IDEAS FROM THE 99 PERCENT. At the heart of the Occupy Wall Street movement is an understanding that our political system has failed to address the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. Where our politicians and pundits have failed, Occupy Wall Street has succeeded in bringing issues like inequality, corporate ownership of politics and prolonged joblessness to the forefront of public debate. Yet, some still trivialize, criticize or attack the Occupy movement for lacking specific demands. They clearly miss the point of its message. And they aren’t paying attention.
To be sure, there’s no shortage of smart policy proposals to address the crises that beset us. As I’ve argued before, sane and humane policy solutions exist, such as those in the Congressional Progressive Caucus People’s Budget.
