This column is a tribute to the Occupy Wall Street movement for broadening the US national discourse around justice and rights to include income inequality, for fostering solidarity among those who have difficulty providing decent lives for themselves and their families, and for calling attention to the actions of the wealthiest 1% that impoverish the remaining 99% of the population. In the United States, institutions for the protection of the socially and economically vulnerable have historically been shaped by the politics of racial inequality. Now, thanks in large part to Occupy Wall Street, talking explicitly about the 1% and the 99% is not only culturally acceptable, it dominates the public discourse leading into the 2012 presidential campaign season (Freeland C. Inequality, but Without the Villains. The New York Times. December 8, 2011. Available at http://www.nytimes.com. Accessed January 27, 2012).
The roots of income inequality are contested and abstract. Market forces, including globalized trade and technological advances, have made highly skilled and well-educated workers more productive, thus increasing their pay. Institutional forces, including deregulation, the decline of unions, and stagnation in the minimum wage, also play a role (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/income/income_inequality/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier. Accessed January 27, 2012). On the other hand, Occupy Wall Street has humanized the concept of income inequality and cultivated empathy for those who have been harmed by the ongoing global financial crisis. The Web site, We Are the 99 Percent (http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com. Accessed January 27, 2012) posts moving testimonials via hand-written notes of the situations endured by people young and old from all over the world, whose faces are often half-hidden behind their hand-held signs. One reads:
I'm so happy to know we're in this together. It's been so difficult struggling alone, trying to find a way to get ahead and only falling behind.
The 1% took away our:
-Democracy
-Pride
-Hope.
Let's take it back.
With interest.
We deserve it. We are the 99%.
In other words, Occupy Wall Street has accomplished what until recently has eluded public health advocates and scientists: it has crystallized a message around the social determinants of health that resonates with broad segments of the population, both domestically and abroad (Geiger J. Letter to the Editor. The New York Times. December 9, 2011. Available at http://www.nytimes.com. Accessed January 27, 2012). Moreover, “the 99 percent” is a group that people are proud to claim as their own, unlike “the poor,” and are moved to action in support of its goals of social and economic justice.
Inspired by the rallying cries of protest movements from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street, the theme of National Public Health Week to be observed April 2–8, 2012 is, “A Healthier America Begins Today. Join the Movement!” The emphasis on prevention is laudable, but the message is largely confined to individual actions: eating healthy, avoiding tobacco, receiving vaccinations, and using seat belts (http://www.nphw2012.org/pubs/NPHW2012_Brochure.pdf. Accessed January 27, 2012). Contrast this advice with the power of the Occupy Wall Street message:
We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we're working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent. (http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/Introduction. Accessed January 27, 2012).
In the face of intractable unemployment and economic hardship throughout the United States, public health would do well to underscore the unmistakable public health priorities in the Occupy Wall Street salvo, and work in concert with its allies to promote economic justice and health equity.