I keep hearing Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has no clear message. That a main spokesperson is missing. That the signage is out of focus. That it’s a confused and therefore doomed movement because the mass media demand a short digestible headline and they don’t hear one.

Let me take a shot at it:

Why target Wall Street? I’m guessing it’s because regular folks are being forced to pick up a jaw-dropping tab for the most egregious shenanigans in financial history. These huge infusions of capital for insolvent big banks, so-called quantitative easings, already measure in the trillions. The Federal Reserve is printing this money as fast as it can, effectively paying off old debt with new devalued dollars. That’s a problem for us regular folks because at the rate the Fed’s turning our currency into monopoly money, today’s dollar will spend like 50 cents in just six years. And six years after that, like 25 cents. Trust me, quantitative easing isn’t going to be easy on middle class. It’s going to feel like trying to outrun a bullet train.

To make matters worse us, the Fed is keeping interest rates near zero. This way these broke banks can borrow money for practically nothing while still charging you and me 15 or even 25 percent on things like credit card balances. Regrettably, the banks aren’t using this free money to lubricate the credit markets any more than they used the TARP billions. And you can be sure it isn’t earmarked for Main Street. It’s used to cover losses on the odorous pile of bad mortgages that still pollute their balance sheets. That’s right, you’re now subsidizing the big banks you already bailed out. In return, they’re offering about 1 percent on your savings account and the Fed will give you the same on a CD. With the Fed also taking over Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac with your money, the middle class is being forced to underwrite four of every five home mortgages.

Ever thought about getting into real estate? Well, you’re in.

Why Wall Street? Because your 401K is now your 201K, and headed south.

Why occupy? For one thing, we’re overdue. We haven’t seriously protested anything in this country for 40 years. (No less a patriot than Thomas Jefferson recommended every 20.) Besides, public protest has sound and shape to it. Especially if you have something evil to protest, like a crooked Congress. So, what have the corporate bad boys been buying on Capitol Hill? Deregulation, of course. The right to merge commercial and investment banking. The right to sell toxic but “A-rated” securities while simultaneously shorting the very same investments. The right to trade trillions in total secrecy and –incredible as it sounds – hand losses over to the public. They bought too big to fail. Inside the Washington beltway, they call this kind of circular con game a self-licking ice cream cone. Hard to get more cynical than that.

Too little has changed under Obama. A couple of dozen no-name indictments and the Bernie Madoff Show. The Dodd-Frank bill, designed to introduce transparency in the huge swaps market, has bogged down in Congress opposed by members on both sides of the aisle. And Barney say’s he’s quitting. The fact that high crimes were committed on Wall Street is not in doubt. Whether we’ve got the gumption to do anything about them is.

So what’s OWS protesting? In a word: corporatization. That there’s no difference between big government and big business and big media anymore. Ralph Nader, long-time political activist, was right: the Republican and Democratic parties have devolved into a single corporate party. A party that is ruthlessly lowering your standard of living, stealing hope from your children, and amusing you with absurd side shows like The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. Weren’t they super? America was shrewdly built on checks and balances. Now the only checks are the ones being written by the middle class to re-balance accounts held by the adorned 1 percent. You won’t be hearing this much from mainstream media. Not with CBS owned by Viacom, NBC owned by General Electric and ABC owned by Disney. The folks who brought you Fantasyland now bring you Financeland. The holding company that owns Viacom/CBS is called National Amusements. No kidding.

There was a time when millions risked their lives to join the fabled American middle class for a livable wage, reliable public services and reasonably priced healthcare, a comfortable home and secure retirement plan. They believed that taxes were fairly distributed, that salaries and bonuses were appropriately tied to performance, and that the government would cover their backs in their roles as consumers and investors. Not enough people still believe this because a great injustice has been done. The American Dream is the casualty. That’s your headline: Wall Street Kills American Dream.

So while you’re leaning back in your Barca this holiday season, muster up a warm thought for those camping out on democracy’s ramparts. At Occupy Bangor, Augusta, Portland, and in over 1,100 other American cities.

They’re unkempt because they’re conducting a funeral. Their signs are all over the place because the scope of the injustice is astonishing. They’re firmly united, however, in the belief that being treated fairly is a basic human need. It’s a thought worth remembering. What those in power need to remember is that it’s also very human to retaliate against those who – quite intentionally – do you harm.

Rick Roberts is a veteran of Boston’s advertising community and the US Army. He resides in Windham. He is author of two books: “I Was Much Happier When Everything I Owned Was In The Back Seat Of My Volkswagen,” and the new novel, “Digital Darling.” Both are available at bookstores, Amazon.com, or visit: BabyBoomerPress.com.