Elon law student A. Brennan Aberle '12 writes in a Sunday, Oct. 23 News and Record op-ed that, "Occupy Wall Street is about evening the odds for people whose voices don’t echo as strongly on Capitol Hill."
Aberle cites a number of economic indicators he says undergird the Occupy Wall Street movement, including that, “hourly wages haven’t substantially risen in 50 years and income inequality in this country (ranked 93rd in the world) is nearing a record high.”
He also recounts some of the policy changes he heard called for by Occupy Wall Street protestors at a recent demonstration in Greensboro, N.C., writing, “some simply want to enforce the provisions of the Dodd-Frank bill. Others want to see the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC overturned. Some people want to see a reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act, which arguably could have prevented some of the effects of the mortgage-backed security crisis.”
Aberle concludes that the movement should not be viewed as liberal or conservative.
“Disenfranchisement of the middle class does not discriminate based on politics; it affects us all,” Aberle writes. “No matter what your views are, more citizen participation and government accountability is a good thing, and that is an American ideal we can all support.”
Click here to read Aberle’s op-ed in the News & Record online.