Occupiers around the world need to take a victory lap – because they won.
STORY: Call ‘Em Out! Obama Addresses The Haters In His State Of The Union
Last night as President Barack Obama addressed the nation for his third State of the Union, it was evident that what Occupy Wall Street has been bellowing in Lower Manhattan since September 17th is ringing true. We have changed the national conversation for a better America.
Obama challenged his Attorney General to open an investigation into Wall Street and hold them accountable for their shady practices.
As the President said:
“I am asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis.
This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.”
This couldn’t be a bigger victory for the 99 percenters: the countless emails, the over 360,000 signed petitions calling for the President to launch a full investigation into the banks, the tweets, the Facebook messages, the YouTube videos, and the proposed constitutional amendments have not gone unnoticed and change is coming.
Now to be clear, a huge victory was been won and the war still rages on. But the President couldn’t have made it any clearer to the Wall Street CEOs and big wigs:
“If you’re earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn’t get special tax subsidies or deductions. On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families, your taxes shouldn’t go up. You’re the ones struggling with rising costs and stagnant wages. You’re the ones who need relief.
Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.”
It’s more than common sense Mr. President, it’s fair.
So now it’s time for everybody to keep the movement going, as the President said last night:
“This Nation is great because we get each other’s backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard… As long as we’re joined in common purpose our union will remain strong.”
Our common purpose and goals should be for all to fight against the waves of economic injustice so that everyone can attain that American dream we know we can achieve.
