Occupy Wall Street protesters showing a lot of staying power

When protesters under the banner “Occupy Wall Street” assembled last month in the heart of America’s business prowess, detractors dismissed them as a motley crew of disgruntled folks who would quickly run out of steam.

The detractors were wrong. Not only has Occupy Wall Street shown a great deal of staying power, it has triggered similar protests in more than 900 cities around the world.

Therein lies the chief difference between OWS and the tea party, to which it has been compared. One is a domestic movement aimed bringing about change in government through the ballot box. The other is an international push against what participants see as the cause of the global economic collapse: The major financial institutions that are not confined by national boundaries.

Tea party adherents believe government is too involved in the lives of Americans; Occupy Wall Street protesters argue that the absence of strong regulations and the lack of government oversight into the day-to-day operations of Wall Street companies led to an anything-goes attitude that ultimately brought down the American economy and the economies of most of the western world. To avoid a global depression, governments were forced to bail out the financial institution with huge amounts of public funds.

The result: Profits and bonuses are now booming for those on Wall Street and other financial centers, while the unemployment rates skyrocket, the Middle Class dwindles and cuts in public spending rise sharply.

The disparity of income and wealth has given rise to the “We are the 99%” slogan, which reflects the belief of the Occupy Wall Street protesters that wealth is now concentrated in the hands of 1 percent of the population. In addition, politicians who are perceived to be in the pockets of the corporate barons are also being targeted.

But all the protests and slogans won’t bring about the change in behavior on Wall Street and in Congress unless those assembled in Zuccotti Park in New York City and around the country do what the tea party has done: Become a credible political force for change.

Recent polls should provide some encouragement to the Occupy Wall Street movement. In general, a majority of the respondents agree with the premise of OWS protests.

A United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection polls shows that 56 percent of non-college educated whites back the protesters, according to the Washington Post. Thirty-one percent oppose them.

Overall approval

A Time magazine poll shows that 54 percent of non-college educated men, and 48 percent of non-college educated women, agree with the OWS protesters. That’s an overall approval rating of 51 percent.

The protests have attracted a wide array of Americans, from members of labor unions, to young people who can’t find jobs, to Hollywood types.

Actor Alec Baldwin made a brief stop at the OWS camp in the park and offered this observation on Twitter, the Post reports:

“Campaign Finance Reform should be the goal of Occupy Wall Street. Wealth is not the issue. It’s using wealth to buy the govt, that’s the issue.”

The need for a cogent plan of action to bring about the necessary changes is clear. So long as the disparate groups involved in OWS simply vent their anger and talk in generalities, the detractors will continue to dismiss them, and the decision-makers will continue to avoid them.

What the tea party has shown is that the ballot box is a powerful tool to force change in a democracy.