Occupy LA occupies LA County Jails...

Occupy LA finally hit a high note when the LAPD, 1400 strong, arrested 292 protesters on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 for failing to disburse after being warned that they could no longer occupy the City Hall area and nearby intersections for unlawful assemblies.

The 292 protesters arrested were sent to three different LA County jail facilities to be processed, which made for a very hectic day in the county jail system. My bail bond company, Premiere Bail Bonds, received numerous calls from protesters wishing to be bailed out, but the normal bail processing time was delayed due to the overwhelming volume. While the protesters were non-violent and the arrest process very civil, it still had a huge impact on everyone involved in the city and the county. We actually bailed out protesters in downtown LA, as well as the Van Nuys Jail, which was getting the female protesters because of the huge influx of arrestees all at once.

I can appreciate the protesters position and, in fact, sympathize with them, but how long can you choose to weather the storm, literally, to make your point. I think everyone has gotten the message by now. The question is when will something really be done to change the situation? Obviously, there is no instant fix, since it took years to get to this point. But we have to start somewhere with a plan that makes sense and will help save our country and the private sector.

In all my years, I never would have thought I’d see the day when our country would be falling apart at the seams…Let alone the world! With European countries struggling to survive as well, where and when will this economic landslide end? The band aid fixes are only temporary. How do you “plug up the whole” in the bureaucratic system? How do you take control of egos, power struggles and greed that has been the foundation for these failing economies for so long?

While every business is entitled to make a profit, why are banks and the financial world allowed to rip off the public to such an extreme and get away with it? With the housing markets falling worldwide, rates the lowest in decades, and the stock markets hanging on by a thread, what is the little man who has lost everything going to do? How will he survive?

The baby boomer generation is hitting retirement age and many have lost their life savings, their jobs, and maybe even their homes. How can they ever consider retiring? What kind of jobs can they get, if even current college grads can’t find a job in this market? We are spiraling downward everywhere we turn.

And now the United States is a year away from voting for a new leader of our failing country. Can anyone we vote into office really change our current situation? Can we finally find a president who can “fix” this broken wheel? As always, it’s a crap shoot and there is no crystal ball to predict our future. I can only hope that there is a positive ending somewhere in the future and that our country, along with its citizens, will somehow survive and flourish once again. I just hope I live to see it!