[워싱턴=신화통신/KNS 뉴스통신] 7일(수) 미국 워싱턴에서 수천명의 시위대가 K. 스트리트에 집결하여 대기업이 그들의 공평한 몫의 세금을 낼 것을 요구하였다.
“부자들에게 세금을 매겨라” ‘일자리를 창출하라“고 쓰여진 구호판을 들고서 시위대들이 워싱턴 D.C.에 있는 K. 스트리트에 모여서 ’대기업들은 그들 공정한 몫의 세금을 내어라‘ 하고 요구하였다.
시위에 참가한 것은 무엇보다도 실업자들과 불완전 고용아래 있는 사람들과, 학생, 노동조합, 의료보험 지지자들 등이다. 이들이 K 스트리트로 가는 동안에 그들은 공정한 분량의 세금을 납부하지 않는 베리존, GE, 등 대기업과 캐피톨 택스 파트너스, 미국은행협회 등등 을 습격하였다.
7 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of protesters on Wednesday swarmed K Street in Washington, D.C. -- hub of major lobbying firms, demanding big corporations pay their fair share of taxes.
Holding banners saying "Tax the Rich," " Create Jobs," protesters gathered on the rainy morning at the National Mall, where they set up what they called the "People's Camp" on Monday to serve as their home base for the week-long "Take Back the Capitol" movement.
Joining the protest were unemployed and underemployed people, students, union members, healthcare advocates, among others. On their way to K Street, they stormed several major corporations including Verizon, General Electric, Capitol Tax Partners, the American Bankers Association, which they said do not pay their fair share of taxes.
At about noon, protesters converged on K Street near the Franklin Park, leaving the nearby traffic almost paralyzed. Many police cars lined in the area to try to keep the crowd in order. Some arrests were made in the afternoon after protesters ignored police warnings to move or face arrest.
Deya Dira, a student of University of Houston in Texas, came to D.C. over the weekend with about 120 others to join the protest.
"We are there (on K Street) to tell lobbyists that the 99 percent is not for sale," she told Xinhua. "We are going to take back the capitol, we are going to take back our government."
Dira said they have been camping out on the National Mall these days, adding the bad weather will not deter them from pressing on.
"It's supposed to snow tomorrow, but we are still going to be here, we are not going any where," she said. "We have families back home and obligations back home, and we are sacrificing that to be here to tell lobbyists on K Street that our government is not for sale."
John Butler, a 50-year-old resident of D.C., has been unemployed for 4 years. He found it even harder to get a job today as the economy continues to be sluggish and the government pays no attention to the plight of a majority of Americans like him, he said.
"We demand that the Congress stop listening to the corporate CEOs and stop giving them tax breaks," he said. " Give us jobs, we need jobs."
While the protesters are not part of the Occupy D.C., an offspring of the widespread Occupy Wall Street movement, they share similar messages.
The "Take Back the Capitol" movement aims to "show Congress what democracy looks like, shine a light on corporate greed and the human suffering it has caused, and demand justice for the 99 percent," the movement said on its website.
On Tuesday, members of the group staged sit-ins in the offices of a number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, asking lawmakers to represent the 99 percent of ordinary Americans, rather than the wealthy.
They planed multiple speak-outs throughout the Capitol, a national prayer vigil with unemployed folks and faith leaders, a mass march on key congressional leaders, according to the group's website. The protest is scheduled to conclude Friday.
박세호 기자 bc457@naver.com
