So, as some of you have noticed, there is a new Tumblr called “We are the 53 percent” (I’ve reblogged a couple of their posts over on my Tumblr – warning, posts there are OFTEN NOT SAFE FOR WORK.)

I’d been wondering where this magical number came from, and now I know. It’s pretty much pulled out of their asses, much like the sense of smugness that accompanies the majority of their posts.

As the article linked above indicates, “the 53%” is supposed to represent the 53 percent of Americans who pay federal income taxes, and its assumption is that the Wall Street protesters are part of the 46 percent of the country who don’t.

Thing is, a lot of the people who are protesting (not just on Wall Street) do pay taxes. Many of them have jobs; the job may not pay well, they may even have more than one. Even if they don’t have a job, they may still be paying income taxes; I pay it on my Social Security disability, and my spouse pays it on their Unemployment Compensation. That doesn’t alter the fact that The System is fundamentally broken, and that’s what the protests are about.

It’s not about a free ride. It’s about fixing what’s wrong with the country before the armed mobs start forming to take it back from the politicians and corporations who have sold it to the highest bidder.