“Who Ate the Economy?” Video Affirms Occupy Movement’s Call for Economic Fairness

by Kirsten Schwind, Bay Localize

Shifting from Oil Dependence, Taxing Wealth and Pollution Can Strengthen America’s Ailing Economy

The Occupy movement is spreading like wildfire across America, and so too is the call for economic fairness. With clarity and visual flair, “Who Ate the Economy?” offers a persuasive take on the root causes of our current crisis — and timely solutions for getting our economy back on track.

“As the wealth gap and climate crisis worsen, the need to tax concentrated wealth and pollution becomes all the more urgent,” said “Who Ate the Economy?” producer Kirsten Schwind, also Program Director at the Oakland-based nonprofit Bay Localize. Using a pizza party as popular metaphor, the video shows how the party’s first guest — the proverbial 1% — eats up far more slices of the economic pie than everyone else, calling into question whether a super-minority should control most of America’s wealth.

The story of “Who Ate the Economy?” argues that we need both a more equitable distribution of pizza (e.g., wealth and resources) and more sustainable ingredients (e.g., renewable energy instead of fossil fuels). The video contributes to the national dialogue on the economic crisis by questioning the often-cited panacea of economic growth that will supposedly “trickle down” and eventually “float all boats.” In this time of economic and ecological crisis, “Who Ate the Economy?” points to the need for redistributing wealth more fairly and using our precious resources more wisely and sustainably.

Now is the time to further shape the conversation about economic disparity and ecological justice in the US.  “Who Ate the Economy?” provides a powerful narrative for this critical moment in our nation’s history, when taxing Wall Street and revitalizing Main Street has ever-increasing public support, as demonstrated by Occupy Wall Street protests happening across the country and the planet.