Much pundit ink has been spilled pondering why the OccupyWallStreet protest has grown so rapidly and resonated so widely. But the answer is really not difficult to apprehend. Our political system is fundamentally broken by corruption and oligarchical control. Many people know this. They have rationally concluded that voting fixes none of these systemic problems precisely because the problems are systemic. And going out into the street to protest and demand an end to this corruption is the only perceived means of redress.

Congress and the President, fearful of a backlash from polluters, are forcing EPA to postpone needed rules to protect public health, leading to avoidable illnesses and deaths while also increasing the budget requirements for public health programs like Medicaid, SCHIP, and Medicare.