Protests unfocused

The principle behind the protests seems like a good idea. The 1 percent have the responsibility to make companies profitable for their stockholders. Wake up 99 percent, we are those stockholders. If you break that out, it is really our fault that the 1 percent are put in the situation to make these decisions to make us more money in our portfolios, college funds, and retirement accounts.

Sorry to say it, but camping out in publicly owned parks and streets doesn’t affect the balance sheets of these companies, so the likelihood that this will drive changes is improbable. It won’t only be ineffective, but it will also cost us more money through public services moving us out and cleaning up.

If the 1 percent has learned anything, it is that money talks. You want to drive change, stop investing in companies that make money. Stocks are supply and demand. If there are fewer investors, the demand goes down, which decreases the value of stock, which determines the wealth of the 1 percent.

One side effect is that more of the 99 percent will lose their jobs so companies can be even more profitable.

Jacob Sill

Colville