Why the Occupy Wall Street Movement Exists

CNN Money reported this staggering figure on the bonuses of Standard & Poor 500 companies.

After two years of lower pay packages, chief executives at the nation's major companies enjoyed a 36.5% jump in pay last year, according to a leading survey of CEO compensation.

In the other America, census data reports more Americans are no longer middle class.

About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population.

The majority of Americans live below the poverty line. Meanwhile, CEO bonuses are getting bigger. This is why the Occupy Wall Street movement exists. Both political parties and the conservative base want to protect the status quo. The tea party movement claims to be founded to protest the bailout. The truth is they love corporate power. Cue Tim Nerenz, Ph.D.

You can’t be for the poor and against the things that end poverty.

You can’t be against the corporations who create the jobs they need to care for themselves. You can’t be against the Walmarts and Targets who sell quality goods at prices they can afford. You can’t be against the drug companies who treat their chronic diseases.

You aren't for the poor if you support government handouts for corporations and are against a safety net for the poor. Nerenz's libertarian heart would love nothing more than to end Medicare and Social Security. However, Nerenz goes on about how awesome the rich are. Never mind that the rich don't create the jobs he claims they do.

You can’t hate the rich and be for the poor. It is not your place to tell another how many steps forward out of poverty you will allow before you punish the next - nobody made you Simon. Each person decides for himself/herself how much is enough, how much to give back, who to give it back to, and in exchange for what. If you are unhappy with how your sister spends her millions, make millions of your own and do with them as you see fit.

Don't go hating Goldman Sachs for selling their investors garbage and then betting on their investors to lose. Goldman Sachs is creating jobs by laying off their own employees.

Side note: Nerenz got his PH.D from the online school Athabasca University. If I was Nerenz, I wouldn't brag about that PH.D.

Update: a comment says that Nerenz got his PH.D from Northcentral University. I will note that Northcentral University is also an online school with a worse reputation.

In 2011 the US Department of Education determined Northcentral was one of 75 institutions that had failed its 2009-2010 financial responsibility test, and would be required to post a letter of credit in order to for students to receive federal financial aid.

Along with Northcentral University, other schools that failed were Academy for Five Element Acupuncture, Biblical Theological Seminary, Florida Christian College and a host of other Christian schools. Remember this when Republicans say intelligent design should be taught in K-12 school.

Short answer: Nerenz is posing as a conservative intellectual with a garbage education.