Snappy Dinner Party Conversation Material

Here are a few quick snippets for your next outing with friends and family:

First, are you smarter than a Wall Street Occupier?  
New York magazine surveys Occupy Wall Street:

But how much do the protesters actually know about the economic system that they're fighting to change? To find out, we asked 50 occupiers a series of questions about Wall Street, taxes, and government. The results were mixed. See if you can do better.

They came up with this stunner:  94% of the protesters believe the government spends more on military than health, education and pensions.   Head over and take the whole test see Are You Smarter Than a Wall Street Occupier?

Second, this table sums up President Downgrade Obama's legacy:

President Obama's Legacy

President Obama blew out the budget with a massive borrowing and spending orgy.  

In comparison, the Occupy Wall Street protesters complain about the excesses and greed of Wall Street and Banks. Well, over the same time period as the previous table, take a look at how Wall Street and the Banks have performed:

Wall Street/Banks Performance

With respect to the S&P500, it's even worse, financials are down 60% vs. the S&P 500.  Hmmm, it looks to me that while the Federal Government was on an unprecedented spending orgy, the Banks and Finance Companies were absorbing the blow-back from the governments failed attempts for 'fairness' and legislating goodness.  

Make note of Ben Stein's fabulous Letter to the Lazy.

I used to demonstrate a lot myself. In the 1950s and 1960s we marched and picketed for civil rights for black Americans and we accomplished a lot. In the late '60s and '70s we demonstrated to end the war in Vietnam ... My wife and I also danced and screamed and sang for the Black Panther Party. ... But we always had specific goals: voting rights. Equal housing and accommodations. Bringing the troops home.

What are your specific goals? It means zero to be against greed. Greed is a basic part of animal nature. Being against it is like being against breathing or eating. It means nothing. 

Ben Stein can bring it home, are you picking up what he is throwing down?  Your dinner guests certainly will.

So there you have it, but there just remains one more question:  Who is really the Greediest, is it the Federal Government (who takes money by force and makes it by fiat) or capitalists, (who have to make it the old fashioned way)?  Sorry, but this is just lost on protesters, so this message is for the people that care about facts, as opposed to Marxists and leftists, who are only confused by facts.  As Ben Stein says, Capitalism is: 

"... by far the most efficient, responsible way of organizing industrial production there has ever been. It is a billion times more democratic that the Marxist forms of organization some of your speakers are advocating. Marxism is so much uglier than capitalism it's not even in the same universe. Marxism is just systemized envy, violence, and repression."  

If capitalism is motivated by greed, then so what? If protesters really wanted to do something about greed and orgiastic spending, they would take power away from the government, not try to grow government. Doh!

Here is what I have learned about Occupy Wall Street Protesters:

1. Their anger is misplaced, their real beef is with the Federal Government.  
2. They expect those that pay taxes, well to pay more!  A lot more!  And to pay for their education! 
3. Further, they are going to be massively disappointed in the coming election cycle and will become even mobbier, if that is possible.  

Stay tuned for additional wisdom in the comments section.