Issue Pulse: Support for Occupy Wall Street. SOURCE: AP/Andrew Burton Protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street protests wave signs and banners outside 1185 Park Avenue, where Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, lives, during a march in New York on October 11, 2011.
October 12, 2011 As the Occupy Wall Street protests enter their second month, they have expanded to cities across the country and are gaining momentum and press coverage. According to a recent Rasmussen Poll, 79 percent of Americans agree with the statement that the “The big banks got bailed but the middle class got left behind. " As the Center for American Progress’s Gadi Dechter writes, the protestors are correct in bringing much-needed attention to issues like a rigged tax code, rising inequality, and shrinking economic mobility. Politicians: —President Barack Obama “For 30 years, America’s middle class has watched its living standards erode while the wealthiest one percent amass fortunes that would make the Robber Barons blush.
. — Rep. Unions: — Leo W. . — Rep. Public Opinion Snapshot: Public Warms to Occupy Wall Street Protesters. By Ruy Teixeira | October 17, 2011 To conservatives such as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), they’re a "growing mob.
" But the public feels quite differently about the Occupy Wall Street movement and the issues they’re raising. In a new Time/Abt SRBI poll, 54 percent say they’re favorable to the movement that has been protesting policies that "favor the rich, the government’s bank bailout, and the influence of money in our political system. " Just 23 percent are unfavorable, and 23 percent say they don’t know enough to have an opinion. The movement’s favorability rating is actually twice as high as that of the conservative Tea Party movement: Just 27 percent are favorable to the Tea Party, compared to 33 percent who are unfavorable and 39 percent without an opinion.
The poll also gauged the public’s level of agreement with a number of positions associated with Occupy Wall Street. Obviously, "mob" is in the eye of the beholder. Idea of the Day: Faith Groups Are Embracing the Occupy Movement. October 26, 2011 A clear achievement of the Occupy movement is an inclusive religious and spiritual push for economic justice.
Now in its second month, the movement is gathering steam in more than 900 cities in the United States and around the world. There are already a few notable successes. First, protesters widened the tent poles of our national economic debate from “cutting the deficit” to “economic inequality” and from “debt” to “jobs.” Their impact can be seen in recent interviews with GOP leaders such as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who in a week’s time went from calling the protesters “mobs” to reassuring the public that he “cares about economic inequality.” The press, too, is taking note.
A less-reported but equally significant success lies in faith groups’ increasingly enthusiastic embrace of the movement. For more on this topic, please see: Faith Groups Lend Diverse Voices to the Occupy Movement by Catherine Woodiwiss and Jake Paysour.