WHY?

1. The share of the world income received by the richest 20% of the world’s countries relative to the share received by the poorest 20% has gone from a ratio of 3:1 in 1820 to 30:1 in 1960 to 74:1 in 1997
2. Taking the richest 10% of those on the globe and the poorest 10% in 2005, we get an inequality ratio of 103:1.
3. The world’s 793 billionaires have a combined wealth greater than the GDP of all but 6 countries in the world.
4. In the U.S, the ratio of CEO income to that of the average worker has risen from 35: 1 in 1965, to 80:1 in 1980, to 450:1 in 2005.
5. In Canada, the top 20% of families held 75% of total household wealth in 2005, compared to 73% in 1999 and 69% in 1984.
6. Canada had the fourth largest increase in income inequality among its peers. Even though the U.S. currently has the largest rich-poor income gap among these countries, the gap in Canada has been rising at a faster rate.
7. By January 4th, a top Canadian CEO will have earned the national average salary of approximately $42K.
8. The gap between the rich and poor is greater in Alberta than any other province in Canada.
9. The gap between the market(earned) incomes of the richest 20% and poorest 20% of Albertans has increasedby 62.9%.

1 – 4. McNally, D. (2006). Another world is possible. Winnipeg: Arbeiter Ring Publishing.

5. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. (2006). Canada’s wealth and income gap widening.
Retrieved March 30, 2009 from: http://www.growinggap.ca/node/50

6. http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Health/2011/09/13/income_gap/

7. http://digitaljournal.com/article/285023

8-9: Pembina Institute: pubs.pembina.org/reports/14.Income%20Distribution.pdf

WHAT?

We, the 99%, will shine a spotlight on the greed and corruption of the 1%, by means of a peaceful protest on Saturday, October 15th. We will occupy the public area in front of and around Banker’s Hall on Stephen Avenue (8th Ave SW) at 1pm as an act of solidarity against mass injustice.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality:  That the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; our social institutions must be organized around the needs of people and the limits of the planet and not be organized around a profit motive. Upon corruption of that system, it is up to us to protect our communities. True democracies derive their power from the people and yet we are living in a time when corporations have alarming influence on our governments, resulting in the valuing of profit over people, self-interest over justice, and resulting in oppression over equality. We are being denied a voice in the democratic process of resource allocation, while corporations extract wealth from the people and the planet without our consent. Our peaceful assembly seeks to spark a discussion of these conditions with the hope of reclaiming power over our communities.

October 15th, 2011, is a day, worldwide, where people from all walks of life are taking to the streets, making a statement that they have had enough of being told their voices don't count. There is a sense of renewed hope arising that fundamental change is possible. The gap of disparity between rich and poor has increasingly widened over the last several decades, and currently Canada has the fastest growing rate of disparity in the world.  While the 1% flourishes, young people carry huge student debts, as do families trying to sustain a decent quality of life. Corporations pillage the planet for huge profits, while many of us are left wondering how resource shortages and climate change will impact future generations and life on this planet.

We stand in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement (OWS), which has grown to 200+ cities across North America and up to 800+ cities world-wide.  We broadly endorse the Declaration of the Occupation of New York City accepted by the NYC General Assembly on September 29, 2011. 

 While we share many of the issues raised by our sisters and brothers in the US, Calgary is a unique place with problems that are specific to it. Participants of Occupy Calgary are already developing a collective critique of our local society and its relationship to the global economy, while standing up for a world where quality of life and the welfare of humanity is made a priority over isolated profit gain.

 It is our hope that the general assembly of Occupy Calgary will engage local citizens in a discussion that will result in a formal statement which represents our consensus, akin to NYC’s Declaration. We are committed to developing direct democracy, engaging as many people as possible and creating a better world, for the betterment of all its members.

For more information, please visit our Facebook event page.

WHO?
 

The 99 Percent.

Photo credits: Alheli Picazo, Eran Cantrell