Occupy Wall Street: Citywire TV meets the protestors

Over a third of American families are reliant on government food stamps to get enough to eat.

A THIRD!!

As an American living in the UK for nearly 30 years, I have watched with great sadness how the USA has become the preserve of the rich, and the middle class an endangered species. The cruel paradox is that most of my family in the US, the richest country in the world, are much worse off in terms of health care and jobs than the situation in the UK. I find the creeping Americanisation of the UK very disturbing - people here do not know how bad free market capitalism allowed to run amok can be. The UK needs to preserve and protect what it has - the NHS et al.

As an Australian living France, aware of the taxes and charges increasing and savings blown away, and noting similar changes in Australia, It must be a warning to regulators that something is about to blow worldwide.

The inequality in the US is unsustainable - there will be more trouble is the future as the greedy selfish 1% who control American politics and finances have to face the desperation of the vast majority. ''The greatest nation on earth, land of the free' mantra is rapidly wearing thin.

I must point out to Warren, that although America may have the largest economy in the world, it certainly is not the richest country in the world.

The wealth of a country must be measured in terms of per capita income.

In terms of per capita income,the USA is a mid ranking country within the ranks of deleloped nations.

There are two aspects of the American system that must make life in the USA particularly difficult.

(1)The healthcare system,where more than 50 million Americans have no access to medical care.

(2)The time limit that applies to unemployment benefit.

In the USA ,a person can literally die of starvation, without access to state benefits or housing.

Our benefit system is often abused,but it is the price we have to pay for a level of security, that most Americans would envy,were it not for the propaganda machine, known as Fox News.

s ville, there are 46 million americans on food stamps out of 300 million, that's still large, but just a sixth, not a third.

also, per capita income is distorted further by the fact that most of the "income" is borrowed and produces nothing at all (banks and federal agencies in existence and paying salaries by the federal government borrowing money). last i looked america was spending as much as it takes in taxes, just on federal salaries, benefits and pensions. they are completely bankrupt, pretty much like scotland and much of england, wales and ireland. perhaps we in the uk need reminding that our fiscal deficit is the same as that of greece.

a person anywhere will never die of starvation if they have friends and family that don't hate them, until that is, whole communities are starving, in which case, that's when your ak47 will come in handy.

Does anyone share my suspicion that America became great by cornering the market , so to speak, during the two world wars by being the supplier to desperate Europe from their safe factories, and now the present inhabitants have lost the plot .

sir charles, it is the tragedy of nations that they think themselves superior forever and look down on others during their time of superiority (helping them to "catch up"). It is also the tragedy of nations that their leaders are inadequate to the task of taking care of the lower income deciles. America is just the latest manifestation of this arrogance and conceit. The nation state may have gone global and America may have worked out a good deal in the last war. Its leaders never had the plot, neither have anyone else's from the babylonians, the spanish, the french, romans, Xin dynasties , ya de ya da.. nation states are built on the sufferings of others, except perhaps the island races. Our job is to navigate through the crap and try and bring the most good to the most people. The Americans have given that away and their consitution is dead. Didn't last very long at all really. Pax Romana? Not!

"But the Occupy Wall Street movement appears to be preparing itself for a long fight. The question is: will it go global?" Absolutely. The Global Corporate Culture owned by the few affecting the many, has crossed the line of decency, humanity and sustainability.

Of those Americans who are now out of a job, on welfare and protesting in sit-downs across the nation, how many of those eligibl evoted for George W.Bush to become president, or failed to vote at all and thereby contributed to his election as president, not once but twice. To all those who put their hands up, I say serve you right. My response to those who are in a similar plight in the UK and allowed Labour to take power in 1997,is the same - serve you right.

America's economic plight today is the direct result of G.W. Bush and his administration crass stupidy in the way they reacted to 9/11 - launching an attack on Al-Queda in Afghanistan and the illegal invasion of Iraq on the completely fabricated story of it posessing WMD. Based on the estimated UK expenditure of £14bn figure,America must have spent circas 30-50 trillion dollars in Afghanistan on a war that it cannot win. More NATO troops have died in Afghanistan than were killed on 9/11, whilst, 4000 American soldiers lost their lives, with many more maimed, in Iraq (an invasion that was doomed to fail from the outset),a country( like Afganistan) still in chaos).The cost of Iraq(already circa $30Trn) continues with a large American military.

The cost to the UK for Iraq and Afghanistan must be circa 25 billion pounds, not to mention the lost of

hundreds of British lives. So to all those who have been and continue to be affected by the economic ills brought about by G.W. Bush et al, his sychophantic egotistical ally, '45 minutes - WMD' Tony Blair, his bag man Gordon Brown and the Labour Party, just imagine how better off the people of both countries would be today, IF these men had never been voted into power by an unthinking electorate?

When Obama was elected President It was said that he inherited the in tray from hell. Never-the-less I had high hopes that he could somehow turn things around. Unfortunately It hasn't turned out that way. The present ratios of democrats to republicans in congress and the senate mean that he is to all intents and purposes impotent.

The bit I don't understand is why voting behaviour is so evenly split. If, as has been stated most of the wealth of the country is controlled by 1% of the population, I should have thought that the democrats would have a clear majority. I can only deduce that the 1% who are wealthy comprise of democrats and republicans in equal numbers, which seems somewhat hypocritical.

I watched a report by Mark Mardell on BBC TV where he spoke to an unemployed man in Chicago. He asked him what benefits he recieved. He responded. "none" Mark then asked; "well how do you survive" His reply was: $200 a month in food stamps, which I understand is paid into an electronic card account. $200 a month works out at $6 60c a day. Just about enough for food I guess, but man cannot live on bread alone.

One way or another the problem of inequality has to be addressed.

In ordinary times, I think food stamps is a brilliant idea in that the money cannot be frittered away by recipients on non essential items - cigarettes, illegal drugs, etc. Yes its perhaps demeaning but a great incentive to find work, however menial. Inequality itself is a good thing, whereby the innovative,talented, skilled and hard working are rewarded more that those who are none of those things. However, its the extremes of inequality- when even a minimum/basic standard of living is not available for all,whilst some are rich beyond reason. Such conditions are dangerous, damaging and degrading in any society. Their existence is worldwide and the product of legal and political corruption by individuals in an immoral government. Together they can best be described as the enemy within. The most devastating fact is the realisation that in most democratic countries it is the electorate who one way or another, allow these conditions to exist.

Who would beleive that 30 years after 50,000 American soldiers and 2 million civiliand died in Vietnam, America would again be needlessly at war in two countries at the same time, and as in Vietnam, loose both. The only common factor running through those 3 wars is America's industrial giants, their war products and their political agents who continue to enrich themselves at the ordinary taxpayers expense. Unless and until America stops its war machine, nothing will change.