Occupy Wall Street


The numerous effects of income inequality are long-standing and there seems to be little to no improvement from decades past, and evidence and facts seem to point out that the distribution of wealth has only gotten less favorable over time. However, groups of protesters have been vocal against this economic and social injustice that is taking part in our country, most prominently in the last 10 years. In the article “Occupy Wall Street: 5 Years Later”, Ray Sanchez recalls the events that took place in the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York. A significant part of the movement was the conflict between the 99 percent majority of income earners and the top 1 percent of income owners, which caught on the catchphrase of “We are the 99%” , plastering the phrase on poster boards everywhere and catapulting it into national recognition and the topic of many political, economic and social argument (Sanchez). Years later after the initial protests, there are no similar movements along the lines of Occupy Wall Street in the same size or that get the same amount of publicity as back then, so it would seem as if the issue is mostly forgotten by most and many have moved on. Although, the arguments made and the issues publicized are still relevant and talked about in discussions revolving income inequality to this day, just arguably not in the same magnitude as when the Occupy Wall Street movement was one of the most relevant topics in the news. On the other side, the Occupy Wall Street movement has also been a gateway for younger people whose demographic usually would suggest they are uninterested in these economic and social matter, cleverly citing, “the movement as a whole is no more dead than the people who participated in it (Sanchez).” With the fight for better income equality comes the fight for the increase of the minimum wage, and it is suggested that this argument was also propelled by the Occupy Wall Street movement, “Occupy organizers got involved in the campaign for the $15 an hour minimum wage and helped build momentum for a national worker-led movement (Sanchez)”. To summarize, the Occupy Wall Street movement garnered a great deal of attention during its time and put focus on the issue of income inequality and the uneven distribution of wealth in America, and while the movement technically ended years ago, it spawned a large wave of younger people who are involved in their society and are vocal about the issues that surrounding income inequality to this day. 

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