Protestors we want democracy looks like we want democracy looks like we want democracy looks like protestors chanting all day, all week, occupy wall street all day, all week, occupy wall street jake a level playing field. Thats what were here for. Its not that were all against everything that america has to offer and we want to change everything that america has to offer. Its, we want it to be fair. Nicole what system we have is so far from true capitalism, its amazing. Its not true capitalism at all. Its socialism for the banks. Jose what occupy wall Street Movement is all about, its about people getting together, talking their grievances, and unifying to Work Together to come to the resolve. Jake equal opportunities is what were looking for and what were trying to achieve. And i hope that it happens because of us. Well see. Well see. [protestors chanting indistinctly] narrator on september 17, 2011, people arrived at Zuccotti Park to bring attention to the worst economic crisis the world has seen since the great depression. They decide to peacefully occupy the park and create a physical presence so that the world would hear what many already knew, that private money in politics has undermined democracy and transferred income from 99 of americans to multinational corporations and the wealthy. This is the story of how the 99 spark occupy wall street became a global movement. Lillian people here, the occupiers, are about the environment, about housing, about schools, about jobs. And the overriding cause of those problems are corporate greed. And the people see it. Russell its about fairness. Its about a country that allows access, not one that a few are in a position to continue to exploit the middle class and the poorthe shrinking middle class. Ray initially i came down here, i was inspired by the protestors to come down. When i waswhen i went to that rally at wall street, i had no intention whatsoever of being arrested. Jeffrey if we have a proper government that is fair, that is insisting on responsibility by the rich and the powerful, that is investing in the poor and the working class, making sure that everybody has a chance for education, were going to have a far fairer and more equal society. Lillian the first week you were here in liberty plaza, i was here walking, talking, you know, i talked to everybody. Jose i didnt feel strongly as about becoming an activist yet. You know . Its almost like youre aware and youre like, man, thats messed up. But what can i do about it . I was in that point of time that, what can i seriously do about it. Like, theres nothing i can do. I felt powerless. Russell and people feel helpless, but those who are inspired to change it are rising up. Man with guitar hold on hold on occupy, hold on [indistinct chatter] jose i came the first day. I really didnt understand the movement and the sense of community until i actually lived here for a month. Man with guitar if i wont hold on everyone hold on. Jake i had a backpack with two days worth of clothes, a toothbrush, my cell phone, thats it. When i arrived, everybody came and welcomed me. And so if you needed a sleeping bag, you went to comfort. If you needed medical attention, you went to the medic tent. If you were hungry, you went to the kitchen. Sanitation walks around and cleans every inch of this park. So it took my breath away when i first got here. Jose i knew my neighbors. I spoke to my neighbors. And we all connected, and we felt like family, and we wanted to take care of one another, and we wanted to look out for one another. We wanted to share information. Nicole were all people. We all should be able to relate to each other and empathize with each other and respect each other. Jake i learned that we may not all be rich. Um, we dont have thousands and thousands of dollars. But everyone here is rich, cause everyone here treats others how they want to be treated. Russell the gift of giving is the driving force of occupy. Its the nucleus of its spirit. Its spirit is about love and sharing. Lillian this is the sanest acre on the planet. Russell and its bringing dialogue about important subject matter to the forefront. Stuff that has been swept under the rug and has been hidden. Nicole the 99 versus the 1 , inequality in america was never something that people talked about. It was the most on target kind of demonstration protest ive ever witnessed. [protestors chanting indistinctly] jeffrey what occupy wall street is saying when they say we are the 99 and when they are pointing to the 1 , its not envy. Its not saying, well, theyre rich, thats bad. Its saying that people of wealth in this country have not taken on the responsibilities that they need to, especially the powerful corporate interests, especially wall street. Jake i would say corporations are in control of our democratic process. Lillian ive been visiting here, uh, several times a week because i want to show the young people that there are older people who agree with them and who are really depending on them. Jose the movement is a rebirth of americas sense of community and sense of, ok, this is where we can come talk. Tell me whats wrong. Whats going on in your life . Jake why i came is, the first video i saw was of 3 innocent women being corralled with an orange net by police. Standing there peacefully and then were maced. [woman screaming] jake im not antipolice, im anti police brutality. I had to come here to not only protest the corruption of our government but also to protect the people from the police, because, i meani work cameras all the time. And thats your best defense against police, cause, a, its peaceful. And b, you see how it is. Officer please. Man in red shirt i have done nothing wrong. Jake i just wanted to make it public that brutality is happening in america. Man in red shirt i have done nothing wrong. I have done nothing wrong [indistinct shouting] ohh jeffrey the occupy wall Street Movement is awithout question, channeling feelings that run through american society. This is not just a small group of young people who are out in the park. This is reflecting feelings of unhappiness, anxiety, anger, that permeate american society, and for good reason. Narrator the disparity of income and wealth in the United States is the widest it has been since the great depression. A large middle Class Foundation of a stable democracy has been shrinking at a rapid rate. Russell people are so greedy. You know . Its sotheyre so greedy. And, you know, it doesnt have to be that all of the 1 is greedy. It has to be that the people who are fighting for theirfor every penny who have the most power and who are the most influential are moving the meter, and people are quiet. Its the silence thats deafening, of all those people who want a more fair system. And the way the moneythe way the money is being taken away from the poor, out of their hands and put into the hands of the rich, is unbelievable. Jeffrey we got tax cuts for the rich, a dismantling of government for the working class and the poor, a tattering of the social safety net. Russell 400 people in this country have more money than 150 million. Itsitsits its very hurtful to hear these kind of things. Jeffrey super wealth at the top and a tremendous amount of pain for a large part of american society, especially those suffering in the worst poverty at the bottom. Jake our Financial System is, uh, is kind of loopy. Um, you got people that are making billions, hundreds of millions of dollars, and then you got people that dont even get a hot meal a day. And this isits unjust. Russell i saw a family that were homeless and were not part of occupy, that joined occupy. Jeffrey now in america nearly one out of two americans is in a low income setting now. Its extraordinary for a country that prides itself on being the middle class society. Ray now, what kind of system would allow that disparity . Lillian who can afford fruit . Who can afford fresh vegetables . Jeffrey that higher line, twice the poverty level, is what we call the low income boundary. Roughly 40,000 or so for a family of 4, then youre considered in the low income. Youre struggling, yet maybe you can meet the basic needs, but with a lot of struggle and a lot of insecurity. Ray common sense tells you that theres something wrong with a system that allows that. Jeffrey it means a tremendous amount of insecurity in this country. Russell wealth is not trickling down. Poverty is gushing up. Lillian the problem is, who can afford the good food . I know i cant. Jeffrey roughly one in 6 americans right now, which is roughly 50 million out of our 310 million population, eat with the help of food stamps in america. Its stunning, uh, how americans now are so squeezed, so vulnerable. Lillian i dont have fruit in the house. [distant sirens] narrator over the last 4 years, 30 major corporations paid no taxes, even though their combined u. S. Profit was over 200 billion. An overwhelming majority of americans believe that corporations and the wealthy should pay at least the same tax rate as the middle class. Nicole it would be incredible for there to be tax [indistinct] like unified front against these corporations. Russell its not a redistribution of wealth. Its just a funny way of framing it. These guys are really geniuses atatof disempowering the poor, making people feeland the middle class, and all of america feel that theyve been selling their case so well. Jeffrey we have to revisit why we have that budge deficit, because the wealth has gone to the top, but so have the tax breaks. So have the loopholes. So has the privilege of companies to park their money in bermuda or in the cayman islands, even with the knowing acceptance of the irs. Nicole like, my family is from this tiny island. Like, anguilla. Its like 3 miles by 7 miles. And this is where so many of these corporations, like, set up fake offices so they can keep their money offshore and not be taxed for it. Like, ive seen it. Like my aunt worked in one of those offices. Jeffrey some of our Biggest Companies use transfer pricing and other mechanisms to book their profits in tax havens, and the irs says, no problem. Thats fine. We agree to that. Ray its just obvious that this system is totally, totally upside down. Russell ii think that the tax system is unrealistic, unreasonable, and its obviously paid for by those who havevirtually the havenots. The fact that i pay less money than my secretary in certain instances, in taxes, and the way the bankers are paying less money than their secretaries, its obviously out of whack. Lillian its not easy, and its getting harder. Its getting much, much harder to, uh if i dont have pensions, i have social security, and i have some other income. Occasionally i work. Uh, but its very, very difficult. Jeffrey the money that the rich and the companies ought to be paying right now but dont pay because of the loopholes and the tax cuts and these vast wealth accumulations, this gives us hundreds of billions of dollars more, not only to do the things we need to do to invest in our future, but to close the budget deficit. Narrator if the wealthy paid the same tax as the middle class. The United States represents 5 of the worlds population but is responsible for 20 of the worlds pollution. Its estimated that 50,000 americans and more than two Million People around the world die each year from pollution related diseases. Nicole the corporations are responsible. These corporations that like say, oh, no, lets just like notnot like participate in like the kyoto agreement. Like, lets just not address anything having to do with the epa, are quite literally ruining the world for a huge number of its population and future generations. Jose we all need to wake up. We all need to know whats going on. We need to educate ourselves. We need to stand together, and we need to fight this. Jake that tree is money to me. The sun is money to me. And these guys are gonna soon realize that without trees, without sun, without water. You cant eat money. Jeffrey the u. S. As a society has been underinvesting in our future for decades. Households were borrowing rather than saving. The government was slashing taxes for the rich and cutting public investments for all of society. Cutting back on even maintaining our infrastructureour roads, our dams, our waterways, our levees. Cutting back on investing in renewable energy, for example, which is vital for our security in the future and for environmental security. Nicole we are making ourselves extinct right now. And the realities of that are not pervasive because we dont want to talk about it. Narrator education is the foundation of democracy and economic growth. Lillian my grandson will be getting out of high school in june, and he certainly wont be able to afford to go to a 4year accredited college. Nicole i dont understand why were putting monetary, um, prohibitions on education. Education should be something we want for everyone. We want an educated society. We all benefit from an educated population. Jose of course, like, were told in school, you know, go get your education, go to college, so that you can get that dream job that you want. Lillian we had a wonderful city college, and that was free. Nicole i did have to take out loans to go to college, and i was also on very serious Financial Aid going to college. Totally, 34,000, all my loans. Which really isnt even that much, in the scheme of how much debt people do graduate from college with. But definitely its something, and something that im not at all able to pay off right now. Lillian i would like to see a free Public Education system starting from Early Childhood through college and university. Nicole so theres two million jobs in america that we cant even fill because our Education System is so broken. Jeffrey we should have been investing more in education, one of theperhaps the most vital investment that any Society Needs to make for the 21st century knowledge economy. Lillian i think it would lead toward a better world. Jake ive always been a little entrepreneurial. When i was 8, i sold firewood. When i was 9, i sold lemonade. At 10 i sold power rangers. Ive always been trying to get up in the world, but it never seems to work. So i figured if i got a degree, i would have enough knowledge and tools to further myself in the business world. Jose my main reason for joining the marine corps was because i wanted to go to school, and i couldnt hold a job and afford school. Jake and its still really expensive, and im in debt up to my chin. Jose so i had my plan, you know . Military, school, dream job, live in peace, retire, you know . Jake a huge question is war. Jose i thought marines were cool in general. They were the warriors of america that brought peace to americans, and, you know, ive always felt like being a patriot was something cool to do. And i saw what was going on there. We surrounded every Large Resource of oil. Id began to question our government. Trust me, a lot of veterans are awake to whats going on. Thats why we have the veterans against the war. They know whats going on. You know . They know that its forfor corporations to make money. For the control of the Natural Resources of these countries. Jake were the worlds police. Look howhow hated we are in other countries. Nicole we go to war because theres profit in it. Lillian what is going on all over the world. In our military bases the young people are not fools. Jose if you look at where our military is at, weve surrounded every Large Resource of oil. Jeffrey first we have to cut wasteful spending. That starts with the military. We have wasteful wars that are costing us trillions of dollars, and we still have military bases defending against a soviet invasion in europe 20 years after the soviet union ended. So we could save at least a couple Percentage Points of National Income by cuts of the military budget. Ray we could have free College Education, we could have so much money if we just took a look at the military alone. Russell i went to city college. I came from the hood. It was, again, the heroin capital of queens. The whole neighborhood was destroyed. I was very lucky. I escaped. My friends are dead and in jail. Nicole youre much less likely to end up in prison if you have a preschool education. Russell Early Education will make all the difference in the world. So much cheaper than putting people in prison, making them productive members of society. And just this little lobby, this small amount of money corrupts our system in such a way that these people end up in their prison cell versus in our higher institutions of learning. Lillian all the questions we are still asking, but we know a lot more answers today. Jeffrey we collect 1 of National Income. Were talking about 150 billion that can be mobilized to invest in childrens education, preschool, a safer natural environment, new energy systems, and the like. And when we talk about the fact that we could cut two Percentage Points of National Income from wasteful military spending, thats 300 billion a year that we can gain for Real Investments in our future that would really improve our national security. Narrator 300 billion a year would provide free preschool through College Education for all americans and rebuild the infrastructure with a green grid that would create between 24 million jobs. In many western countries, lives come before profit. Nicole presently i do have some kind of healthcare. And im this like independent contractor that has to live from paycheck to paycheck, and i have to pay 300 every time i want to go to like a dermatologist, you know, or like general physician. Lillian unfortunately, public option on healthcare never even got to the table, which i think is a disgrace. Whereas if people really understood what it meant, they would be for it. It means healthcare at affordable prices for everybody. If you had that in competition with the highpriced insurance companies, it certainly would send charges down. Russell public option was the only way to go. It saves tons of money for everybody involved and it saves lives, and it makes a more humane society. Thats the right thing to do. Nicole i was sick for about a month and a half after just getting a little cold, because i couldnt go to the doctor and just knock out this cold that i had to let stew in my body. Much worse happens without healthcare. You know, that happens when people find out they have cancer in like fullon development. Russell it costs a fortune to us, the taxpayer, to take care of people because we didnt give them proper healthcare, preventative work, and reasonable access to healthcare. Jake but i disagree with a lot of the Healthcare System also, even though my mom is a nurse. The Healthcare Industry is paying our politicians to keep healthcare from us. Nicole and if we cant make a profit, youre just gonna have to die. Like, i apologize. Its morally bankrupt. Lillian they know its corporate greed that overrides all of the problems. Officer get back on the sidewalk, please. Russell we spend way more money on healthcare than any other country, by far. Were not one of the top 30, even, countries regarding infant mortality. We are barely on the bottom of the list of the free world. Lillian it has made, in certain areas, a thirdworld country out of us. Jeffrey if we went to the public option on healthcare, we could save one percentage point of National Income. Thats another 150 billion, and said were not just turning everything over to the private Health Insurers and this incredibly expensive and wasteful system. Doctor we support health care for all in the United States. Protestors we support health care for all in the United States. Doctor as a human right. Protestors as a human right. Doctor we need to be insured from birth until death. Protestors we need to be insured from birth until death. Doctor like every other western country. Protestors like every other western country. Narrator the public option would be a not for profit federal Insurance Plan entirely funded by the people who wanted to be insured. This would allow greater access to healthcare because the price of insurance would be lower. More than 40,000 americans die each year because they lack access to healthcare. Nicole there will be a General Assembly. Protestors there will be a General Assembly. Nicole at liberty plaza. Protestors at liberty plaza. Nicole aka. Protestors aka. Nicole Zuccotti Park. Protestors Zuccotti Park. Nicole at 7 30 tonight. Protestors at 7 30 tonight. Nicole you can go there. Protestors you can go there. Nicole after you finish with your other activities. Protestors after you finish with your other activities. Nicole all are invited. Protestors all are invited. Nicole bring your hearts. Protestors bring your hearts. Nicole theres a working group direct action that has been empowered by the General Assembly to do direct actions on behalf of occupy wall street. The actions been organizing with a new frame in which it brings in media and p. R. And legal and medical and all these groups that it needs. Jose i wasi was there for just about everything, just about every big march. Nicole it was a pretty big day to be right there, because i think there were Something Like 3,000 people on that march. Protestors chanting tax the rich thats why were here, weve got to stay. End the war, tax the rich, thats why were here, so weve got to stay, end the war, tax the rich, thats why were here, so weve got to stay, end the war, tax the rich. [protestors shouting] [officers, indistinct] jose there was children. There was elderly. And they were arrested. Protestors chanting the whole world is watching the whole world is watching jose but each new depiction of police dissipating our First Amendment, the more people will join us. Protestors chanting the whole world is watching the whole world is watching man the whole world is watching protestors the whole world is watching [shouting, police whistle] choir power to the people power to the people power to the people power to the people power to the people, right on protestors chanting this revolution isnt done, take it up, get it down this revolution isnt done. Speaker our march will be leaving from here. Protestors our march will be leaving from here. Speaker marching to times square. Protestors marching to times square. Marching to times square. Nicole we all came together in, uh, Washington Square park, then we marched up from there to times square, and just took up the entire square. And there was like 20,000 people. It was huge, you know. Protestors chanting we are unstoppable, another world is possible. Jake it was bigger than my hometown what was in times square. And i saw kids, i saw face paint, i saw every aspect of life, all coming together. Nicole the 15th brought people together from all over the world. The 99 , in my mind, has never been an american thing. [drums beating] lillian its not just an american dream, thats a dream of the world. Jake global revolution goes worldwide. [indistinct chant] [chanting, whistles blowing] protestors chanting we are 99 , you are the 1 . [noisemakers] lillian so its really an international movement. Its not just the United States. Its great. Russell occupy wall streets all over the world. Its a great movement. It has lots of legs. Nicole if we talk about the 99 of the world, not just within america, you know, were all suffering at the hand of these same institutions and systems. Not just here, you know, but there. But in, you know, madrid, but in, uh, bangladesh. Like all over the world. Its these same systems, the same concentration of power that is ruining lives, that is making people poor. Lillian you really have given me a reason for coming out every day, and either marching or doing something. Jake i walked more than 10 miles, from times square to zuccotti and back. You know, thatsits a long distance. So ii fell asleep. I needed my beauty sleep. Jose that was a great march. It was. We owned the streets that day. It was incredible. [drums beating, indistinct chanting] nicole the internet right now is the most dangerous threat to any kind of system that there is, because you could hear the voices quite clearly of someone across the world and say, oh, wow, yeah, i agree. You know . Like totally, im on the same page as you. Thats what makes a 99 like global uprising. Jeffrey throughout 2011, from tunis to cairo to tel aviv to santiago to Zuccotti Park to oakland to hundreds of cities around the United States to moscow at the end of the year, the call for true democratic representation, a true governance by the people and not by corrupt interests, not by the autocrats. This has been a worldwide call, and its a worldwide struggle. News commentator half of them say they want to turn this into a socialistcommunist party and have the country run like that. Second commentator potsmoking, sexaddicted morons, you compare that. Lillian they werent being fooled by all the slanderous things that were said about them. Howard theres a lot of filthy, dirty hippies hanging around who have no clue whats going on whatsoever in the world. Jose people, theyre hooked on media thats owned by the 1 , and theyre telling their side of the story. Theyre telling you what they want you to hear. Theyre telling you that were a nuisance down here at Zuccotti Park. Theyre telling you that we piss all over the place and that were just a bunch of hippies, and that we dont know what were talking about. Radio talk show host theyre actually calling for the violent overthrow of the United States government. Ray Corporate Media is trying to marginalize us, but when you see all these, quote, regular people, its making their job really difficult. And thats one reason i came down in uniform. Its like, try to marginalize me as a weirdo. [indistinct chanting] [noisemakers, drums] protestors chanting peace now woman chanting no matter what protestors no matter what [drumming] jose i speak to the cops and i tell them that since we were kids, weve been pledging allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, putting it on our hearts, to the republic for which it stands. Jake ive met a few cops that are on our side. Nicole the police themselves, were all on the same side. Jake theres a lot of people in here trying to protect policemens pensions and other government supported pensions. Nicole and ii mean whenever im with cops, i always try to ask them to like really delve into themselves and evaluate do you really feel happy about what youre doing right now . Like, is this really the job you signed up for, to likedo i look like a threat . Ray minority officers, theyre the ones that are showing me support. You know, the little nods of the head, a little wink. They cant come up and shake my hand, but they are showing me support. And i realize why that is. cause the minorities of the Police Department have suffered. They relate to suffering more so than the white officers. Subsequently, theyre more behind me because they realize this is all about injustice. Jake the police are people, too. They have families also. Theyre trying to pay their bills. [siren] and it think its people above the police that are saying, listen, if you dont want to do this, if you dont want to arrest those kids, well find somebody else to fill your job. I think theyre scared to lose their jobs. Nicole youre pushing us off of the sidewalk, which were allowed to walk on as pedestrians. For no reason, aside for the fact that were protesting here. Youre basically infringing upon our First Amendment rights. Theres really no other reason for you to do that. Were not perfect human beings. Some of us are gonna lose our temper. But, thats where you need the supervision. And thats one of the things that amazed me when i saw all the pictures with all the white shirts actually being involved in the fighting. And when youre in the frontline fighting as a white shirt, whos supervising . Now you have nobody supervising. Thats when you have chaos. [shouting, whistles blowing] [indistinct shouting] [horns blowing, drums beating] protestors chanting this is what democracys all about, tell me what democracys all about, this is what democracys all about. Narrator two months after occupy wall street began, mayors in cities across america executed coordinated Police Actions to end the occupy movement. Jake i was a block down that way when 1 a. M. Happened. Jose i was just about to enter my tent, and, uh, these trucks came in with these big lights and they lit up the whole park. Jake then all of a sudden, 4 bright lights went on, on each corner of the park, lights ive never seen before, like. Jose they werent here before. And we saw cops starting to organize by the masses with riot gear. Officer, over loudspeaker any left behind will be taken to the to the department of sanitation garage. Jose they got on the megaphone and started saying that we were evicted, calling us a fire hazard and that we needed to leave immediately. Officer leave the park. Protestor looks like its going down. Jose its going down. Its going down. Theyre here. Theyre about to raid us. And like, wake up, wake up, everybody. And like getting everybody together. Man hey, guys we forgive you. We love you women we love you jake i saw a line of photographers walk out 10 minutes before i did. A line of them. All of them left. Photographer im here filming. Officer out of the park. Photographer im filming. I have dcpd press passes. Officer lets go photographer relax, relax, relax, relax, relax. I was going. Relax. Officer take care. Photographer relax, relax, relax, please. You dont have to put your hands on me. Im just doing my job. I have dcpd press passes. Officer not anymore. Supervisor if you harm my officers again, youre getting arrested. Out of the park. Get out of the park. Photographer im more than legally jake then they were threatened with arrest. And these guys were just trying to support their families and make a living and maybe spread truth, and theyre being threatened with arrest for taking pictures . When they have press badges . Officer get in there jake i started running. By the time i got back to the park, which was 10 seconds after these lights went on, it was already complete chaos. Chaos. [shouting and screaming] uh, people had their lives in their tents, and they came in here with no regard for that. They were throwing tents like they were ragdolls. Protestor they wont defeat us. Jake they were using force on girls sitting there with their arms linked peacefully around the kitchen. [all shouting] jake and these are the people that are supposed to be protecting us that are coming in this park and ripping us out of our homes, a peaceful protest. [indistinct chanting] jose they were grabbing people and arresting them, throwing them out. They were treating us like ragdolls, picking us up, dragging us on the floor. Jake i saw a female, young, she had to weigh 115 pounds max soaking wet, being dragged by her feet out of her tent, and her head was bouncing off the sidewalk, and she was bleeding everywhere, screaming, and they continued to drag her out. I saw people being pepper sprayed. This is not war. This is america. Jose i was getting jabbed in the stomach with their, uh, with their sticks, and people were getting hit who were like just holding hands, and they were just punching their hands. [all shouting] jake and nobody even knows because it wasnt televised. The revolution will not be televised. You know . Nicole i was at the barricades. I got pushed back by riot cops, like pushed against walls, kind of crushed between plexiglas and stone. I was pepper sprayed a couple times. They eventually marched us from [indistinct] to greenwich village. And it wasnt like we were marching of our own volition. They got behind us and were pushing us for like 2 1 2 hours, at 2 00 in the morning. Ray i was just shocked at the way they did it. Protestors shame, shame, shame. Jake what i saw was enough to bring the average millionaire out of his house and down to these streets to protest with us. It was that bad. Russell if you dont fight equally for the rights of others, then youre not so honorable, if you want them for yourself. If you take anything for granted, then you should give it to others. And thats the only way to protect it. If youre selfish and small, you better get out there and fight for the poor, because your day of reckoning is coming, too. Lillian they are allowed to conduct themselves absolutely outrageously in a democracy. Total disregard of the bill of rights. [shouting and screaming] [explosion] man what happened . What happened . Protestor he got shot man whats your name . Whats your name . Whats your name . Jose building criminal records on people, protestors, i was not aware of the system until i came out here to protest. He has a record. Marking him as a criminal. But whats his record . Peaceful protesting. Jake the law applies to everyone, not just the protestors or the poor. Jose why can corporations violate as many laws as they want and simply receive a fine . Somethings gotta give. Jake you got people getting away with murder if they have money. Its sad. Jose its a business decision. If the fine isnt as much as the profits theyll receive from the operation that theyre undertaking, then theyll just do it. And thats ludicrous. That is unsustainable. You know . That is criminal. Jeffrey wall street, which through not only bad practices but financial fraud help to bring down the u. S. Economy and the World Economy and the financial collapse in 2008 and then got bailed out, with taxpayer money. And then after getting bailed out said, well, we deserve everything we get, of course. Why are you complaining . Were gonna continue to take our bonuses. Oh, yeah, even if we have to take them from taxpayer money. Ray sec, who supervises wall supposedly supervises wall street, but not one person got fired. There is no corporate accountability. Jeffrey even the companies that have been led by the ceos when the financial fraud was taking place continue in good standing, continue to be powerful insiders in washington. Those remain in place. And not only do they remain in place, theyre the guests at the state dinners at the white house. This is what occupy is really all about. Its that sense of impunity at the top. The feeling that we can break the law, we can engage in financial fraud, we can demand the bailouts. So much for free markets. Yeah, give us the money. Give us those zero interest loans from the Federal Reserve, a trillion dollars why not . Jose the Federal Reserve controls the money supply. He who controls the money controls the world. And so i feel that the Federal Reserve is largely responsible for the corruption in corporations and in government. Jeffrey this system is rigged. This system is not working. This system is not the democracy that america needs, wants, expects of itself. We can do better. Lillian you have the banks that have failed because of their policies and because of the lack of control, the lack of supervision, the lack of accountability, and the people who have been responsible for the conduct of the banks and the large corporations are running them again. Jeffrey whats more shocking than the bailout itself is how the banks then went on to say, leave us alone. Why are you blaming us . Why do you think we have any culpability or responsibility . How dare you say a word about our compensation packages. Ray of all the damage wall street has done, thethe absolute minimum, maybe two, three people have been arrested, perhaps. And we pay the taxpayers paid to bail them out, and theyre still getting their milliondollar bonuses. Nicole my mom went into real estate. When my mom was helping people find homes, she came across a lot of people that banks were offering Adjustable Rate Mortgages to. She definitely noticed that the loans that they were getting didnt match up with a sustainable income that they were receiving. Low income people were being forced into these mortgages. Singer theyre pushin the paper, but they dont know jack buyin and sellin it just like crack now were gonna find out where its at fishin with the bait cause of the dream collapsed bank of america, hows it go . Bought up maryland and. Bill you for the office of the cpo. Jeffrey it was found out afterwards that the goldman had teamed up with a hedge fund to sell toxic securities knowingly to one of goldmans own clients, leading to massive losses to german banks and others who bought bad securities that goldman was peddling so that its partner, a hedge fund, could bet against those securities and make a lot of money. This is american capitalism . This is whats called the free market . I think this is whats called financial fraud. Lillian i would certainly like to see them prosecuted. And i dont mean in the jails that are called country clubs. I would like to see them prosecuted. I would like to see them work for a living when they get out. Really work. And mostly i would like to see laws changed demanding accountability. Jake these corporations, they need to be held accountable for stealing from america. Jeffrey the Justice Department has been essentially sitting on its hands. We did need a special prosecutor from the beginning of this crisis to take it out of politics and to give the wherewithal to have a massive understanding and investigation of what really happened. Because it wasnt just goldman sachs. We know that citigroup was involved in this. We know jp morgan. We know that most of the Marquis Companies of wall street knew in the later stages, at least, of this bubble, that things had turned seriously south and they stepped over the line. Thats what the sec has said. Jose and that led to the great instability and the financial crisis that exists today. Jeffrey we need the Justice Department to come in and take a real look at who broke the law, who didnt break the law, where theres responsibility, where were the boards of these companies . Where is some accountability to get this right . Glasssteagall, the banks, you couldnt have an Investment Bank and the regular checks and Savings Banks operating in the same business. Jeffrey serious and necessary regulation, including reenacting the glasssteagall act, which forced the separation of the commercial banking from the casino. Lillian you wonder. How long will we accept this wildness, thisthis. What do you call, living it up, at the expense of the 99 . Narrator over the last 30 years corporations share of the nations tax revenue have declined about 30 , while spending on lobbyists and political campaigns have increased over 200 . In 2010, the u. S. Supreme court declared that money is free speech, and that corporations can contribute unlimited amounts. This decision is known as citizens united. Lillian i wasnt so interested in Campaign Financing until citizens united. Ray yeah, the corporations now can contribute unlimited amounts, and they were very successful, by the way, in contributing before this. Can you imagine how successful theyre going to be to contribute unlimited amounts . Lillian corporations all of a sudden are human beings, individuals, and can spend without limitation to support their candidates and their programs. This is very scary. Narrator since the privatizing of prisons began in 1980, prison population has increased more than 500 . And incarcerated drug offenders have increased more than 1,200 . Russell most of my friends, uh, went to jail at some point, over drugs. Just as these people who are locked up, the Prison Industrial Complex pays the bills of the politicians, so much so that they either turn their head or they frame it that were soft on crime if we dont lock these people up. We got to get the money out of politics. The prisonindustrial complex, the gun lobby, will have less power, theres no reason to run around with automatic weapons in the hood. The only way thats gonna happen is if we change the system. Narrator over the last decade, more than 100,000 americans have been killed by gun violence. The gun lobby has spent 10 times more money in Campaign Contributions than gun safety groups. Jeffrey we need to get money out of politics. Money has absolutely overrun washington. Its through Campaign Contributions. Its through massive, billions of dollars of spending on lobbying. Its through the revolving door, its through Insider Trading by politicians in washington who get Insider Information and trade on their personal accounts. Shocking how straightforward the corruption is as well. Russell no one should pay a politician to make a choice. It should be illegal. Legal bribery is ridiculous. Jake whats scary is the International Corporations are being unaccountable to anyone. Theyre able to buy politicians. Theyre able to buy freedom. I mean, theyre able to buy anything they want, and why were and what were trying to do is have accountability. Jeffrey americans fought for more than two centuries ago and believe in, and i certainly believe in the power of democracy and the power of true representation where each person does have their vote and does have their say. And in order to get that, we have to move from the dollar vote to the people vote once again. Jose all they see is the money getting put in front of their faces by lobbyists. And that is the world that they live in. And those are the people that are financing them and those are the people that theyre in cahoots with, and that is the world that they live in, and its separate and apart from you and i. Jeffrey we need to get money out of politics, but we have to understand that its gonna be a hard struggle. These incumbents know what theyre doing. Many of them are getting quite rich, and theyre turning to the wealthy to keep them in power. And the wealthy understand that theyre getting a good deal by making those investments, because the rules of the game, the regulations, or the deregulations, as the case may be, are set to their benefit. So this is a big struggle ahead, to remove all of these sources of money that has its hold on power in america. And Campaign Finance reform would definitely be part of it, lobbying reform, stopping the unaccountability of anonymous corporate spending. Russell just like we have Church Separate from the state, we should have money separate from the state. And business and special interests should be separate from the political system. Nicole i want Public Financing of campaigns, absolutely. Jake i do agree with public Campaign Financing. Nicole that would solve much of whats going on. Jake i just want to make sure that the public knows exactly where their money is going. I need it to be transparent. Jeffrey were gonna have to elect progressive politicians who are themselves gonna say, im gonna run for Office Without anybody buying me and without myself selling my vote or anything else to any special interest. Because the incumbents today arent gonna do it on their own. This is gonna be a massive, massive social effort to get this done. Protestors chanting tell me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like. Jose definitely we need multiple parties. This twoparty system, itsit doesnt work. Protestors chanting this is what democracy looks like. Tell me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like. Jake i actually missed my park, you know . That day that i didnt have it, i physically missed it. The sense of community, the sense of love, the sense of understanding and passion, it was all here. Everything was in this park. You can feel like an outsider two streets down, then youd come back here and youd be welcomed unconditionally. No matter what walk of life you were from, who you were, how old you were, what your race was, you were welcomed. And thats rare. A lot of people havent ever seen that. Nicole i think were soon gonna have more than one. Were gonna have a plentiful occupation. But this movements already been moving onward. Jose we need to occupy everywhere, all over the United States. Jake even though we dont have a park to live in, were still here. Were still around. This is phase two of the movement. [shouting and indistinct chanting] ray they were being arrested for otherthey were giving up their freedom for other people, for justice, for everybody else. And that so inspired me, at that moment i made the decision to be arrested. Protestors chanting peaceful protest, peaceful protest, peaceful protest, peaceful protest. Jake peaceful protest, peaceful protest. Everybody was chanting that. Um, the cops still didnt listen. They still attacked this kid within the park itself, enough to make him need an ambulance ride on the way out. And i think it really fueled the intensity on the marches after that. [drums beating] protestors chanting all day, all week, occupy wall street. All day, all week. Nicole, on loudspeaker all right. So the best tool we have here is our voices. So what were gonna do right now is were gonna practice the peoples mike until the people all the way in the back can hear what we have to say. Jose there was over 32,000 people out here, especially after the eviction. I got emotional that day. I couldnt help it. Nicole that was amazing to see all those people in foley square. It was really good energy that night, and it was really like a sign of relief, like a kind of beginning to heal from the trauma a little bit and realize, ok, actually everyones behind you. Jake it was just great to see new faces out in the streets with us, chanting, we are the 99 . Whose streets . Our streets. This is what democracy looks like. The foley square, we it was the first time that we realized that everyone is in this movement together. Um, no matter what your walk of life, where you came from, where you live. Join us in the streets and try to get your voice heard. Thats all were trying to do. Ray what im looking forward to in this movement is getting mainstream america, because theyre suffering the same things. Theyre losing their homes, theyre losing their pensions, theyre losing their jobs, theyre losing their they are all feeling the same way were feeling here. But, they dont wantthey cant quite relate, because the media is displaying the people here as not one of them. So im hoping to get more and more people to realize, hey, thatsim like that person, im like that person, im likecause they share the same hardships. And once we get those people involved, that is going to be when the Movement Really takes off. Jake this movement is only going to get bigger. And obviously theyre scared, cause you got Police Beating people up, you got the media gagging the movement. The facts arent being shown. So theyre scared. So what i have to say to the higherups, instead of using force and violence and thievery to win, why dont you try to change why were protesting. Lillian i support so wholeheartedly the occupation movement. Because the young people were able immediately to grasp what was important. Jake you cant kill an idea. Thats what the occupy is. Its an idea. With a lot of supporters. Global supporters. Nicole you reach people, you engage people, and then they come back and theyre on your side. Jose because only communities can fix america. Its not gonna be politicians. Theyre bought off by the lobbyists that work for the corporations that work for the banks, and we need to get the voice of the majority to rule this land again. Protestors chanting we are unstoppable, another world is possible russell i want to be part of a system thats just and fair and promotes more equality and opportunity. Thats what occupy is about. Jeffrey if we have a proper government that is fair, that is insisting on responsibility by the rich and the powerful, that is investing in the poor and the working class, making sure that everybody has a chance for education, were gonna have a far fairer and more equal society. But not a handout society. A society where everybody has the skills, the wherewithal to move forward on their own because theyve been helped, theyve been backed by education, theyve been backed by infrastructure, theyve been backed by science and technology so that we can all be productive and we can all share once again in what really is the greatness of america, a middleclass society in which everybody can be prosperous, responsible, fair to their neighbors, and accountable and sustainable for the future. Nicole i think theres a very strong interpersonal element to occupy wall street, which is just kind of asking for compassion and empathy and understanding of your fellow human being, whether theyre across the table or like across the world. Jake right now we. We love things and we use people. What we need to learn is to use things and love people. And when we understand that, were onto something, let me tell you. Lillian i think the occupy wall Street Movement is just a breath of life. Jose were told that once a marine, alway