Embrace the facts, gentlemen

The column last week ("Embrace the 100 percent" by John Gats and Tony DiTommaso) is a gross misrepresentation of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement.

The agenda of Occupy Wall Street is not to only "[increase] taxes on 1 percent of the population." OWS mostly stands as competition to the recent regressive policies of the GOP. The GOP wants to reverse the United States to its social structure in the 1920s — before Social Security, labor laws, regulations, minimum wages and environmental and banking regulations. Herman Cain wants a 9 percent sales tax, a form of taxation we already know is regressive. Occupy Wall Street is working in conjunction with labor unions to defend the workers in protection against potentially greedy and selfish corporate leaders.

When OWS stands outside Chase and cheers "Chase, Chase, you can't hide, we can see your greedy side," the criticism is not of anybody inside this bank. Security guards, tellers, retail bankers and their supervisors represent the 99 percent. They are expendable jobs, a part of the grand scheme of corporatism.

Why is it that when times get tough, it's the Average Joe that gets screwed by their boss? Wal-Mart reports excessive profits, yet decides to cut part-time employee benefits. Bank of America reports recession profits, but continues to lay off teller after teller. At the same time, executives receive bonuses for their role in turning the company back into the black. American corporations are sitting on the most cash in the history of this country, but are also "struggling to stay afloat"?

Nobody can call this equality or fairness. If we're going to slash 20 percent of our lower-level jobs, how about we cut 20 percent of the executive's support staff and 20 percent of their pensions, too? You became the 1 percent because your employees were given public education that met your expectations, you used government subsidized loans to fund your college, you used our public roads and you expect our police officers to protect your warehouses so you don't have to hire security.

But when it comes to taxes, the 1 percent is able to find loopholes allowing them to pay fewer taxes than individuals who are being foreclosed and can barely feed their families. They are unable to feed their families, not because they aren't hard workers, but because the 1 percent gave them a 20 percent pay cut that later freed up funds to ensure they receive their annual Christmas bonus check.

But the real issue is the greed. Top executives made back room deals to promote unethical and greedy banking practices. Their subordinates put these policies into action and tricked millions of Americans into acquiring credit they actually could not afford. Come the recession, millions of Americans lost their jobs because of this greed. These Americans thought Obama would fulfill their progressive expectations, but he failed. Americans have been deceived time and time again, and have lost all faith.

Don't get us wrong, nobody is claiming the 99 percent is perfect and free from mistakes. But it is the 1 percent, the bank executives and the politicians who won't admit the same mistakes, who won't be held accountable for them when the rest of us will be? It is the American that is left hungry and without a job for their part in this mistake … while the top executives continue to bring in record bonuses and their corporations bring in record profits.