Greenfield Man Explains 'Occupy Milwaukee' Movement
Robert Hansen explains the movement and why he's involved.
Occupy Wall Street
Commuters walk through New York City's financial district, which has been taken over by Occupy Wall Street protestors in recent weeks.
Associated Press
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After reading the dizzying back-and-forth of comments – more than 120 of them in just two days – on a story Patch ran about Occupy Milwaukee’s planned protest for Saturday, I needed clarity.
At the very least, I needed some explanations.
So I asked Robert Hansen for some answers.
Hansen is a 34-year-old Greenfield resident. He works in a body shop in Milwaukee and is a songwriter for the band The Maze.
A self-described news junkie with an obvious point of view, Hansen is a student of history and politics and has been supporting the Occupy Movement from its conception because he is “concerned with the direction this country has been moving for the last 30 or so years.”
I emailed Hansen a few questions in advance of Saturday’s event. He pointed out his responses were his and his alone, and that other people involved in the Occupy Movement are so for other reasons. He also said the movement is not a fight to end capitalism or anti-American ideology, but simply an attempt to “restore the American Dream for all the citizens of this great nation.”
Whether you agree with Hansen or not, here’s hoping his answers shed light on Saturday’s event.
Greenfield Patch: There seems to be confusion as to what Occupy Milwaukee is all about. As someone who is involved and plans to participate, can you try and explain it. I've read "protests against the financial elite," but what does that really mean?
RH: I don't see how anybody can be confused. The message is clear that there is far too much corporate influence in our politics. People coming out on Saturday have a wide variety of concerns: 30 years of stagnant wages; unfair lending practices leading to home foreclosure by convincing people they could get loans they didn't need at low interest that then ratcheted up to levels they couldn't afford (up 14% in the last quarter); excessive student loan debt with little hope of paying it back in the current economic climate; 22% loss in pensions as a result of the 2008 crash; high unemployment; wealth inequality between men and women and from race to race; illegal wars; outsourcing of jobs; tax cuts in income and capitol gains that unfairly favored the rich; manipulation of financial markets by traders at Wall Street; lack of environmental regulations leading to health risks among the populous; lack of transparency at the Federal Reserve; unfair tax breaks to large corporations instead of small businesses; politicians ignoring the will of their constituents – Scott Walker, Paul Ryan, Ron Johnson are good examples here, though Democrats are not immune; the Citizens United ruling, the influence of American Legislative Exchange Council; in our state legislatures, etc.
It all this comes down to one simple and clear thing: corporations are not people and money does not equal speech. We need to have separation of corporation and state. Thomas Jefferson once said, "I hope [that] we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength and [to] bid defiance to the laws of our country." A true visionary in so many ways. This is about economic and social justice.
Greenfield Patch: What do the protesters involved with Occupy Milwaukee hope to achieve? What is the ultimate goal?
RH: The ultimate goal is to bring fairness to the system for all citizens. If you are a politician and you do not do right by the people by continuing to let corporate money influence the way you vote, we the citizens of this great country will vote you out. We are in the streets to educate the 99 percent, to support the 99 percent, because we are the 99 percent.
Is the Occupy Milwaukee movement more clear to you now, or more cloudy than before?
Tell us in the comments.
Dustin Block
4:04 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Corporations are not people. Pretty simple concept!
Gofaq Uurslf
4:06 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Not to the liberals. Corporations are super people and influence all of politics. It's all their fault lazy kids can't get anything they want.
Gofaq Uurslf
4:05 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
"The ultimate goal is to bring fairness to the system for all citizens."
Perhaps for the few intelligent people there it is.
Bucky
5:02 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Nate did you have a brain fart between your 1st and 2nd comment ?
Gofaq Uurslf
5:09 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Bucky, I thought you got over your case of diarrhea. My first comment was my original thought. Almost instantaneously, Dustin submitted his comment. I felt a need to respond to him immediately, thus the minute between posts. Understand? Just coincidence.
Steve
4:51 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
I don't get this stagnant wages thing. If you look around we have a lot more than what was there 30 years ago. You can move around the pay scale with hard work and new millionaires are made every day.
Most have a cell phone, a computer, a few cars, house, toys, crap to fill that house, multiple flat screens, internet the list goes on. You didn't have all that crap even 30 years ago. You didn't have all of those monthly bills. Most figure out a way to afford all of this new crap. And more financing than ever has been put in place to "allow" you to afford all that crap if you can not pay cash. Only when the gov. steps in and makes bank lend to sub prime applicants does it crash. That touchy feeling really did wonders on the global economy.
If you over extend yourself because you think it is a human right to have all this crap don't cry. Think of how much more take home pay you would have if you didn't have all that crap. An no, you don't need it.
The poor and middle class will always be there unless we keep moving left. Then there will only be the poor. No one will work hard to make a million dollars if 90% gets taken away. Don't think that no one is moving up our ladder the rungs just get smaller at the top. When you move up someone takes your place. So yes wages at that level stay stagnant, as they should.
Bucky
5:06 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
1960's CEO wages 4 to 1 to the workers. Todays CEO's wages 400 to 4000 to 1 if not more compared to workers.
Gofaq Uurslf
5:12 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Steve, this poster child Robert Hanson is in his early thirties. Apparently, his vast experience has led him to conclude that his entire life has been terrible in America.
Steve
6:19 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
I am 28, guy needs to go overseas to a country like Bulgaria and see how awesome he has it here.
Bucky- so what? Become a CEO, start a business, become an athlete, star in a movie, win the lottery if that is what you value. More profit, more return, more bonus.
From a leftie site. http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/
Even with their pension athletes are making more per year. $11MM per year for the top guy at a company that does billions in business. Seems right to me. Regulate that? Welcome to the end of America as you enjoy it.
Gofaq Uurslf
6:56 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Steve your union link is so biased I wish you would include 2011's figures on union bosses salaries. :)
Robert Hansen
5:22 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Steve, number one, deregulation of the banks and wall street by Clinton and Bush opened the door for sub prime lending. Home ownership was a push of the Bush administration which led to the bubble and subsequent crash in the housing market. As far as stagnant wages, here are some articles on that...http://www.njfac.org/Wage%20report.htm http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jan/17/economics-globalrecession
do some other research if you get a chance.
Dustin Block
5:30 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Dems and Republicans are equally at fault for the deregulation that led to the financial crisis, and an unfathomable lack of political courage to fix the system. First to blame? President Obama's cowardice. Second to blame? Republicans pushing tax cuts and fiscal responsibility at the same time. It's a complete D.C. meltdown.
Steve
6:27 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
I don't feel that banks wanted to loan that money out, it goes against their business model. They were pushed by gov. to get people into houses who could not afford it. Bush should have put a stop to it or whoever was advising on that matter.
M.Doyle
8:20 pm on Sunday, October 16, 2011
Hey Robert,
I remember that about home ownership.You must also tell people that Bush had a Democratic Congress and Democratic Senate and yes Bush knew that they wanted it, he did not veto it.By not vetoing it they let him have something he wanted.
Dustin Block
9:28 am on Monday, October 17, 2011
The housing bubble wasn't political - that's the problem. The financial industry is far more powerful than the government. OWS is a grassroots response to that ... and so far it's been effective.
Robert Hansen
5:27 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Nate, where have you been? The town I grew up in was destroyed by walmart and off shoring of jobs. Our rapid race to the bottom due to Trickle Down Economics and Free Trade seems to have laid waste to a number of once great cities in this country, Milwaukee included.
Gofaq Uurslf
6:01 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
I don't disagree with you there Robert. I just have a beef with most of your buddies you will meet this weekend. They won't share your level of intellect on these matters. They just want to party hard, lay waste, and feel important amongst their ranks.
Robert Hansen
5:38 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Agreed Dustin. Keynes is rolling in his grave.
Robert Hansen
6:06 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Are you buying the propaganda the "news" media has been selling? the people attending the general assembly to this point are truly the best and brightest. I have been very impressed with everyone involved to this point
Gofaq Uurslf
6:51 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Which news media are you referring to? I casually watch Fox, which has been taking a lax view of these people. Just to show you I can have an open mind I turn on MSBNC (usually for a laugh) as well. Watching that you would think that this is the million man march or a messiah is about due to arrive. If this were the Tea Party, liberal news media would be all over them as if they were neo-Nazis staging a rally.
Obviously you haven't been watching any news. It's hard to differentiate Wall Street from downtown Egypt from this spring. I hope for the sake of our state, especially after the infiltration in Madison, that what you claim is true.
karen k
7:39 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
I am attending along with my best friend. We are both college educated, employed as professionals and shower on a regular basis. The slander and deprecating comments are based on stereotypes propagated by the media who have their own agenda.
Robert Hansen
8:27 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
And are corporate owned. I have heard plenty of clips from the folks at fox news perpetuating lies about this movement just as they did with the Madison protests. Meanwhile they wet themselves any time 50 peoplshow up
Gofaq Uurslf
7:33 am on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Robert now that you bring up corporate owned news lets remember that MSNBC is owned by GE, which paid no taxes last yea. CEO Jeffery Immelt is highly paid also, not to mention highly incompetent, so much that Obama wanted him to be an economic adviser. Maybe Occupy Wall Street should visit his them. No wonder liberals are hypocrites.
Robert Hansen
8:29 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Anytime 50 people show up at a tea party rally in three corner hats.
Robert Hansen
8:30 am on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Did i say anything positive about msnbc? they suffer the same problem of being the establishment and wanting to gain access to the beltway. at least they don't just make things up. The reporting is slanted and some of the hosts as bad as anyone on fox, but i have seen things on fox that are completely made up and passed off as news. The report the other day about Obama apologizing to Japan for bombing hiroshima. Never happened never going to happen.