OPINION: Why Occupy Wall Street failed
A year ago, Occupy Wall Street was at the center of New Yorkers’ consciousness.
The movement stirred up issues that many people were concerned about but never thought would see the light of day in the media – class conflict, inequality of wealth, consolidation of the banking industry, the loss of jobs, the lax and inadequate oversight of finance and banking.
Many of these issues had been center stage in this country as recently as the mid-1960s, when President Lyndon Johnson announced his War on Poverty. But, at least since the 1980s, the issue of poverty has been all but ignored.
In addition to attracting many young people who were concerned about paying off huge student loans and not being able to find jobs, Occupy acted as a lighting rod for veterans of earlier protest movements.