What The OWS Protests Are About

A pretty good summary, with lots of charts: Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About.

So, what are the protesters so upset about, really? Do they have legitimate gripes? To answer the latter question first, yes, they do. They have very legitimate gripes.
And if America cannot figure out a way to address these gripes, the country will likely become increasingly "de-stabilized," as sociologists might say. And in that scenario, the current protests will likely be only the beginning.
The problem in a nutshell is this: Inequality in this country has hit a level that has been seen only once in the nation's history—at the end of the 1920s. Unemployment has also reached a level that has been seen only once since the Great Depression.