Occupy Wall Street movement forces billionaires to offer some crumbs

We  have said that perhaps the most important aspect of the OWS movement is that it has shifted the debate, it is placing the blame for the economic crisis squarely where it belongs, at the feet of Wall Street and the bankers.  It has opened up a debate about society and capitalism.  The OWS movement makes you feel positive about being American as the world is watching what is happening here and the events in NYC, and here in Oakland CA are covered throughout the world.  The young people are defying authority and will not be intimidated.   This is a pleasant change from waking up in the morning to news about where the US bombed today how many civilians unmanned drones killed or who Obama had assassinated.

The billionaires are worried that if something isn't done this situation might escalate and they could lose more than they feel comfortable with.  Some of them are pleading with the government to do something and are offering a slight increase in their tax rates. This is the result of the movement nothing else.  These rich wasters are worried about their ability to plunder the wealth of society being curbed outright and are offering a few crumbs from the table of the 1%. Coupled with this, US capitalism is losing valuable allies in its global struggle to dominate the world market.  Even its old ally Kuwait, another group of thugs like those that run Bahrain, are coming under assault by protesters wanting an end to corruption and for reforms.

The lesson is that the movement must grow and cannot allow itself to be isolated from the mass of the population. The Labor officiladom will be pushing hard to get the other Wall Street party and its candidate Obama in to the White House again in 2012 and some more minor concessions might well be on the way in response to the pressure of the movement and in an effort to derail it.  The carrot and the stick will always be used.

It is clear that the attacks on the Occupy Wall Street encampements throughout the country were part of a coordinated national offensive.  The OWS movement must develop a clear program that can draw in the thousands of workers and our families who are sympathetic to the cause.  A clear program against shared sacrifice and austerity measures being imposed on US workers and the middle class alongside the tactics of direct action and defiance of the law is what will appeal to the millions of workers who are watching. We demand free education, the return of people to those homes bankers have evicted them from, jobs, free health care, a pension and wages we can live on for a start. And we will take our money back that the politicians gave to the bankers.

Our opponents are organized, disciplined and have structure and the movement must develop the same and recognize and formalize leadership with defined boundaries rather than pretend leadership doesn't exist.  The courage and dedication of the driving forces behind OWS is admirable and we have the utmost respect for how they have changed the balance of class forces in this country--we owe them a debt of gratitude but we must not underestimate the resolve and resources of the state.

No matter what, the OWS movement has changed things forever including mass consciousness. But we need a permanent structure and at some point arising out of these direct action mass campaigns and rooted in them political candidates independent of the two capitalist parties and ultimately a mass workers political alternative.