Income Distribution and the Occupy Wall Street Movement

„Ever since the Occupy Wall Street movement was born in mid-September, many analysts have asked themselves if the Americans have valid reasons to protest in the way that they have been doing so. Some have questioned it following academic rigor, seeking justification for the movement. Others have done so following a political sense, seeking to disqualify it.

Differing with the Arab countries, where the wave of protests that has been shaking the world commenced, the United States enjoys the fruits of a mature democracy, »the mother of all democracies« - to the point that several of the latest wars have been justified with the idea of imposing it in countries that don't have it - and because of this, some say that it is not fair to compare Occupy Wall Street with the »Arab spring«.

Although the unemployment rate in the United States has risen to levels never seen during the past decades, and maintains itself closer to 9% - with a very small recovery during these past few months - the country is far from achieving a similar state of stagnation as that of Spain, where unemployment rates are above 20% and where among the young adults it has reached levels superior to 40%. It's not fair, they state, to compare Occupy Wall Street with the »Indignados« movement.”