Responding to "Occupy Wall Street"
Responding to "Occupy Wall Street"
Photo credits: Léopold Lambert of The Funambulist
Occupy Handbook Event Recap
Jason Chang, 04/23/12
An event that marked the publication of the Occupy Handbook was held last week at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, signaling the re-awakening of the Occupy Wall Street movement that caused ripples worldwide last fall. Featuring a distinguished panel of guests including Nobel Laureate economist Robert Solow, Martin Wolf of Financial Times, Pulitzer Prize winner David Kay Johnston, Bethany McLean of Vanity Fair, Jeff Madrick of the New York Review of Books and noted economists Jeffrey Sachs and Raghuram Rajan, the event showcased a diverse set of topics and perspectives that the Occupy movement has brought to light.
Occupy Your Mind
Jason Chang, 12/13/11
As a graduate of a so-called "heterodox" economics school and witness to the Asian economic crisis of 1997, the Occupy Wall Street movement resonates with me in many ways.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Dan Thompson, 11/21/11
Many commentators on all sides of the political spectrum claimed the Occupy movement was dead. Process pieces in many of the major news outlets focused on fracturing and lawless camps and disorganized responses to evictions. But last week's events in New York signaled a turning point. The movement is clearly still focused on it's original goals: building momentum for addressing the hardships of all Americans, rather than just those with the capital to demand that their needs be met.
2nd Anniversary Morning Rally
Dan Thompson, 11/16/2011
Tomorrow is an important day for Occupy Wall Street. A series of heavy handed moves by Mayor Bloomberg, including a forced, unexpected eviction of the park and the destroyal of property has only energized greater interest in and sympathy for the movement. I will be in Lower Manhattan tomorrow morning to listen to and engage with the recently evicted occupiers further. I hope to return with a greater understanding about how Capital Institute can even more vigourously and creatively pursue a financial system that works for the planet and the people that live on it. Stay tuned...
Knitting Grandmothers at Occupy Wall Street
Susan Arterian Chang, 11/07/11
There are many voices of Occupy Wall Street. One is a grandmother of 5, Marsha Spencer, 56, who grew up on a dairy farm in Wixom, Michigan, and moved to New York to work as a seamstress in the theatre district. She told us that all of her siblings were able to attend college on a farmer’s income but that she doubts that her grandchildren will be able to afford to.
Listening to Occupy Wall Street
I’m a former banker, a one percenter, and I’m mad as hell too.
Let’s be clear. This movement is not frustration being expressed, as President Obama, Treasury Secretary Geithner, and now Eric Cantor have suggested. Frustration is passive; anger is active. Martin Luther King was not frustrated. But beyond my anger is real concern for Democracy, for America, for the people of the world, and for the planet upon which we all depend, and for my children’s future. It’s why I do what I do. It’s the inspiration for Capital Institute.
Welcome!
10/3/2011
We are sympathetic with the view Nicholas Kristof takes in his latest New York Times OpEd that “much of the sloganeering at 'Occupy Wall Street' is pretty silly — but so is the self-righteous sloganeering of Wall Street itself. And if a ragtag band of youthful protesters can help bring a dose of accountability and equity to our financial system, more power to them.”