Occupy Occupy D.C. Polls the Plaza: Who’s to Blame for the Nation’s Problems?

Is it the 1%? Is it the 99%? Or Politicians? Let the Jellybeans Decide

Washington, D.C. – On its last permitted day for sharing space with Occupy D.C., the National Center’s “Occupy Occupy D.C.” street team will conduct a jellybean poll of the people who inhabit, use and stroll by Washington D.C.’s Freedom Plaza.

The vote will be conducted on Tuesday, March 15 in Freedom Plaza (13th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW). Anyone in the plaza is allowed to participate (government-issued photo ID is not necessary).

“We’ve provided a free-market counter-balance to Occupy D.C. for 22 days, and it’s time to see how we did,” said David Almasi, executive director of the National Center for Public Policy Research and director of the National Center’s “Occupy Occupy D.C.” project. “There are certainly issues on which we will continue to disagree, such as the size and duties of government. But we’ve found issues on which the folks at Occupy D.C. found they could agree with us, such as how crony capitalism and bailouts are bad. We’ve even found some agreement among the occupiers regarding overregulation. I think that we can also agree — both Occupy D.C. and the American people as whole — that our nation’s biggest problem is really politicians and not any one class of people. That’s what our vote on Thursday is all about.”

Those participating in the poll, open to all passersby, will be asked to put a jellybean in one of three containers signifying who they think is the source of America’s continued problems. The choices will be “The 1%,” “The 99%” and “Politicians.”

The National Center has obtained a five-week permit for Freedom Plaza in order to share the plaza with left-wing “Occupy D.C.” protesters. Since February 13, it has sponsored noontime events every weekday.

The National Center for Public Policy Research, founded in 1982, is a non-partisan, free-market, independent conservative think-tank with over 100,000 recent supporters. Contributions to it are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.

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The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.