The chart Lilo posts demonstrates one of the flaws of the occupiers. Their emphases (see, "The 99 Percent Declaration") on taxation on the one hand and increased government spending on the other inevitably feeds the government beast that's currently collapsing in Europe. Thus, they can't gain allies on the other side of the chart.
Both big government and big business (and big education and big foundations) can be reformed without embracing the sort of spending policies that are already proven to be a failure in other countries.
I would agree with some of what you wrote but disagree with the idea that the problems in Europe are caused by too much government spending. They are caused by the same out of control banks doing the same sort of things they did in the US and the adoption of a common currency among countries that had no business having common currencies.
And austerity isn't working in Europe any more than it's working over here.
Check this
column out,
this one and
especially this one. I think it is worthwhile to point out here that the one of the countries which is doing the best in the current crisis, Germany, has a more robust welfare state, more restrictions on capital and protections for labor than is found in the US. So it's complex.
