Occupy Pittsburgh is pretty big. (health insurance, how much, homes)

[gg]

I was just running through the city and was surprised how big "Occupy Pittsburgh" is. Tents are crowded together all over the place. I don't think it is gaining steam or anything like that, but I was surprised they are still there. Kind of an odd thing considering how great we all have it.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Kind of an odd thing considering how great we all have it.

Daryl Hall and John Oates - Out Of Touch (HQ VIDEO) - YouTube

[Caladium]

I've been wondering how Occupy Pittsburgh was doing.

[gg]

Aqua, to be honest you do need to travel more. We still have it extremely good. Anyone can get a job and live okay around here. Sure the rich are getting richer and the middle class is about gone, but money isn't everything. Time is the most important thing as well as health. Money is overrated as long as you aren't starving.

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Aqua, to be honest you do need to travel more. We still have it extremely good. Anyone can get a job and live okay around here. Sure the rich are getting richer and the middle class is about gone, but money isn't everything. Time is the most important thing as well as health. Money is overrated as long as you aren't starving.

Tell that to Fox News and the rest of the Hard Right, that's all they talk about with their endless whining of 15T in Debt yet we're suppose to cut taxes even more for the 1% (i.e. the Job Creators) who are even more richer under Obama than they were under Bush and yet they still aren't creating jobs.

[Oleg Bach]

They had better get a clear message together soon before all these protests slowly disipate and turn to dust. The message might be that north american justice systems must be re-formed to serve the under privledged and the privledged - that justice is a must for all - secondly - Perhaps they should suggest that muliti-national corporations had better start taking less profits and go back to their roots and employ domestic labour again - instead of hiring off shore slaves while the old workers back home incrimentally lose their homes and go on welfare...a loyality law should be put in place - any huge company that got it's start in America - must take a loss and re-pay those and the decendants of the workers that built these now multi-nationals.


It's really very simple - Explain to the executives that taking a 100 million dollar bonus because profits are obscene - because they have abandoned American workers and taken to useing cheap off shore labour - high and huge profits are mindelss with out a purpose...Let the CEO take a 5 millioni dollar bonus and use the other 95 million to employ their own brothers and sisters - These protests are all about national family disloyality ----------I have an older brother who lives out side the city...by fluke my son ran into him and his wife down town.

It takes them a couple of hours to drive into the city - I would assume that they would at least drop by and say hello to me the younger more poorer brother - My older brother has millions - he does not see me because - In his mind he believes that he might have to GIVE me something...and to part with a bit of wealth is to much for the greedy son of a ***** to bare...He reminds me exactly of what corporations have become - cheap - greedy self justified weasils...no wonder his son committed suicide. Oh - that was nasty....

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Aqua, to be honest you do need to travel more. We still have it extremely good. Anyone can get a job and live okay around here. Sure the rich are getting richer and the middle class is about gone, but money isn't everything. Time is the most important thing as well as health. Money is overrated as long as you aren't starving.

Studied abroad in Ireland in 2005, been to 7 other countries (I spent 3 weeks in Europe this September for instance), traveled all over the US etc. I'm pretty well traveled for a 27 year old.

With real unemployment rates nearing 20% the whole "anyone can get a job" is false and it is even harder to get one with a living wage in proper benefits. Also since time is valuable to you you should realize that American work/life balance is pathetic.

I could pull all sorts of statistics and so forth, but if anyone thinks that modern day Americans have it good in comparison to other western countries they are out of touch.

[KingKrab]

The person who claims somebody is "out of touch" feels that as long as you aren't starving then you have it good..................................Wow

The American worker is worked so insane it isn't even funny. Here I am with an engineering degree that has to put 60 hours in a week, no sick, vacation time to provide a below standard living that my baby booming parents and their generation could provide. If somebody doesn't see this as an issue than I don't know what to say. At least I am not starving though.

I am sure your time and health can be great though if your a CEO and spend majority of your time golfing and have great health insurance on the backs of the overworked underpaid workers at your company.

[BrianTH]

Everything is relative, and it is certainly true that most people in the United States have a better situation than most people in the world.

But if you look specifically at developed countries, typically they offer more class mobility and more financial security (including but not limited to through their health care systems--medical bills are the top cause of bankruptcy in the United States, and many of those people actually had insurance). In fact, the United States did a better job on those measures itself in the past.

So in that sense I don't think it is going to resonate with the relevant people to tell them things could be worse, because they also know that things could be considerably better.

[Oleg Bach]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Everything is relative, and it is certainly true that most people in the United States have a better situation than most people in the world.

But if you look specifically at developed countries, typically they offer more class mobility and more financial security (including but not limited to through their health care systems--medical bills are the top cause of bankruptcy in the United States, and many of those people actually had insurance). In fact, the United States did a better job on those measures itself in the past.

So in that sense I don't think it is going to resonate with the relevant people to tell them things could be worse, because they also know that things could be considerably better.

Younger people who can not do a comparision study because they have not been around long enough - feel hopeless. In order to understand that things "could be considerably better" - You would have had to experience the "better"... Just like the nature - If you are older ..you remember how much more nature was around - Now poor young people have no memory of a meadow or a beautiful stream - and they don't know or have nature - they get this stupid thing as a replacement called "envrionment" _ I feel sorry the youth who will never understand that things could be better..all they have had is the down ward spiral that they are conditioned to..gloom and doom have haunted this new generation for quite a while now.