Have you ever gotten pissed at your car for not starting when you were running late for a meeting? Or maybe it was your coffee maker for brewing a room temperature pot? When they don’t do what they’re supposed to, even inanimate machines will incite emotions like anger, rage, or contempt; things that are usually reserved for other humans.
‘Occupy Wall Street’ right now is about people being pissed off because they feel Wall Street is not working the way it should. And even if the protesters don’t understand exactly why they’re angry, just like you may not understand exactly why your car won’t start, they do know they don’t like it. So, banging on the hell out of the steering wheel seems like the only good option.
And this is where the entire movement has a challenge. Camping out, chanting, and the occasional arrest will get you noticed as a novelty, but once you have the attention, if you don’t offer something a little more you’ll eventually dismissed.
The challenge is to offer an alternative; the next step to the anger and frustration. No one expects demonstrators to break out drafting policy memos and financial regulations, but there does need to be a more cohesive and less militant message.
Wall Street does provide value. Main Street companies build things, fix things, provide services, connect people, and cure diseases, but they couldn’t do this without capital; the capital that Wall Street provides. Both Main Street and Wall Street, when working together, do things that add to the economy and society. Right now though, Wall Street doesn’t cater to many of the Main Street players; unemployment and bankrupt businesses are the result. Sure if you’re a big multi-national with 100 billion in revenue, you have access to any financial product you want. But 95% of companies don’t fall into this category and are left out in the cold.
WAIN Street is trying the bridge this gap between Wall Street and Main Street. The Business Credit Heath Index (BCH Index) is one piece to the puzzle turning the focus on Main Street companies. It’s a platform of data and knowledge that enables the Wall Street machine to direct more of its resources and expertise at small and middle market firms. This will open up new opportunities to these companies and help them grow.