, shelter, employment, and health. These should be guaranteed to all people before we allow anyone to have anything more. That is solidarity, that is morality. This belief otherwise is perverse.

No, our inalienable rights are the rights given to us as part of our humanity, they're our natural rights, or "god-given rights". We have the right to form our own opinions, and our right to express them, because our minds are our own, as are our hands and mouths, which we use to communicate. The fundamental difference between these rights, and the ones you classify are rights, is that natural rights do not cost anything: the Government does not need to spend money to give me the freedom of speech.

Property rights are an extension of our natural rights. We obtain property by exchanging our services with others. Ultimately, all property is created by our minds, and by our hands. When I make something with my mind, and my hands, that thing is mine. I can voluntarily exchange the efforts of my mind and hands, if I so wish, but I cannot be forced to. That would be slavery.

Now, you may argue that the Government's role is to provide more than our rights. You may contend that, on top of our rights, the Government should also provide us with healthcare, and those less fortunate with food, or shelter. I would disagree with you there, but accept your opinion, as that is your view on what the Government should do. It is a false premise, though, to suggest that those things are rights.