The 99 percent have a point -- but not the one they think

The puerile ideology of Occupy Wall Street is irrelevant to all of this. Goldman Sachs could be dissolved tomorrow and the wealth of the 1 percent confiscated, and it wouldn’t make college or health care cheaper, or create one new job. If the “revolution” yearned for by the protesters is insipid, there’s no doubt that the moment calls for bold economic reforms and a rethinking of health care and higher education.

Pres. Barack Obama’s misbegotten contribution is a health-care law that won’t control costs and will insure more people only while making the current system more unsustainable. Republicans often don’t even bother to try to connect their program to the troubles of workers down the income scale. The leading establishment Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, wants to cut their capital-gains taxes. The leading tea-party presidential candidate, Herman Cain, wants to raise their taxes.

If nothing else, “We Are the 99 Percent” is a reminder that the suffering is real.