Politics & Government

UPDATE: Residents Occupy Marlborough, Protest Corporate Greed

More than a dozen people brought the Occupy Wall Street movement to the streets of Marlborough Saturday afternoon.

The Occupy Wall Street movement took over a small portion of downtown Marlborough Saturday afternoon, when residents protested against Wall Street excess and corporate greed.

Organizers of the local moveon.org chapter coordinated the event that was held at the corner of Main Street and Route 85 (the parking lot near and ) from 1 to 3 p.m.

Protesters enjoyed ideal fall weather for their outing that brought out an array of concerned citizens. 

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"My digust is with the gridlock in Washington.. and that the legislators are working for their parties and not the people," said Mary Igleseas, an 80-year-old Medicare recipient. "It's been going on for too long, and it upsets me greatly."

The Marlborough event was just one of many seen around the country today and everyday over the course of recent weeks. 

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"Thousands of protesters are taking to the streets—in Boston and Los Angeles, at Occupy Wall Street in New York, and in dozens of other communities across the country, said Laura Wagner, a council member of the Marlborough chapter of moveon.org. "It's time to add our voices, and join friends and neighbors in Marlborough."

For those unfamiliar with the protests, their message is clear.

"(We want) solutions to the jobs crisis, corporate money out of politics, fair tax rates, and policies that work for 99 percent of Americans instead of the one percent at the top," said Wagner. "In short, many of the things that tens of thousands of us came together to write into the Contract for the American Dream.

The protesters seek to show the human impact of the economic crisis that America and much of the western world are currently facing. 

"We want to demonstrate the human impact of the economic crisis," said David Rubenstein, another member of the moveon.org council. "The American Dream movement continues to gain momentum. After a summer dominated by talk of cuts and the possibility of ending Medicare as we know it, we organized at every town hall and fundraiser we could find to tell members of Congress that we need jobs—not cuts—to help millions of unemployed Americans get back to work, and we need the super-rich to pay their fair share of taxes. Now the president has two strong proposals to create jobs and make millionaires pay their fair share."

With no guarantee of any progress in Congress, moveon.org, along with its local members and sympathizers, aim to be heard on the main streets of small-town America as they observe "Jobs Not Cuts" week across the country. Rubenstein said that the protest on Saturday will be led by Wagner and they are currently expecting about 20 participants.

"From actions protesting bank foreclosures to local rallies against more layoffs, our goal is to escalate our demand for "Jobs Not Cuts" in every corner of the country, said Rubenstein. "We are united and powerful when we act together."

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