By Charles Mead and Elise Young - Oct 7, 2011 3:20 AM GMT+0700
Protesters assembling today outside a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) building in New Jersey were met by almost as many security guards and police officers as “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrators sought to single out the bank.
About 50 people gathered at a Goldman Sachs building surrounded by metal barricades in Jersey City, where 30 to 40 officers and guards were waiting. The investment bank’s employees watched from windows as the crowd chanted “We are the 99 percent” before breaking into discussion groups.
“Goldman Sachs has too many people in government, and too much influence,” said Pat Meany, 53, who arrived on his bicycle and wore clothes painted with fluorescent colors and peace symbols. “It seems like they’re looking out for America’s rich. It’s not for the good of all Americans.”
In Trenton, about three dozen protesters were initially outnumbered by members of the media for a simultaneous gathering at the World War II memorial across from the Statehouse. The crowd grew to about 75 people within an hour as participants took turns to speak about corporate greed, the influence of money on politics, war and the environment.
“There is no reason why this country should be the way it is,” said Heath Weaver, 46, of Toms River, a self-employed videographer who came to the Trenton event with a sleeping bag. “Instead of people coming together we’ve been fighting against each other and nothing’s getting solved.”
Stephen Cohen, a spokesman for New York-based Goldman Sachs, declined to comment on the demonstration.
To contact the reporters on this story: Charles Mead in New York at cmead11@bloomberg.net; Elise Young in Trenton at eyoung30@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net; Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment