Occupy Wall Street: 6 Months Later, What Has Occupy Protest Movement Achieved?
As spring approaches, Occupy Wall Street protesters who mostly hibernated all winter are beginning to stir with plans for renewed demonstrations six months after the movement was born.
The global protests against corporate excess and economic inequality are generally thought to have begun Sept. 17 when tents sprang up in a small granite plaza in lower Manhattan. The movement has lost steam in recent months, with media attention and donations dropping off as Occupy encampments across the country were dismantled, some by force.
On March 7, the finance accounting group in New York City reported that just about $119,000 remained in Occupy’s bank account - the equivalent of about two weeks’ worth of expenses.
The Occupy movement has influenced the national dialogue about economic equality, with the word “occupy” itself becoming part of the public lexicon. In his third State of the Union address, President Barack Obama issued a populist call for income equality that echoed the movement’s message. But has anything really changed in the past six months?