'I just wish the Wall Street protesters would articulate what it's all about'

... and other dumbass statements.

Okay, here's just a couple of pretty articulations for starters from the States (businessinsider.com): 

CEO pay has skyrocketed 300% since 1990. Corporate profits have doubled. Average "production worker" pay has increased 4%. The minimum wage has dropped. (All numbers adjusted for inflation).

For conservative politicians who blab nostalgically about the good ol' days when  citizens were largely God-fearing, flag waving, and jeewillikers you didn't have to lock your door at night, those were also the days of a very narrow income gap; hence the big middle class. When the wealth of folks is more evenly distributed, you have less desperation. And therefore less reason to lock your doors against those pesky, sometimes protesting, have-nots. 

Check this out: "the top 1% of Americans own 42% of the financial wealth. The top 5%, meanwhile, own nearly 70%."

And lest we in Canada feel tempted to sneer smugly at the U.S., Stats Canada has put out some info gleaned from the (last full) 2006 Census revealing an increase in income inequality.³ Based on the median earnings of full-time, full-year earners between 1980 and 2005, the data show:

• earnings increased by 16.4% for those in the top income group
• earnings stagnated for those in the middle income group
• earnings fell by 20.6% for those in the bottom group 

It's bloody unfair. As the bottom group falls and falls, the top group (WAH-WAH-WAH!) doesn't want to pay their freaking income taxes. 
 
The richest countries in the world, we are, and we're letting our people and our economies (so many poor people mean lots of people NOT going shopping, and lots of people getting sick cuz they can't afford preventative care) go down the toilet because we don't want to pay our fair share for our paved roads and warm hospitals. 

So much for the bottom group. So much for their future and that of their children. Almost makes you want to protest.

(image from torontoist.com)