Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, 2011
Businessman, author, and commentator Peter Schiff is a self-proclaimed member of the one percent, as the richest Americans are known. He paid a visit to the Occupy Wall Street protest a few days ago. Schiff conversed for several hours with many in the crowd. He supports their right to be upset over the Wall Street bankers’ bail-outs during both the Bush TARP and the Obama stimulus. He voiced his agreement with their general feelings and has compassion for the plight of the 99 percent, but thinks the protesters should be in Washington, D.C., rather than on Wall Street. Companies should not be selected to succeed or fail by unqualified officials, the markets should determine their plight. Put another way, businesses which collapse should not be rewarded and continue. They need to pay the price of failure and close up shop. This sounds harsh to some, but it’s a part of capitalism. People aren’t murdered, they simply move on to the next company. Various members of group Occupy said they support our current system and many of those who spoke with Mr. Schiff claimed no affiliation with either the left or the right.
Mr. Schiff’s desire to find common ground between the one and the 99 percent motivated him to appear amongst the mob in Zuccotti Park. The numbers one and 99 represent arbitrary percentages of poor and wealthy. When hit with common questions concerning greed and capitalism, Peter Schiff made some great points while remaining unemotional, calm, and collected. With corporate tax rates low, businesses create jobs. Someone offered that the rich should give 75% of their incomes to the Gov. in the form of taxes. The rates did once approach such unthinkable heights, but “nobody paid those rates,” Schiff said. When confronted with an angry protester who complained that Steve Jobs used overseas workers, Mr. Schiff answered that the government, through excessive regulation, caused the conditions which forced Jobs to shift his employees across the oceans. The protester lost it – and the argument - by calling Mr. Schiff an idiot.
Video reveals Peter Schiff asking protesters if they liked the idea of climbing into the one percent rather than remain a part of the 99, and these suggestions caused them to stammer. When someone called Schiff greedy, he pointed out that everyone is greedy. As the protester disagreed, Schiff proved that the young man, too, wanted more material things and a better life for himself and his family. And Schiff addressed the most common left-wing view – that each individual pay their fair share. “I am paying 35% of my income,” he said. “Do you think I should pay more?” The woman refused to answer, insisting that we should get rid of the Bush tax cuts, instead.
The Occupy Wall Street crowd is making a big mistake, Schiff said. Don’t lump all business people in with Wall Street folks, he scolded them, these are two different types of entrepreneurs. Agreeing with the protesters, he emphasized that collusion between government and the financial institutions is crony capitalism, and it’s wrong. Peter Schiff says such corruption is a disgrace, and I agree. The Tea Party and Occupy are polar opposites in my opinion, but perhaps they have one thing in common. They both oppose seedy relationships between government officials and corporations.
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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Occupy Wall Street, Peter Schiff, Bush TARP, Obama Stimulus
Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism”, “Conservative blog”, “Mark A. Cohen”, “From The Left to the Right”, “Occupy Wall Street”, “Peter Schiff”, “Bush TARP”, “Obama Stimulus”
See Mark's 'Author of the Month' page at Castle Rock's Local Gathering Place
Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.
Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group
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Mark A. Cohen will speak during the Republican First Friday Breakfast at the Warhorse Inn in Parker CO, on Dec. 2, 2011. The event will be held at 7AM. Mark will speak about his upbringing at the hands of his radical, left-wing parents, his political transformation, and about his as yet unpublished manuscript, From The Left to the Right.
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