Hipsters Getting Dragged Around and Arrested

You have no idea if they were breaking the law or not. Either way, your ignorance in WHY they're protesting is the real reason I posted. Wake the fuck up.
 
To those defending these people:

Really? Really? Let me break this down for you.

Those hipsters (overgeneralization, but moving on) are protesting what they perceive to be exploitation of the economy by the folks on Wall Street. They think (were brainwashed by the liberal media, more like it) that the traders and Investment Bankers clearly have malicious intent to exploit the strengths in the economy, consolidate the wealth generated from that exploitation, and leave "main street" out to dry.

Seriously? They could not be more wrong.

While we have seen an uptick in insider trading violations and ponzi schemes (damn them to hell, those cheating bastards), 99% of Wall Street is interested in VALUE CREATION. That is, the appreciation of wealth. In plain language, if the economy gets on a roll, everybody starts #winning. Traders have a vested interest in this: higher stock prices means gigantic bonuses for them. But it also means larger dividends for the ordinary investor, higher growth to support wealth creation via capital gains, and most importantly, initial public offerings for start up companies to generate funding, WHICH CREATES MORE JOBS. Jobs these "Hipsters" could probably use. Granted, there are fees attached to IPO's and mergers that are kinda large, but in the aggregate, huge economic #win.

So why the hell are these folks protesting at Wall St.? Because they are brainwashed. Something is holding this economy back, and it is not Wall St. Wall St. plays with the cards they are dealt (minus some lobbying that is done, certainly. But so does the AFL-CIO and the Teamsters, so two can play that game. Lobbying is done everywhere. Get over it.)

Its CAPITOL HIll and 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, combined with the macroeconomic effects of poor fiscal governance in Europe. This Congress and This President (And the Last President and Congress). Have spent us into a recession. The confidence about the US government's ability to sustainably pay its liabilities in the long-term has been severely shaken. We have to cut spending big time, particularly in the area of entitlement programs. What have our politicians done? spend more money. The stimulus has failed to work, The Fed is out of ammunition, and Obama wants to TAX US MORE and Spend MORE MONEY? What is he, new? Recent history is showing us that would be disasterous.

These Hipsters need to their heads out of the sand, and transport right up to 1600 Pennsylvania avenue. If they REALLY cared about our country's long-term well being, they would protest Obama, their beloved Ideologue, and show that this country does not believe in his policies anymore.

But they won't do that, because they wouldn't understand or choose not to listen to common sense.

Get learned people, if things don't change soon, the world really might end in 2012.
 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-18/wall-street-occupied-by-a-few-hundred-people-as-protesters-ranks-dwindle.html

'jumping a police barrier and resisting arrest'

'two arrested for trying to enter a Bank of America building'

'disorderly conduct'

get a fucking clue, you're no better than any of those other trust fund hipster brats - if you break the law you're going to be arrested.

These fucking losers don't even know what they're protesting, they're just there because it's the "cool" thing to do..these people are drains on society

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/21/ap/business/main20109721.shtml

What, exactly, they are protesting is somewhat unclear. When asked what they are fighting, they gave a variety of responses ranging from Wall Street to global warming

"I'm currently unemployed and loving what I'm doing," Leigh said. "I'm going to stay here until the end."
 
My ass...You really think you can statistically track that sort of thing? I see what you did there.. trying to weaken my argument. come on now.

I agree, Hipster might be the wrong word, stated in my original argument

Here's how this works... Investment Banks are publically traded companies. Those companies have to meet Wall St. expectations on earnings to increase or decrease their stock price. Illegal Activity? stock takes a big hit. Miss earnings? even bigger hit. It is built into market mechanisms to act ethically. If you don't, you lose value (See: Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, Goldman Sachs, Comverse, etc.) and the stock price plummets.

As such, it is in the bset interest of ALL companies to act ethically, because this is THE sure fire way to generate value in the long-term. And you better believe that if someone slips through the compliance cracks (UBS trader who lost UBS $2.3 Billion Dollars recently), that the company will find ways to prevent such behavior again.
 
We have a right to protest wherever and whenever we want, its one of the perks of living in America... the "hipsters" are protesting the largest theft of wealth from the common person to a private bank in the history of human kind (that we know of) through the Federal Reserve... the "hipsters" aren't the ignorant ones here y'all are. Grow some balls and get the fuck out there, it's our world not theirs
 
You are clearly new here... Which private bank? Name it for me.

And if you are talking about TARP (The Troubled Asset Relief Program) that Federal Reserve Capital into ALL large banks, both public and private (JPMorgan, Bank of America, AIG, PNC, US Bank, etc.), that money was all paid back like a year ago. and oh yea, the government made a profit on those loaned funds somewhere in the neighborhood of ~$500 BILLION DOLLARS.

I don't question your right to protest... you do what you want. The right to assemble is protected under the 1st amendment. I question the logic and intelligence of your ideology. You are brainwashed son... the real problem is on Capitol Hill and your own mind. Again, get learned.
 


On the third Wednesday of every month, the nine members of an elite Wall Street society gather in Midtown Manhattan.

The men share a common goal: to protect the interests of big banks in the vast market for derivatives, one of the most profitable — and controversial — fields in finance. They also share a common secret: The details of their meetings, even their identities, have been strictly confidential.

Drawn from giants like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the bankers form a powerful committee that helps oversee trading in derivatives, instruments which, like insurance, are used to hedge risk.

In theory, this group exists to safeguard the integrity of the multitrillion-dollar market. In practice, it also defends the dominance of the big banks.

The banks in this group, which is affiliated with a new derivatives clearinghouse, have fought to block other banks from entering the market, and they are also trying to thwart efforts to make full information on prices and fees freely available.

Banks’ influence over this market, and over clearinghouses like the one this select group advises, has costly implications for businesses large and small, like Dan Singer’s home heating-oil company in Westchester County, north of New York City.

This fall, many of Mr. Singer’s customers purchased fixed-rate plans to lock in winter heating oil at around $3 a gallon. While that price was above the prevailing $2.80 a gallon then, the contracts will protect homeowners if bitterly cold weather pushes the price higher.

But Mr. Singer wonders if his company, Robison Oil, should be getting a better deal. He uses derivatives like swaps and options to create his fixed plans. But he has no idea how much lower his prices — and his customers’ prices — could be, he says, because banks don’t disclose fees associated with the derivatives.

“At the end of the day, I don’t know if I got a fair price, or what they’re charging me,” Mr. Singer said.

Derivatives shift risk from one party to another, and they offer many benefits, like enabling Mr. Singer to sell his fixed plans without having to bear all the risk that oil prices could suddenly rise. Derivatives are also big business on Wall Street. Banks collect many billions of dollars annually in undisclosed fees associated with these instruments — an amount that almost certainly would be lower if there were more competition and transparent prices.

Just how much derivatives trading costs ordinary Americans is uncertain. The size and reach of this market has grown rapidly over the past two decades. Pension funds today use derivatives to hedge investments. States and cities use them to try to hold down borrowing costs. Airlines use them to secure steady fuel prices. Food companies use them to lock in prices of commodities like wheat or beef.

The marketplace as it functions now “adds up to higher costs to all Americans,” said Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates most derivatives. More oversight of the banks in this market is needed, he said.

But big banks influence the rules governing derivatives through a variety of industry groups. The banks’ latest point of influence are clearinghouses like ICE Trust, which holds the monthly meetings with the nine bankers in New York.

Under the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, many derivatives will be traded via such clearinghouses. Mr. Gensler wants to lessen banks’ control over these new institutions. But Republican lawmakers, many of whom received large campaign contributions from bankers who want to influence how the derivatives rules are written, say they plan to push back against much of the coming reform. On Thursday, the commission canceled a vote over a proposal to make prices more transparent, raising speculation that Mr. Gensler did not have enough support from his fellow commissioners.

The Department of Justice is looking into derivatives, too. The department’s antitrust unit is actively investigating “the possibility of anticompetitive practices in the credit derivatives clearing, trading and information services industries,” according to a department spokeswoman.

Indeed, the derivatives market today reminds some experts of the Nasdaq stock market in the 1990s. Back then, the Justice Department discovered that Nasdaq market makers were secretly colluding to protect their own profits. Following that scandal, reforms and electronic trading systems cut Nasdaq stock trading costs to 1/20th of their former level — an enormous savings for investors.

“When you limit participation in the governance of an entity to a few like-minded institutions or individuals who have an interest in keeping competitors out, you have the potential for bad things to happen. It’s antitrust 101,” said Robert E. Litan, who helped oversee the Justice Department’s Nasdaq investigation as deputy assistant attorney general and is now a fellow at the Kauffman Foundation. “The history of derivatives trading is it has grown up as a very concentrated industry, and old habits are hard to break.”
 
ok... take that point. Still doesn't change the rest of my argument bro.

I'm all for more visibility into the derivatives market... go for it. we agree! Still doesn't change the fact that most of those people down there have NO idea what they are protesting, or how the system (or the invisble hand of the market) works.

enjoy unemployment, I gotta get back to work!
 
then that still makes 1% of more the 20 investment bankers you know that would. so thats .2 times the rest of the investment baking community that you dont know?
 
Bitching about a statistic makes it look like his argument has a point and you have nothing to combat it with. AKA, stfu before you make yourself look even more like an ass.
 
going about organizing an actual protest is much more complicated than that.

You may have a right to protest there, but your protest might infringe upon the rights of others. All the people that work there have the right to go about their daily business without being harassed. All the people who commute through the area also have the right to get through that area without being impeded by others. And so on...

Everyone has rights, but a protest is a bit hypocritical if it tramples over the rights of others.
 
It's sad that your only counter argument is to nitpick over a figure of speech. People use 99% all the time because you can't say anything with certainty, theres always that exception. It's just a figure of speech, get the fuck over it and realize how stupid you're making yourself look.
 
Well if you resist arrest, Chances are cops aren't going to take too kindly to that. Don't play the whole "hurrdurr police brutality" bullshit card. Those dudes clearly weren't listening to the cops.
 
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