Occupy Wall Street Vs. The Tea Party

Posted: November 27th, 2013

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Occupy Wall Street Vs. The Tea Party

Occupy Wall Street is a new movement that was started in September 2011 to raise awareness and seek to end economic inequality. The movement also intends to end corporate greed and raise awareness on various economic issues (Wohlsen C4). Occupy Wall Street is largely composed of young people that are concerned and angry that a small proportion of the population controls a large percentage of the national income (Ocala Star, 2011). The movement also seeks to end greed evidenced by corporate leaders. Protestors within the movement were angered by CEOs who were still receiving huge bonuses yet their companies were aided with government bailout money for continuity purposes.

Movement members cite the fact that there is a lot of unemployment in the country and many people are suffering following the same (Ocala Star, 2011). Occupy Wall Street protestors are angered by the fact that large corporations in the country have a lot of power and therefore influencing decisions made by political leaders. They argue that leaders are making decisions that seem to favor corporations, especially financial institutions and pharmaceutical companies. This is in turn denying Americans the chance to get access to cheaper drugs and loans that would be present in the market if the government refrains from making such unconstructive laws.

The Tea Party was formed in 2009 with the intention of raising awareness on greed that was prevalent within the reigning government. The movement is still present and some of its main objectives include reducing government spending, federal budget deficit and reducing the national debt. This movement is concerned that the government has too much power that enables it to influence all decisions made in every national sector. According to its members, matters should not be handled in such a manner in any free country.

Both movements have different perspectives regarding taxes. Protestors in Occupy Wall Street assert that taxes on the rich should be increased while those paid by a majority poor should be considerably reduced. The Tea Party movement on the other hand does not think that this approach provides a solution. Therefore, it does not support charging excessive taxes to the rich. Instead, it seems to support the Republican view, which inexplicably proposes the idea of charging a flat rate (Zeleny and Megan A1). The movement has even suggested that taxes given by the rich should be lowered.

Although both movements have no clear leadership, the Tea Party is largely endorsed by several powerful government officials, most of who are affiliated to the Republican Party. Occupy Wall Street on the other hand does not have a clear leadership inclination. It consists of people from different political parties and some of the protestors do not share views strictly with one party (Sullivan 18). In addition, the Tea Party movement has a clearly defined program in its activities (Cindy 2). The Occupy Wall Street however does not have a clear agenda. It consists of members who are always bent on protests and they raise their grievances as they see fit.

Although both movements are popular, they have different ways of representing the larger part of the American population. The Tea Party does not want the government to enhance the people’s wellbeing by paying or subsidizing their mortgages. The Occupy Wall Street protestors on the other hand are calling on the government to reduce such debts. Additionally, the Tea Party does not support the idea of helping the poor in the society and has even suggested the removal of subsidized services supported by the government. Instead, it supports the idea that should be solely independent without expecting government bailouts (Eckstrom A6)

Works Cited

Cindy, George. “Cain electrifies tea party crowd Hopeful touts 9-9-9 plan, says he will ‘rewrite political history’.” Houston Chronicle 26 Oct. 2011: 2. Print.

Eckstrom, Richard. “Don’t Compare ‘Occupy’ to ‘Tea Party’ On My Mind.” Herald 26 Oct. 2011: A6. Print.

Ocala Star. “Editorial: Regular people vs. big business.” Ocala Star – Banner 18 Oct. 2011. Print.

Sullivan, Andrew. You Say You Want a Revolution; Andrew Sullivan on how he learned to love the ‘goddam hippies’–and why their protests aren’t going to end. Newsweek 22 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

Wohlsen, Marcus. “Police arrest 75 protesters at Occupy Oakland:; People were hit with tear gas, beanbags after attempting to fight back.” Charleston Daily Mail 26 Oct. 2011: C 4. Print.

Zeleny, Jeff and Megan, Thee-Brenan. New Poll Finds a Deep Distrust of Government. New York Times 26 Oct. 2011: A1. Print.