Cecil Bothwell

Democracy requires responsible citizens who care about each other and act on each other's behalf.

We work together for personal benefit and for the good of our families and our community. We form democratic governments to enact the will of the majority while protecting the rights of everyone. At best, we create a level playing field where we all have a shot at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Concentration of national wealth in a few hands tends to skew democratic governance, particularly in a society where campaign spending is unregulated and heavy media saturation tends to determine electoral results. The rich can literally buy elected officials and therefore determine national, state and local policies.

Control of government by the rich, and by huge corporations, has perverted our democracy. Economic and trade policies have accelerated the accumulation of wealth at the top and systematically impoverished working Americans.

Furthermore, enforcement failures of remaining regulations have allowed criminal abuse. Wall Street banksters have ripped off our system and been rewarded with bailouts and bonuses, while unemployment, foreclosures, poverty and hunger reach more and more of our citizenry.

First the tea party and now Occupy Wall Street emerged in reaction to this perversion . The tea folks identified the danger we face, but were misled by their funders to direct anger at puppets in office rather than at the puppet masters pulling the strings —puppet masters including the financiers of tea party organizations.

OWS, on the other hand, directs it's ire at the real culprits, and is calling for a new governing morality and accountability.

OWS is protesting the systematic theft of middle class wealth that began with Reaganomics—which instigated three decades of declining wages, fraudulent free trade agreements, tax cuts for the rich, undercutting of organized labor and deregulation of financial markets.

This conservative mindset has delivered repeated investment bubbles and collapses, resulting in more and more concentration of wealth.

One percent of Americans now control 42 percent of our national wealth, while their corporations send our jobs overseas. They work in league with China which offers huge incentives to lure manufacturers while keeping the value of its currency 30 percent below market value. This makes Chinese goods artificially cheap and American manufacturing plants can't compete.

Such behavior on the part of the super rich is nothing less than traitorous, and coupled with corrupt financial practices should be landing many Wall Streeters in prison. None have been prosecuted.

Anger at this systematic theft is entirely reasonable. Those who criticize the Occupy movement as a rabble or claim that OWS goals are obscure are simply not paying attention.

OWS is on your side if you work for a living, if you own a small business, if you have children, if your home is mortgaged, if you're a renter, if you are a student or teacher, if you are a tradesman, a bank employee or a small town stock broker.

You are the 99 percent. Your wealth is being stolen by the crooks and liars and gamblers on Wall Street. Occupy, Now!
•
Cecil Bothwell, a member of Asheville City Council and a self-proclaimed progressive-libertarian, is running for the Democratic nomination for the seat now held by U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville.