The main problem with Occupy - at least the local one as far as I could tell - was lack of focus. The Occupy movement was, we were told, a response by the 99% to the vast majority of our nation's wealty being held by the 1%, and that 1% working the system to ensure that it stayed that way. But here, we had a plethora of different signs, all clamoring for attention, some seemingly at odds with others. What could have been a statement by working class people became a gathering of homeless, mentally ill, and the usual "causeheads", with no unified coherent message. With the loss of the message, what was the 99% protesting against the 1% became the bottom 5% sitting around in recliners spreading garbage all over the ground and blocking foot traffic, while seemingly supporting dozens of different causes, many of them from the political left fringe. What could have been a great moment in American history turned into a mess, and at that point, people stopped caring.
It's more than just the "bubble" that affected our county. Prices here are still stupidly high. Even after they dropped, they are still more than double what they were only 9 years ago. What else costs more than twice as much now as it did 9 years ago? Nothing. Realtors selling at abnormally high prices to out-of-the-area investors and retirees is causing artificial price inflation, and it needs to stop, before even more of the people who actually live in this county are unable to buy a home. Sure, realtors can make a lot of cash doing what they do, but just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Those who contributed to this ridiculous situation should be tarred and feathered.
Re: “Diets for Losers?”
Different diets work for different people. The reason that not all diets work for everyone is that there are a wide variety of different metabolisms out there. Personally, I don't process carbs well (or perhaps process them too well... depends on how you look at it). I took PE classes in college, rode my bike, did active things, always gained weight. I was eating a "healthy" diet of "good" carbs (whole grains, pasta, brown rice, etc) and kept gaining pounds. When I started a low-carb diet, the pounds started coming off. No extra exercise, no starvation, just changing what I eat, and so far in 13 months I have lost 97 pounds. If you're overweight, don't listen to the smug thin people who keep saying "calories in, calories out" is all there is to weight loss. For some people it is, but for others, that's not the way their body works.