ESSAY
Editorial Cartoon
The editorial cartoon I have chosen is called We Are The 99% by Pat Bagley of theSalt Lake Tribune. I agree with Pat Bagley’s cartoon depiction, which illustrates that politicians support and enforce policies that benefit the wealthiest in our country, which is 1% of the population. The We Are The 99% is a movement that started on Tumblr Blog, which was launched by, the Occupy Wall Street group. This blog contains a collection of pictures of handwritten notes by Americans with different problems such as debt, unemployment, and no health care. The background on this editorial cartoon is that 99 percent of the population is not being heard by their elected government officials. Government officials, don’t listen because they are receiving the majority of their money from the one percent of the population who are the wealthiest people in the country; government officials pass policies and regulations to benefit the one percent of the people, while the rest of the population has to deal with those policies.
In the picture there is an elderly man, a single mother, a politician, and an African American man. Each of them is holding up a sign explaining their situation. Everyone but the politician is in a rut with the downturn of the economy. The elderly man has written on his sign that he was laid off after 32 years of working and can’t get health insurance. The single mother’s sign indicates that she has two kids and just lost her house because the bank lost her paperwork. The African American has a sign pointing to the politician, explaining that he is the reason for him being part of the 99%. The politician has a sign saying that he gets 99% of his campaign money from the top 1%.
The elderly man represents those elderly who have lost their jobs. It may be from the down fall of the economy. He may have lost his job to, or he may not be physically able to perform the task required. Also he shows that with an increase of the elderly population from the baby boomer era there will be a lot of elderly who are laid off without healthcare. On his sign it say breadwinner which means a persons who earns money to support his family. And since he is laid of there will need to be another source of income for his family.
The woman represents the women around the nation who now have to take that breadwinner position and support their families now. In the years before women weren’t expected to work but with their husbands being laid off them now these women have to take on the responsibility of providing for the house. These women also have to deal with the household and kids while try to provide for the family. Some have assistances but others don’t and have a hard time throughout the rest of their lives.
The African American man represents the rest of the 99% of the population who have little chance of succeed because of policies in place and enforcement of those polices that were put forth by a politician to benefit the 1%. These people are laid off and can’t succeed because of polices that restrict them from getting where they want. Some people take out loans for college or to survive. That’s just leads to a life time of hardships and struggles. And they continue to struggle with no to little assistance from the government.
I agree that with what Pat Bagley is describing in the cartoon, which is politicians are putting forth polices to benefit the wealthy, which is the 1% of the population. The other people in the cartoon represent the normal middle class and lower Americans. They are not being fairly represented by the government officials they vote into office. This can be averted by voters being educated on their candidates they want for office.
Green
Work Citied
Bagley, Pat. “We Are the 99%.” Editorial. Salt Lake Tribune 18 Oct. 2011: n. pag. Sltrib.com. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. <http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/52737320 82/bagley-cartoon-facebook-lake.html.csp>.
The editorial cartoon I have chosen is called We Are The 99% by Pat Bagley of theSalt Lake Tribune. I agree with Pat Bagley’s cartoon depiction, which illustrates that politicians support and enforce policies that benefit the wealthiest in our country, which is 1% of the population. The We Are The 99% is a movement that started on Tumblr Blog, which was launched by, the Occupy Wall Street group. This blog contains a collection of pictures of handwritten notes by Americans with different problems such as debt, unemployment, and no health care. The background on this editorial cartoon is that 99 percent of the population is not being heard by their elected government officials. Government officials, don’t listen because they are receiving the majority of their money from the one percent of the population who are the wealthiest people in the country; government officials pass policies and regulations to benefit the one percent of the people, while the rest of the population has to deal with those policies.
In the picture there is an elderly man, a single mother, a politician, and an African American man. Each of them is holding up a sign explaining their situation. Everyone but the politician is in a rut with the downturn of the economy. The elderly man has written on his sign that he was laid off after 32 years of working and can’t get health insurance. The single mother’s sign indicates that she has two kids and just lost her house because the bank lost her paperwork. The African American has a sign pointing to the politician, explaining that he is the reason for him being part of the 99%. The politician has a sign saying that he gets 99% of his campaign money from the top 1%.
The elderly man represents those elderly who have lost their jobs. It may be from the down fall of the economy. He may have lost his job to, or he may not be physically able to perform the task required. Also he shows that with an increase of the elderly population from the baby boomer era there will be a lot of elderly who are laid off without healthcare. On his sign it say breadwinner which means a persons who earns money to support his family. And since he is laid of there will need to be another source of income for his family.
The woman represents the women around the nation who now have to take that breadwinner position and support their families now. In the years before women weren’t expected to work but with their husbands being laid off them now these women have to take on the responsibility of providing for the house. These women also have to deal with the household and kids while try to provide for the family. Some have assistances but others don’t and have a hard time throughout the rest of their lives.
The African American man represents the rest of the 99% of the population who have little chance of succeed because of policies in place and enforcement of those polices that were put forth by a politician to benefit the 1%. These people are laid off and can’t succeed because of polices that restrict them from getting where they want. Some people take out loans for college or to survive. That’s just leads to a life time of hardships and struggles. And they continue to struggle with no to little assistance from the government.
I agree that with what Pat Bagley is describing in the cartoon, which is politicians are putting forth polices to benefit the wealthy, which is the 1% of the population. The other people in the cartoon represent the normal middle class and lower Americans. They are not being fairly represented by the government officials they vote into office. This can be averted by voters being educated on their candidates they want for office.
Green
Work Citied
Bagley, Pat. “We Are the 99%.” Editorial. Salt Lake Tribune 18 Oct. 2011: n. pag. Sltrib.com. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. <http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/52737320 82/bagley-cartoon-facebook-lake.html.csp>.