The REAL 99%

Top 40 Poorest Countries in the World

The headline on the BBC News blog read - "China increases rural poverty limit to $1 a day" ... $1 a day ... If you earned more than $1 a day in rural China you weren't considered to live in poverty. This is up from what the Chinese government previously considered poor (in the countryside) at 55 cents a day.

Take a walk down the street where you live. Go into a Starbucks. What can you buy for $1.00? A cookie? A bottle of water? Maybe, maybe not. Walk into a grocery store. What can you get for $1.00 there? A 500 ml carton of milk? A can of soup? A banana, maybe two? You'd be dead from starvation in less than a month.

Now, of course, I know the cost of living is different in China compared to North America. But, even if you multiplied the daily amount of $1 day tenfold do you think you could survive here? $10.00 a day to live on? Really?

So you want to occupy Wall Street? You want to occupy a park? Go to Somalia to occupy a park. Go to rural China to occupy a park. Go to Ethiopia to occupy a park. Go to Haiti to occupy a park. Because that's where the true 99% live. Not here in our backyards.

The 99%

Not my photo

Direct from Wall Street in New York City the We Are the 99%/Occupy Wall Street movement made its way up to Toronto this past weekend. While largely peaceful I fail to see the reason behind it here.

While I can sympathize with the plight of many Americans, the situation in Canada isn't quite the same. Our government never had to bail out the banks. Our tax system is different too. It's scalable. People who declare more pay a higher percentage of tax. So what is our beef?

Perhaps we just want to copy what everyone else is doing. The movement has spread worldwide. People in Toronto don't want to feel left out?

It seems like a lot of protesters (no matter where they're from) don't even know what they want. Maybe they're just jealous that there are people who are better off than they are.

I know things are tough out there. A lot of people are struggling. But, I don't think we can blame any one particular group. Some people were greedy, others may have been shortsighted. It all culminated in a catastrophic event that affected everyone.

Unfortunately recovery has been slow. Much slower than people hoped or expected. People are justifiably upset.

I think Americans have it worse than us. But, I also think they have themselves to blame. They're a more self-centred society than us with less social welfare programs. That's part of the reason there's more disparity in wealth there. So, why are you protesting? Isn't this the American way of life you so proudly espouse?

And, to the Canadian protesters... why are you protesting? Really. How badly off do you think we are here? Out of all the G7 countries we're in the best shape. Could things be better? Of course they could. And they will be. Just don't try to blame Bay Street for any of the mess will you?