'1%' CEO Confronts Occupy Protesters

[murd0c]

plain and simple that 99% of the protesters don't have a fricken clue what they are actually talking about. Yes they do have strong opinions about their point of views but there points are mostly invalid and they are mainly there to cause a scene cause that don't want to have to work for their money.

[parm104]

Originally Posted by Zyzz

didn't know employing 150 people is considered 1%

Didn't watch all the videos. But the grounds were already set when he has the only mic, no matter what his arguments are.

Most of the important issues aren't even dealt with. Clowns arguing with clowns.

Since when did the amount of people you employee make you apart of the 1%....I think it has something to do with his net worth of $70 Million, his credentials as a financial advisor and being globally recognized as an economic expert...

[Nlkko]

He probably has never heard of boutique banks.

[BaoTurbo]

Protesters just got shut dowwwwwwwn.

[unit]

peter schiff is a hero of mine ive read his book and his dads
both great reads if you want the worlds economic structure simplified for you

http://www.amazon.com/How-Economy-Grows-Why-Doesnt/dp/0930374061/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323244536&sr=8-2http://www.amazon.com/How-Economy-Grows-Why-Crashes/dp/047052670X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323244536&sr=8-1
both highly recommended

[b0unce. [?]]

so ignant

[MindBomber]

I wonder how many people realize that tax rates have very little to do with the gap socio-economic gap..

Raise tax rates on the super wealthy by ten percent and nothing would change, no matter how those additional funds are utilized. If the additional tax revenue from the super wealthy were used to off-set a tax break directed towards low income earners, the vast majority of them would pittle away the tiny increase in income on fast food, iphones and something from off the sale rack at walmart. If the additional tax revenue were added to budget, it would be used by the American government with a level of efficiency so low it's mind boggling.

The gap has been growing exponentially over the last few decades, because corporations have taken over anything making it more difficult for independent businesses to compete.

[see.lai]

my mind was blown..
LOL @ The black guy that called Peter and idiot
He owned that woman that was a part of the 1% as well.
Who would honestly want to pay more taxes. We all work hard to get to our desired wages. Why should people work to make the same as everyone else?

[dat_steve]

i admire his ability to keep cool and not cuss the mob out. successful troll was successful.

[niu99]

.

[dogeatcookie]

^

?

[parm104]

Originally Posted by MindBomber

I wonder how many people realize that tax rates have very little to do with the gap socio-economic gap..

That may be true, I personally don't know a whole lot about economics and finances; only logical reasoning. Even if tax rates have very little to do with the gap between upper class, middle class and lower class...why are "occupiers" so fixated on INCREASING taxes for wealthy people? Why are they insisting that wealthy people should pay even more than they already are? After all, this is all about the Occupy Movement and their goals and demands are what are relevant here...As mentioned earlier, they don't have a coherent plan, suggestions, or ideas on what they want or how they want to go about and bring this change. Have of them are too afraid to admit they want nicer things. Of course they want nicer things...Every one does...Isn't that why you want more money? To be able to afford better things, to be able to give your children and families more things?

I agree with a lot of what was said the 1% rep. in the video mainly because it just makes sense....We want CHEAPER products...So, these products get outsourced productions. Apple is still going to make X amount of profit whether they make their phones here or somewhere else. If they make them in the U.S. and end up spending more on production, they'll adjust their prices accordingly so that they can make the same profit they would if they were outsourcing.

Who thinks about the amount of jobs that were created/dismissed when they buy their cell phones? Who thinks about how much money could've been generated into their own country when they purchase a new car? I certainly don't...My main concern is to get a product that is of top quality for the cheapest price possible.

[bloodmack]

i hate the majority of occupy wall street bs it honestly has achieved nothing, people still don't have jobs and still live off "food stamps".

[Simplex123]

Originally Posted by unit

peter schiff is a hero of mine ive read his book and his dads
both great reads if you want the worlds economic structure simplified for you

Amazon.com: How an Economy Grows and Why It Doesn't (9780930374068): Irwin A. Schiff, Vic Lockman: Books
Amazon.com: How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes (9780470526705): Peter D. Schiff, Andrew J. Schiff: Books

both highly recommended

WTF THE DAD'S COMIC BOOK IS $150? I just googled it and got a pdf

[dachinesedude]

trying to teach basic economic theory to these dumbasses lol good luck with that

oh and that white lady got OWNED, totally stfu'd

[ree666]

cute blonde in the background in the first vid.

[1exotic]

that guy is a fucking BEAST!!!!!!!!!

[Redlines_Daily]

99% of the posters in this thread are more clueless than the protestors in those videos.

Occupy wall st was not about money, it was the bandwagon hippy protestors that turned this into a rich vs poor debate. The original movement was not against "the 1%" or the amount of wealth they have. It was about the way big business corrupts policy making and effects the global economy. Key players on wall st had a huge role in causing a global recession, while they made record profits. It's not about they money they made...it's about how they made it. What was done is criminal, these guys should be in jail. I'm all for profit, I was a trader on NYSE for two years, but I believe profit should be made ethically...enough of this "anything goes" attitude on wall st.

The original creators of the movement had all of your best interests in mind..you should be thanking them for starting it, not laughing when they fail.

The survival response of popular culture these days is cynicism(-Stephen covey)... how sad.

[Nlkko]

Originally Posted by MindBomber

Are there idiots within the 99%, without question, that woman is one of them.

Are there idiots within the 1%, again, without question, Matt Zhang is the resident example.

Are there intelligent people on both sides of the movement, capable of having a real debate, yes. Now show me that, because a video like does nothing to advance either position. In my opinion, all this does is remind me why Americans have developed the reputation for generally being idiots.

Peter Schiff wasn't fighting for the 1%, he simply showed that the occupy movement is misguided and they're blaming the wrong people. Sure, banks were taking risks and got bailed out but what stopped them from doing it again. He argued that it created a moral hazard and it does. The banks didnt bail themselves out, the government did. The more power the government have, the more political corruption entails. Whatever Max Weber said about bureaucracy?

Btw, I'd recommend http://www.amazon.ca/When-Genius-Failed-Long-Term-Management/dp/0375758259 if you're interested about how banks gamble.

I'm not sure what Matt Zhang has to do with this but if you like to include him in then like whatever, dude. I also have no idea when Americans have the reputation of being idiots. They're the Big Swinging Dick in the entire world, I don't think they could be that stupid.

[threezero]

Originally Posted by niu99

the US should learn from china's capitalism

I'm not a china hater but china is the worst place to learn from if one wants to close the gap between the poor and the rich

[parm104]

Originally Posted by Redlines_Daily

99% of the posters in this thread are more clueless than the protestors in those videos.

Occupy wall st was not about money, it was the bandwagon hippy protestors that turned this into a rich vs poor debate. The original movement was not against "the 1%" or the amount of wealth they have. It was about the way big business corrupts policy making and effects the global economy. Key players on wall st had a huge role in causing a global recession, while they made record profits. It's not about they money they made...it's about how they made it. What was done is criminal, these guys should be in jail. I'm all for profit, I was a trader on NYSE for two years, but I believe profit should be made ethically...enough of this "anything goes" attitude on wall st.

The original creators of the movement had all of your best interests in mind..you should be thanking them for starting it, not laughing when they fail.

The survival response of popular culture these days is cynicism(-Stephen covey)... how sad.

Although I respect the original merits and goals of "Occupy Wall Street," which yes, I was ignorant to this information before you mentioned it (assuming that what you're saying is true)...Nevertheless, we as ignorant RS posters will of course be commenting about what is actually happening TODAY...

If yesterday the goals were different, then yesterday there would be no objection from me. But TODAY, some common issues being raised are taxation and outsourcing so obviously my response to these occupiers would be in response to the issues that they are currently bringing up.

Whether or not hippies and bums have become the front image of the "new" Occupy Wall Street, the "original" and the "new" occupy wall street have both equally failed...wouldn't you agree? If the creators of this movement have let others take over their movement and allow people to portray a different message from their own, then that movement itself has failed. So what good is it discussing that? Right now, the people who are at Occupy Vancouver and Wall Street are bums who are riding this Occupy Train and so inevitably, we will be making judgements and comments based on their actions as well.

[Redlines_Daily]

^ yes I can understand the need some feel to criticize others, I am guilty of it myself at times. However, I think it is more productive to focus on the positive aspects of what has happened. Perhaps the movement is not the failure that we all think it is...did any real change come from it? Well, none yet that I am aware of..but look what is happening now..we are all talking about it. For every 10 people that are bashing on the protestors, perhaps there is 1 person who is taking this all in, doing their research and becoming more aware of what is going on in our society. Maybe that 1 person will be inspired to bring change. If we can bring inspiration to 1 of 10, then I'd say we are doing quite well!

[MindBomber]

Originally Posted by Nlkko

Peter Schiff wasn't fighting for the 1%, he simply showed that the occupy movement is misguided and they're blaming the wrong people. Sure, banks were taking risks and got bailed out but what stopped them from doing it again. He argued that it created a moral hazard and it does. The banks didnt bail themselves out, the government did. The more power the government have, the more political corruption entails. Whatever Max Weber said about bureaucracy?

Btw, I'd recommend When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management: Amazon.ca: Roger Lowenstein: Books if you're interested about how banks gamble.

I'm not sure what Matt Zhang has to do with this but if you like to include him in then like whatever, dude. I also have no idea when Americans have the reputation of being idiots. They're the Big Swinging Dick in the entire world, I don't think they could be that stupid.

I only watched the first portion of one video as it didn't appear to have any intellectual merit, if I missed something, please inform me of that. What I saw was Schiff, an intelligent individual who one would assume is well informed as to what the original movement represented, repeating himself in front of lemmings. Had Schiff chosen to stand in front of a group of intelligent, informed individuals, and posed the same questions he would have been given very different answers. Answers like the one given by Redlinesdaily, and had he done that, I would respect him regardless of his position for actually furthering the debate instead of steering it even further off course.

The Matt Zhang example was an attempt at humor, perhaps it went over your head or it was just poorly delivered. All I see Schiff proving by making this video is that there are idiots among the 99%, because that's who he chose to meet with, but we all know there are idiots on both sides of the socio-economic spectrum - leading us to the Matt Zhang example.

On the subject of America being the "Big Swing Dick" of the world, it earned that unsustainable position through their willingness to use Chinese credit to fund wars. In doing so they've placed themselves hopelessly in debt and placed the international financial markets at risk, maintained sub-par social services, and outright ignored many domestic problems. I'm not sure if you respect that, but I don't, and I don't see how they'll maintain their status when it all collapses.

[Powerslide]

this is a good thread so far.

I agree with what Schiff is saying. However I think that the tough pill to swallow would have been if the banks HAD failed. Ultimately that would have been the best course to straighten up the system, but their falling wouldnt have been pleasant for anyone- especially their investors. And the entire US culture seems to be driven by a desire for more comfort/pleasure, so it doesnt surprise me they were willing to play dirty instead of taking the hit to fix things.

Unfortunately most of the people on the bottom got scapegoated. And the bottom seems to have 99% of the population in it. I'd be pretty pissed too, but turning to socialism or fascism to fix it is NOT the right answer. It is, in fact, the absolute WRONG answer, if we learn anything from history.

[SB7]

Hmm these are the first videos of the 1%/99% protests I've seen and I feel like it doesn't really matter which side your on and whether people think your views are correct or not. The "99%" will always exist since brainwashing people has never been easier whilst using your energy to bitch and complain is a lot simpler than painfully realizing your shortcomings and weaknesses and build yourself up into a stronger, smarter, and more balanced individual.

The 1% will always exist as a tiny fraction (obviously..) of the population because they have the uncommon ability to think for themselves and analyze and address their problems in order to come up with solutions that require trial and error, making mistakes, getting knocked down, and coming back as a stronger person in the end.

The most interesting thing I found while watching this was how many people in the crowds believed that the Peter's wealth simply materialized without considering the endless struggles he must have gone through to get to his position. Most people in this world are going to fail and accept a lower position since it is easier, and maybe safer and less stressful, but that is the order of things in this life and you have to sacrifice in order to achieve.

Above all, I feel kinda angry watching the reactions of the 99%, but who can blame them? It's pretty difficult to channel all of your rage at something that you don't really understand fully, and it's easier to do what they do in the videos and throw out random comments and jumbled up facts. I myself choose to observe and learn, see how things pan out, and maybe come up with a better opinion on things instead of blaming rich people, taxes, and the government.