By TOM HONIG
The Occupy Wall Street movement has spread across the world -- including right here in Santa Cruz. More than anything, the movement was born out of frustration going back to the 2008 economic collapse, with the resulting ripples still washing over the economy.
There are more questions than answers about the movement, but in my latest column for the Santa Cruz Good Times, I describe it all as a "righteous display of anger." I find the "Occupy" movement a reasonable reaction to some outrageous selfishness.
Of course, after I wrote it I had a few additional thoughts. A friend of mine who works in Silicon Valley reminded me that even in this time of harsh unemployment, companies there continue to go outside the country to find computer engineers because there aren't enough qualified American citizens. Who's to blame for that?
As the self-described "99 percent" continue to focus on the wealthy and privileged "1 percent," it's easy to forget that we all have responsibilities to improve ourselves. Greed and self-interest are not limited to 1 percent of the population.
For example, are interest groups in Santa Cruz willing to bend even a little on issues like improving the local economy? How about providing opportunity for more young people at a growing UC Santa Cruz? Or to provide a better supply of water for future generations? Or support development that could bring in jobs?
Those issues should be part of the local dialogue every bit as much as expressing anger over what happened on Wall Street.
