Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

October 24, 2011

Who are the real ?one percent?? That figure has been thrust into the public conversation by the so-called ?Occupy Wall Street? movement, which has organized mass protests on Wall Street and in many cities around the country. The term ?one percent? has become a form of ideological shorthand describing the wealthy and powerful.

Many of the proverbial ?one percent? aren?t exponents of free market capitalism. Four years ago, the political elite diverted nearly the entire aggregate wealth of the United States into a bail-out for Wall Street. This was wealth redistribution on an unprecedented scale.

Wall Street isn?t the only place where the ?one percent? can be found in abundance. Notes the Washington Post: ?Washingtonians now enjoy the highest median household income of any metropolitan area in the country?. The signs of that wealth are on display all over, from the string of luxury boutiques such as Gucci and Tony Burch ? to the $15 cocktails served over artisanal ice at the W Hotel in the District to the ever-larger houses rising off River Road in the Potomac.?

Unfortunately, much of the ?Occupy Wall Street? movement is promoting policies that would further enrich and empower the politically protected ?one percent.?

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.