Though studies say that the Great Recession has come to an end, Americans continue to disagree. A recent survey from Yahoo! Finance on “The Daily Ticker” shows that 63% believe that the economy has gotten worse (added with 72% of those over the age of 55); 37% of adults having no retirement savings, and 38% plan to live off their Social Security. Still, 53% of ages 18-34 think the American Dream still exists with 45% of their parents believing their kids’ future will be better than theirs. Surprisingly, 68% of Americans say they are doing “excellent” and “satisfactory” financially.
Thursday marked the two-month anniversary for “Occupy Wall Street” with a “Day of Action,” continuing to protest for jobs and economic justice from New York to Los Angeles, Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Oakland, Detroit, and cities all over America. Despite having no core statement, the movement holds banks, “big business,” and Wall Street responsible for the economic crisis due to favoring the 1 percent (the rich and wealthy) over the 99 percent (the working class, the middle class, unions, unemployed, and so forth). Fighting against corporate greed, governmental corruption, and political injustice, it found an unlikely symbol with 84-year-old longtime activist Dorli Rainey, who was pepper sprayed in downtown Seattle Tuesday night.
However, a survey from Public Policy Polling shows that interest in “Occupy Wall Street” may start to fade away due to the recent “controversy” over multiple arrests of protesters, which could affect the movement’s “actual message” to keep hope and the American Dream alive.
Still, there are some who believe the movement could help Barack Obama and the Democratic Party because of its progressive and liberal views as well as getting the President’s American Jobs Act to be passed as a potential economic bill of rights by Congress. In other words, get our country back to work.