When the “Occupy” groups started, they had some legitimate grievances about the current political and social state of the United States. Within a week, they were sympathized with and eventually co-opted by progressives and by many democrats. Enemies of American freedom and prosperity.

They ended up targeting the bankers and capitalists (producers) instead of the true source of what our problem is here in America. The Occupiers claim to want ‘equality’ of income and opportunity, yet don’t understand that business owners and executives are the real creators of employment and deserve to earn more for having the organizational and capital capability to start and maintain a business. They fail to grasp that here in America, you must MAKE your own opportunity, no one is going to walk up and magically hand you prosperity like a birthday gift.

America was founded on the principles of freedom. This means that people have the economic and personal freedom to go out in the world and EARN what you have without fear of  intervention or extortion. The Occupy movement wants to interfere with production.

The Occupy movement wants to take what the creators of prosperity produce for their own, without producing anything themselves. The want (like our president) to ‘redistribute’ wealth from those who create it to those who cannot (or will not out of laziness and lack of ability). They fail to realize that taking from those who produce makes them not produce as much as they normally would. By protesting against producers and those who create opportunity for others, they believe they will force compliance.

This doesn’t happen.

What happens is the Producers of wealth voluntarily stop producing it, or are hobbled in their efforts by those who legislate redistribution. This video of Milton Friedman explains what the Occupy movement is protesting, and why they are wrong.