Residents of Western CT Protest Banking Practices

Under Friday's storm-threatening skies, drivers in rush-hour traffic honked in solidarity as more than 70 Connecticut residents gathered to protest banking practices.

The Western Connecticut faction of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) gathered at the Vietnam War Monument in Danbury, calling for higher taxes for the wealthy, and demanding regulations for the banking industry.

Earlier in the week, a discussion with Carl Bodner, economics teacher at Masuk High School, in Monroe, shed light on the protest. “Even people who have jobs are participating. The movement has value because the middle class is trying to hold on to their economic position as they begin to slip downward.”

Those who attended the protest in Danbury took the movement very seriously. Curt Rayvis, Brookfield, braved his infirmities to come. “I have a disability that causes me to have energy for only about three hours a day, but it was important for me to come.”

 “I believe passionately that our system is unfair. The gap between the wealthy and the 47% of people who cannot afford to pay their taxes is too much,” Judy Bronson, Warren, said.

Her friend, Elaine Pratt, Bridgewater, said, “I have been waiting for a movement like this for years.”

A recent graduate of the University of Connecticut, IT professional Daniel Golenbock, 28, said that the right wing media has accused the movement of lacking direction and being unfocused. Golenbock addressed that criticism by bringing a list of goals. He read, “We need to impose a financial transaction tax that would end loopholes that allow people to be taxed as capital gains rather than income tax.” Golenbock also said, “We can prevent banks from investing in risky ventures by taxing the banks for risky ventures.”

Rich Frascone, Danbury, was one of the organizers of Friday's protest. A supporter and organizer of the upcoming Move Your Money event on November 5, Frascone explained the reasoning behind the protests. “The idea is to move money away from Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo and to move it all at the same time. With protesters on their front doorsteps on Wall Street, Bank of America raised their rates. They aren't living on this planet! It has to be people above profits all the way. People don't want hand outs, they want opportunities and they want jobs.”

 “The banks are doing what they can to keep their shareholders happy. Putting money in a local bank will circulate the money in the local community. The credit unions can do everything the big banks can do, and for less money. When they are dealing on a local level, they have less overhead, and they are still profitable,” explained Frascone.

Congressman Chris Murphy sent a letter that was read by Aide Robert Mischalik at the protest. The letter read, “A third of construction related workers, laborers, craftsmen and engineers are unemployed.”

Murphy's letter called for the rebuilding of crumbling roads, bridges and rail network. Mischalik read, “With rebuilding, we can put them back to work.”

 Bethel resident Andrea Wilson said, “When you look at this country, we are talking about very high rates of poverty, 15 percent of the country is living in poverty now. If an individual ripped off the people of America the way the banks have ripped off Americans, they'd go to jail. Justice for all.”

 “We have a government by one percent of the people, for one percent of the people, by one percent of the people,” added Ted Morehouse, Sherman.

Not everyone is in agreement with the OWS. When asked on Thursday if he would move his money on November 5, Bryan Hull, Oxford, said, “One good side, you might not lose your money but the stock market will crash just like it did after 9/11 when everyone lost confidence in the country. I think it would hurt the world market.”

 Teacher Bodner thinks the world market is already in trouble. “People are disheartened,” Bodner said. “This is a global movement. It is happening in Rome, Paris, Belgium. This is going to intensify the election. Economics will be the issue."

 “I am disenchanted,” Bodner continued. “I've seen greed spiral out of control.”

 Explaining that the large banks are trading in mortgages overseas, Bodner said, “We don't even know how much of our mortgage money the Bank of China owns. In the early 2000s, house sales were approved at unrealistic rates, but those rates went up, and people can't afford their homes anymore. People are stuck with fixed rate equity loans that don't reflect current market value. Why should they pay it? They are walking away. Consumer confidence has dropped, but venture capitalists are still looking to put their money somewhere and they are putting it in Brazil.”

Bodner continued, “The top one percent of income earners control 25 percent of all income earned. The average CEO in the U.S. makes 13 million dollars a year, and in Japan, the same CEO would make three million. I think people have reached their saturation point.”