Perspectives

Note: The Business Journal asked members of the business community to weigh in on the recent protests on Wall Street and elsewhere. Responses are printed below and on the web at www.westfaironline.com.

”˜Only the strong will survive”™

“This is a very complicated mess that not only affects the middle class, but everyone. It will take a long time before we return to any semblance of our economy pre-2008. I hope that the leadership in this country does what is in the interest of the country.

“In the meantime, many businesses are in survival mode and only the strong will survive. All in all I am pessimistic in the short-term, optimistic in the long. How long? We”™ll see.”

”“ Louis M. Cooper, DDS, NY Pediatric Dentistry pllc, Rye Brook

”˜Focus ”¦ on fueling our businesses”™

“The OWS protests are ludicrous. America was built on capitalism ”“ to resent that and protest against our most successful businesspeople is counterproductive and serves no purpose in helping this country”™s economy to rebound.

“We need to focus more energy on fueling our businesses and becoming the most competitive entities we can be. Business ”“ not government ”“ growth is what will get us back on track. We need to get back to our roots of entrepreneurial greatness to dictate the terms of our own future.

“My perception of the OWS protestors is that these people don”™t have this mindset. They”™re looking for someone else ”“ whether it”™s the government, Wall Street bankers or Jeff Immelt ”“ to fix their problems. We cannot embrace this mentality and expect to succeed.”

”“ Daniel A. Lansen, chief operating officer, Compufit Inc., White Plains

”˜Disengagement ”¦ (from) middle-aged baby boomers”™

“No doubt you”™ve hit the nail on the head, re: ”˜disenchantment and disengagement”™ (Business Journal editorial, Oct. 24, 2011). Most of the younger people are protesting the lack of jobs or big banks being bailed out by the taxpayer only to turn their backs on us.

However, the disengagement is coming from a much bigger segment of the population ”“ the middle-aged baby boomers.

“After being downsized from a 25-year career on Wall Street in 2008, I now help people explore entrepreneurship opportunities in small-business ownership. At this juncture, 70 percent of my clientele are unemployed, 45-60 years old, mid-management to C-level execs. Most of them have bachelor”™s degrees, many of them have master”™s or other professional degrees. Many have been in transition ”“ the politically correct term for unemployed ”“ for nine, 12, 18 even 24 months. Many of them have burned or will burn through their savings and started eating away at their 401(k)s. This is not where they saw themselves being at this juncture of their lives.

“While you”™d think this would ”˜help”™ my business as more people are disenchanted with corporate America and turn to entrepreneurship, the lack of credit and financing to help people start businesses or for current business owners to get financing is making it very difficult.”

”“ Barry Kleiman, business coach, Bedford

”˜Big business and government ”¦ one and the same”

“When protests were springing up in other parts of the globe, I wondered what it was going to take to get Americans to put down the remote and become engaged in ways we hadn”™t been since the 1970s. When they finally felt out of options, they took to the streets, most visibly in the form of OWS and the Tea Party.

What I find interesting is how much the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street actually have in common ”“ middle-class individuals getting squeezed with few clear paths out. The difference is that Tea Partiers blame the government while OWS primarily blames big business. The fact is, they”™re both correct as big business and government, now more so than ever, are one and the same.

If (when?) these two diverse groups recognize that they ultimately share similar values and objectives ”“ and can avoid being taken in by special interests ”“ they”™ll go from being seen as fringe, yet influential, mobs to an actual force to be reckoned with.”

”“ David Hoffman, Search Smart Marketing, Mount Kisco

”˜A right to be preserved”™

“The Occupy Wall Street protests have been going on for about five weeks. The movement”™s goals have never been clearly enunciated, except for one which relates to the unfairness of our economy. The protestors accuse many on Wall Street of unethical and criminal practices. They blame the banking industry for causing the Great Recession, beggaring the American middle class and many senior citizens to the extent that trillions in the assets of Americans in every sector of our society have been lost.

“Some Wall Streeters and bankers, who in many cases are responsible for a massive loss in wealth to their fellow citizens, have come out of the Great Recession with government handouts and are richer than ever. There is a feeling across the nation that we have been had, taken to the cleaners by Wall Street and the banks, assisted by a Congress, both House and Senate, that protects the securities and banking industries because those industries fill their campaign chests with millions.

“Those marching in protest in New York City and in other major American cities all seem to have as one of their priorities the unfairness of it all. In addition, they, depending on who the reporter is talking to, assert other causes, but through it all comes the priority issue of unfairness that one percent of the country can have so much wealth and power compared with the 99 percent who feel powerless.

“I suspect that many who are protesting have no real understanding of what happened. Of course, many do understand. The issues are so complicated. But they know that banks, Wall Street firms, car companies and even solar companies have been bailed out. In the case of the solar company Solyndra, it was given $535 million in federal funds without due diligence practiced by the government.  This huge public investment was shockingly subordinated to the stockholders”™ private interests in the event of bankruptcy which, in fact, took place.

“The vast majority of the protesters, I believe, sense the unfairness of it all. Among those protesters are anarchists who are against any government, some of whom are looking to engage in violence with the cops; others are radicals on the far left whose causes I often deplore; and some are anti-Semites. The bona-fide economic protesters must make sure the anti-Semites and those seeking violence don”™t muscle their way into the leadership and media and stigmatize the legitimate protesters and their goals.

“I believe in the right of non-violent civil disobedience and believe those engaged in it and arrested for, as an example, blocking auto access to the Brooklyn Bridge, should be fined at least $250 and not complain when and if that occurs.

“The exercise of non-violent civil disobedience intended to shock the conscience of fellow citizens and change prevailing policy and conditions is fundamental and must be safeguarded.

“Cops are professionals and lack of responsible behavior by some in the crowd, with taunting of the cops goes with the job. When that behavior becomes criminal, of course, the violators should be arrested and hopefully courts will see the seriousness of the matter and mete out justice including jail time. ”¦

“I have no doubt that at the first snowstorm in November or December, many in the crowd will leave and at the second snowstorm, most will be gone. I hope the Attorney General of the U.S., Eric Holder, will by now have gotten the message: No one is too big to jail and those who committed criminal acts contributing to the Great Recession should be criminally pursued and not simply allowed to buy their way out by paying a civil fine which simply gets added to the cost of doing business.”

”“ Ed Koch, former New York City mayor

”˜Still the best country in the world”™

“I understand why OWS protestors are frustrated, but their efforts are misdirected. Stereotyping Wall Streeters as amoral, greedy aristocrats makes them easy to demonize, but is counterproductive to addressing the underlying problems the U.S. is facing.

“Average Wall Street workers are not multimillionaires. They are hard-working, upper-middle-class men and women with families. They make real sacrifices to provide opportunities for their children ”“ long commutes, long hours and missed family dinners and recitals.

“People are outraged by reports that GE and Google pay tax rates south of 15 percent but fail to recognize that the directors at publically traded corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders. Shareholders are a primary power-check in the capitalist system. If you want to discourage companies from overpaying employees and taking excessive risks, refuse to invest in a 401(k) program that holds shares in the financial sector and call your legislator.

“One of the problems is that, because our elected leaders refuse to address problems directly, much of the debate in this country is framed by TV and radio pundits whose job is not to provide a forum for thoughtful discourse, but to attract an audience and sell advertising. The pundits on both sides report that America is rapidly losing ground. According to the IMF”™s 2011 World Economic Outlook Database, Americans earn $46,850 per capita vs. $4,382 for the Chinese. America is still a fantastic place to live. If 10 percent of people are unemployed, that means that 90 percent of the population has a job. Thirty- to 40 million Americans need health insurance, but 250-300 million are already covered.

“We should be proud that America, despite its faults, is still the best country in the world. We all want the same things: economic certainty, a safe place to raise our children and the ability to live our lives as we see best. Rather than wasting our time searching for a culprit, we should recognize that commonality and work to elect the leaders that can help us achieve these basic goals.”

”“ Patrick McCaffrey, Stamford

 

”˜The makings of protracted class warfare”™

“I view this as a very uncertain time for our country on so many levels. We have the makings of protracted class warfare. We have economic issues that present no easy answers about how to solve them.

“Our political process has evolved to the point where we just hate anyone in public office and as a result look to vote out each slate of candidates every November, leaving no real continuity and no real chance for a platform to take hold and evolve. The 2012 presidential election seems to be shaping up into a battle between which guy is less worse versus which candidate is one we can truly believe in.

“While the actions of our government in 2008 were absolutely necessary to prevent a global economic meltdown, the fact that the recovery from that point has taken complete hold for the rich and seems limited for the poor and middle class is the key driver in our country”™s dysfunction.

“So where do we go from here? The answer lies in getting stability back to the bottom and middle of our economic classes. How we get there will likely require the same commitment in effort and dollars that bailed out the financial sector. Obama has yet to deliver that plan, that vision.

“Short of that we are seemingly stuck in a bad place.”

”“ David Lewis, president and CEO, Operations Inc., Stamford

”˜Why can”™t we stop this from happening again?”™

“I have worked on Wall Street and 29 other companies over 25 years. I want to stay compliant but there is no question that the lack of regulations in the financial industry continues to allow Wall Street to run and regulate its own industry and this gets me down.

“I would think more people would speak up when they have seen the value of their homes decrease 30 percent to 50 percent. The home represent people”™s nest eggs, their Rock of Gibraltar ”“ this has eroded to the point that their last value may never return.

“As a logical society, why can”™t we stop this from happening again?”

”“ Mark J. Richards, CEO, eRichards Consulting L.L.C., Shelton

”˜The promised land was not there”™

“Where is the promised land? People have played by the rules, worked hard, done what they were told they needed to do to move up in an organization and by no cause of their own the promised land was not there. The jobs, rewards and benefits were gone and the rules they were told (to live) by were not true.

“People feel cheated and are in the process of true life-work

evaluations. Government officials seem to give the impression of adding no value ”“ programs are moving too slow to help people.

“We need to treat this climate as a war on the middle class. Bring in the heavy guns to get new high-paying jobs back. Americans need to help other Americans. People who have jobs should be helping people who don”™t have jobs. We are all in this together!”

”“ Paul Bailo, CEO, Phone Interview Pro, Trumbull

”˜Movements will continue until unemployment falls”™

“As the economy struggles, so do millions of Americans. It is not surprising that there are more instances of social uprising.

“Unfortunately, it will be nearly impossible to drive a wedge between big banks and government. OWS, or movements like it, will continue until unemployment falls below 6 percent or 7 percent, which could take years. The fear is that protestors”™ patience with conducting peaceful protests will run out.”

”“ Chris Peck, partner, Creative Benefit Planning, Stamford

”˜A movement that”™s chasing its own tail”™

“Civic engagement is, in general, a good thing. The communications around what OWS is hoping to accomplish have been murky at best. It seems the people who have participated have reasons that range from feeling that Washington and Wall Street have too much power to believing that the rich should pay more taxes. Some people have said they are participating simply because it”™s cool to be part of a historic movement.

“How do these protests translate into solutions? I”™m concerned OWS is turning into a movement that”™s chasing its own tail. I understand there is a lot of frustration out there and market pressures are making it harder to even keep a ”˜middle-class”™ lifestyle. I would just like to see some practical solutions that can lead to progress.

“As the next election cycle gears up, it will be interesting to see how the civic energy that has been generated by OWS will play out as politicians attempt to harness it for their own agendas.”

”“ Roberta Cohen, principal Marketing 2.0 L.L.C., Stamford