[Inside Chodong] Biden's Approval Rating and Musk's Mouth

Senator Bernie Sanders of the United States
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] U.S. President Joe Biden's approval rating is showing a downward trend. Coincidentally, this period overlaps with the 10th anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Considering policies Biden is pushing, such as raising the minimum wage and taxing the wealthy, he can be seen as standing on the side of the 99% who demanded the resolution of inequality. It can also be said that he inherited the pledges of Senator Bernie Sanders, who competed with him until the final stages of last year's Democratic presidential primary. On the 14th (local time), Sanders posted a tweet emphasizing wealth taxation. Elon Musk, the world's richest person and CEO of Tesla, mocked him by commenting, "I had forgotten you were still alive."

In September 2021, mainstream foreign media coverage was quieter than expected. September marked the 10th anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests. It was expected that numerous articles would illuminate the event from various angles and analyze what is needed for a better life, but that was not the case.

There were fewer articles than expected, and those that did appear were mostly nostalgic. They resembled articles recalling what happened back then from the perspective of the main figures 10 years ago, like the silhouette of a middle-aged person drinking soju alone at a street stall.

While searching for articles, I even encountered ruins. occupywallst.org is the official site created by Adbusters, a Canadian anti-consumerism group that led the Occupy Wall Street protests. The last post on the occupywallst.org site was dated October 28, 2019. The phrase "2 years ago" before the date of the last post made me wonder if the "B.C." notation was missing, as it felt so distant.

Elon Musk Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

The Occupy Wall Street protests were criticized even in 2011 for lacking a central organizing point, which was seen as a clear limitation. This criticism was repeated in articles covering the 10th anniversary. So, was it disorganized? Not really. Foreign media evaluated that the Occupy Wall Street protests succeeded simply by raising awareness among many people about inequality and the wealth gap, and that their historical significance is considerable.

Recent protests emphasizing climate change response and Black rights are also seen as expanded results of the Occupy Wall Street protests, which instilled the awareness that nothing changes without action. It was analyzed that the protests sounded an alarm in U.S. politics, enabling Senator Sanders to create a stir in the last two Democratic presidential primaries. Although Sanders' surge was incomplete, his pledges were inherited by Biden.

The reason for Biden's declining approval rating ultimately lies in economic issues. The U.S. consumer price inflation rate has soared to its highest level in 30 years, and 70% of survey respondents viewed the future economic outlook pessimistically. It is unclear how much resentment wealthy people have toward Biden's policies, as many wealthy individuals are willing to pay more taxes.

There is bound to be controversy over how much tax wealthy people should fairly bear. If they accumulated wealth by winning fair competition, their share should be recognized accordingly. Sanders' policies have also been criticized as excessively rational.

However, recently Musk has disrupted the market several times with his remarks. So, I want to give that mouth that chirped on Sanders' Twitter a good slap.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.