More Money, More Problems: How Occupy Wall Street Is Really Funded (New York Observer)

[struggle4progress]

Who's behind the Wall Street protests? Demonstrators have raised $250,000 so far, and it's not from the Koch brothers.
By Adrianne Jeffries 2:53pm

... Back in July, when local activists hammered out the logistics of the Occupy Wall Street protest, they were planning for an little more than an urban camping trip. Committees were established to handle security, medication and sanitation. Nourishment was a major concern. Fundraising was an afterthought.

Still, onlookers are rightfully eager to follow the money. Politics have been so dominated by financing for so long, an effective movement that is not reliant on major backers seems unthinkable. Today, Republicans announced a new Super PAC determined, according to The New York Times, to “raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to defend the party’s majority next year;” meanwhile, President Barack Obama raised more than $42 million for his re-election campaign over the last three months.

Donations are flowing into Occupy Wall Street as well, though on a much smaller scale; the protest’s general fund has raised approximately $250,000, according to members of the finance committee. That’s enough to keep the demonstrators well-fed and livestreaming, but it’s not Soros-level treasure.

So far, according to members of the finance committee, donations ranging from $5 to $7,000 have been collected online, totaling about $175,000. About $1,000 in cash comes in every day through the empty five-gallon water jug at the ersatz cafeteria in the middle of the plaza and three duct-taped paint buckets stationed at the information booths. (The total on-site donations is about $75,000 so far, finance committee member Pete Dutro said on Friday, although the committee is still refining its balance sheet in advance of giving it to a CPA.) Michael Moore gave $1,000 after a book signing. An anonymous donor gave $5,000 after a fundraising pop-up art show, entitled, “No Comment,” held at the historic JP Morgan Building. The General Assembly, the group’s open legislature, voted en masse to decline a donation from music mogul Russell Simmons, who wanted a hand in helping the protest shape demands (spawning a rumor that he’d asked the protest to endorse an album in exchange for $20,000). That’s just the general fund; more has been raised for tangent projects. Staffers of the free paper The Indypendent garnered $75,690 to print The Occupied Wall Street Journal via the crowd-funding site Kickstarter; another group is raising $2,000 on the crowd-funding site IndieGoGo to send “radical barbers” and “progressive tailors” to give the protesters makeovers and stuff them into suits ...

http://www.observer.com/2011/10/more-money-more-problems-how-occupy-wall-street-is-really-funded/

[gratuitous]

1. Interesting

We know more about the funding of OWS than we do about, say, who funded Prop 8 in California.

[justiceischeap]

2. The Catholic and Mormon churches funded the majority of Prop H8

according to the documentary about Prop H8

[truedelphi]

7. Billions got funded by the Koch Bros to ensure that candidates of both parties are

Far to the right of the majority of Americans.

But that is very hush hush, in terms of Main Stream Messaging.

Let someone offer up AdBusters some tens of thousands of dollars, so they can create interest in Occupy WS, and it is all over the news media!

[SpiralHawk]

10. Republicons are darkly occult about most everything, especially money

OWS is open.

That tells a HUGH tale right there...

[gratuitous]

12. Uh huh

And that can be a very persuasive talking point: OWS has raised about $250,000, some of it in small chunks from celebrities, but most of it through individual small donations. Who's funding (for example) the effort to stop the recall of the Wisconsin governor? Or the effort stop the overturning of the SB 5, the anti-union bill, in Ohio? And those little campaigns are raising and spending a lot more than $250,000. Who's putting up the money for Americans for Prosperity?

[3waygeek]

13. Well, they are Satanists...

look at the RNC logo -- it has not one, but three inverted pentagrams.

[Newest Reality]

3. Is $1,000 all that

Michael Moore has contributed, other than celebrity?

He does have a lot of wealth and, from the content of his films, the Occupy Movement would seem to have an important relationship to his work. I would have imagined him giving much more in financial support as a celebration of his causes.

Just think of the movie(s) that could be made after and about the revolution going on. The subject would be more upbeat, empowering and historical in nature.

Just curious.

[xchrom]

5. You don't sound curious. You sound like youre

Taking a swipe @ MM.

[Scuba]

6. A large donation would have tainted the movement. He'll help in many ways. n/t

[Luminous Animal]

8. And if he gave more, people would screech the movement is being funded by Michael.

[fascisthunter]

15. awwwww....

not curious

[WhiteTara]

4. Looks like the movement is being adequately funded.

It makes me feel much better that we're taking care of our own.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. Maybe Obama, the community organizer, could throw them a few million from his campaign fund.

:sarcasm: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Cal Carpenter]

14. Oh but he needs every penny of that predicted BILLION DOLLAR campaign fund

..

[tama]

11. Magick hat! nt