Sunday, December 18, 2011

OWS manages to shut down a business; commentary ensues

Hot Air  " Milk Street Cafe , the restaurant whose business dried up in the face of the Occupy Wall Street barricades, is shutting down.
"Thursday will be the last day for the 23,000 square-foot eatery that opened at 40 Wall St. in June, the Daily News has learned.
" “It’s terribly sad,” Milk Street Cafe owner Marc Epstein told the News.
"Epstein blamed the barricades that remained in front of his restaurant even after the Occupy Wall Street protestors were removed from Zuccotti Park.
" “This is now the 12th straight week of the barricades,” he said."

Their web site

Townhall: Occupy Forces a Business to Close   "Nice job sticking it to the man, Occupy. You really showed those investment bankers."
OC register.com
The Gothamist: Milk Street Cafe, Which Blamed Occupy Wall Street For Bad Business, Closing Tomorrow    "Hope you're happy, Occupy Wall Street. All your rabble rousing has driven a small business owner out of business, the business owner said. You'll recall that Marc Epstein, the owner of the kosher upscale food court that opened in June on Wall Street, laid off a quarter of his staff at the end of October, when the Occupy Wall Street occupation at nearby Zuccotti Park was at its zenith. With business down 30 percent, Epstein described himself as "collateral damage" from Occupy Wall Street, which he characterized as "not serious... If it was, they would not want small businesses going out of business." Now he's out of business."

Is Occupy Wall Street late to the game? "The poll shows 64 percent of Americans say “big government” is the biggest threat to the country, while just 26 percent say it’s “big business” and 8 percent say it’s “big labor.” "

White House Displays ‘Washington Monument Syndrome’

FactCheck.org   "The White House misleadingly suggests that the Republicans’ plan to pay for a payroll tax cut would result in “forcing cuts to things like education and medical research.” The bill passed by House Republicans mentions no such cuts. And while the bill may or may not require cuts to discretionary spending, there’s no reason those cuts would have to come from popular programs like education or medical research."....
"This is a classic example of a political tactic some call the Washington Monument Syndrome, where a politician facing budget cuts will select examples of visible, popular services and warn that those would be the first ones cut.
"That was what the Washington Post once dubbed the tactic pursued by the late George B. Harzog, director of the National Parks Service in 1969, when he ordered the Washington Monument (and all other national parks) to be closed two days a week after the Nixon administration cut the Parks Service’s budget. Congress later restored the money after a public outcry.
"In this case, it’s education and medical research."

Drawing from nps.gov