From the Illinois Policy Institute…
I had a direct encounter with the Occupy Wall Street protesters as I was on my way home the other night. The Illinois Policy Institute’s office is a block north of their Chicago base at Jackson Boulevard and LaSalle Street, so I’ve been walking through the crowd almost daily as I go about my business. But I recently stopped and had a real discussion.
It was delightful.
I asked what it is they were upset with and why were they vilifying corporations, noting that their umbrellas, cardboard signs and the ink used to write their anti-corporation messages all were made by corporations.
Like others, I’ve seen the news reports about their supposed demands: a $20 minimum wage, forgiveness of all debt and a socialist-style health care system. As the leader of a free market think tank, it will come as no surprise that I do not support those solutions; they are not economically sound.
But I also know that when people are frustrated, their solutions do not always match the problem. So I sought to get to the heart of what this crowd considered to be the problems in America.
Read my full opinion piece in today’s Chicago Tribune.
In it you’ll learn about the things we agreed upon…things like ending crony capitalism, stopping abuses of the system at the expense of average people and creating a level playing field – one that empowers people and stops picking winners and losers.
Thank you,
John Tillman
CEO
Illinois Policy Institute
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