Thread: Occupy Wall Street around the world.... Your thoughts and feelings about it!

Wow - who decides how low other peoples living standards should be lowered to?

Well, people themselves should. In a controlled way - to conserve resources.
Otherwise, shortage of resources, war, famine, diseases, etc will do it for them.
And their growing debt and deficit shows that americans are living way over their means.
And for everyone in the world to live as good as average 99% american - that's simply impossible - Earth does not have that much resources.

Originally Posted by nulle

Well, people themselves should. In a controlled way - to conserve resources.
Otherwise, shortage of resources, war, famine, diseases, etc will do it for them.
And their growing debt and deficit shows that americans are living way over their means.
And for everyone in the world to live as good as average 99% american - that's simply impossible - Earth does not have that much resources.

I'll wait for Al Gore and Michael Moore to "lead" the way by example.

Scott

Originally Posted by nulle

Well, people themselves should. In a controlled way - to conserve resources.
Otherwise, shortage of resources, war, famine, diseases, etc will do it for them.
And their growing debt and deficit shows that americans are living way over their means.
And for everyone in the world to live as good as average 99% american - that's simply impossible - Earth does not have that much resources.

That's sad, but would anyone give up a part of their salary, for instance, because the employee on their left earns less and can't afford what they can?

Originally Posted by nulle

Well, people themselves should. In a controlled way - to conserve resources.
Otherwise, shortage of resources, war, famine, diseases, etc will do it for them.
And their growing debt and deficit shows that americans are living way over their means.
And for everyone in the world to live as good as average 99% american - that's simply impossible - Earth does not have that much resources.

Totally agree with this.

And there is so much corporate waste in every area.
I was forced to fly twice last week to attend meetings in the morning. If the meetings had been in the afternoon, I could have taken the train. Nobody seemed to care, even after I pointed it out, I had to do it again and I don't feel confident enough right now to refuse.

My view at the moment is of a large corporate building. They've left all the lights on over the weekend, and I can see screens flaring. One massive and totally un-necessary waste of energy.

Both un necessary business flights and un necessary energy waste by corporations should simply be made illegal and punishable if companies breach it.

Two flights per employee per year is more than enough. More phone conferences, video conferences and train journeys.

If I was forced to consume less, I probably wouldn't enjoy it at first. But I can hardly argue that it wasn't needed or in the best long term interest of myself, future generations and the earth as a whole.

It's a very unhealthy and dangerious situation that developing countries are now aspiring to the same standards as the Western world. Sadly, the Earth as a whole cannot afford resource-wise for them to have it. Rather, it is we that should consume less.

In terms of consumption, didn't the USSR actually have it quite right, I mean that nobody was really poor or starving, but nobody able to consume in excess either? I think that earth might be able to just about support the level of consumption that existed there.... Or am I wrong?
Another comparison would be the way that Americans lived in the 1950s.... or had things already gone overboard by then?

Originally Posted by Hanna

Totally agree with this.

And there is so much corporate waste in every area.
I was forced to fly twice last week to attend meetings in the morning. If the meetings had been in the afternoon, I could have taken the train. Nobody seemed to care, even after I pointed it out, I had to do it again and I don't feel confident enough right now to refuse.

My view at the moment is of a large corporate building. They've left all the lights on over the weekend, and I can see screens flaring. One massive and totally un-necessary waste of energy.

Both un necessary business flights and un necessary energy waste by corporations should simply be made illegal and punishable if companies breach it.

Two flights per employee per year is more than enough. More phone conferences, video conferences and train journeys.

If I was forced to consume less, I probably wouldn't enjoy it at first. But I can hardly argue that it wasn't needed or in the best long term interest of myself, future generations and the earth as a whole.

It's a very unhealthy and dangerious situation that developing countries are now aspiring to the same standards as the Western world. Sadly, the Earth as a whole cannot afford resource-wise for them to have it. Rather, it is we that should consume less.

In terms of consumption, didn't the USSR actually have it quite right, I mean that nobody was really poor or starving, but nobody able to consume in excess either? I think that earth might be able to just about support the level of consumption that existed there.... Or am I wrong?
Another comparison would be the way that Americans lived in the 1950s.... or had things already gone overboard by then?

Hanna,
Why don't you move to North Korea? I think that they already have what you're looking for.

Also, is your use of the term "un necessary" instead of "unnecessary" a British English thing?

Scott