Wall St. protesters embody our anger

Who cares if the Occupy Wall Street protesters have no specific agenda? The point is that their growing numbers represent millions of Americans who realize that something is drastically wrong with our social order.

People who simply were pursuing the American dream of owning a home are suddenly jobless and unable to pay the mortgage. People who once donated to local food pantries are now standing in line there. In a nation God has blessed with unequaled human and natural resources, children are going to bed hungry. It’s shameful and unconscionable.

A century ago we had barons of industry who reaped obscene wealth while their workers endured long hours of grueling labor for subsistence wages. Today we have corporate executives receiving obscene salaries as they outsource jobs overseas. Then they are rewarded with bonuses for improving the bottom line, while laid-off workers form a line at the unemployment office.

During the past couple of decades, incomes for the top 1 percent of Americans have increased threefold, while the median family income grew less than 15 percent. Since middle-income families are the driving force of our economy, this has grave consequences.

The protesters on Wall Street and elsewhere may not have the solution, but they embody a growing anger over an injustice that imperils the fabric of our society. If that qualifies as class warfare, so be it.

Dan McGuire

Bensenville