Help Us Cover Saturday's Planned Jobs Rally [With Poll]

For the last month, hundreds of protesters have taken up residence in lower Manhattan, taking over Zuccotti Park in the financial district as part of a ragtag bunch of people calling themselves #occupywallstreet.

The protests garnered only a smattering of attention, at first, followed by derision, but the movement has grown and is spreading to other cities,

That includes New Brunswick. A rally is planned for tomorrow, organized with assistance from MoveOn.org, at the intersection of George Street and Livingston Avenue starting at 11.

Patch will be there, covering it live, using Twitter, Cover It Live and other tools to keep our readers informed of what is happening, how it is affecting the downtown and why protesters have taken to the street.

There are those who view the protests as a dangerous breech of political decorum, with some accusing the protesters of being dupes of the Democratic party. These protests, however, were a spontaneous outgrowth of the collapse of the American two-party system and the damage it has done to the economy.

We have witnessed a restructuring of the American economy over the last 40-plus years -- a move away from manufacturing to finance that has left the working and middle classes adrift. Wage-earners have no place in an economy built on speculation, which uses money as raw material to make more money without leaving anything of value behind.

We have witnessed a redistribution of weatlh upwards as real wages for most Americans have stagnated and the people we have elected to protect us--politicians from both parties--have shredded the social safety net.

That's why this mix of college-age students, union members and others are protesting. It is an effort to reclaim democracy and the economy, to make sure that their voices are heard.

In that spirit, we encourage readers and protesters to add to our coverage and help drive the conversation, by posting photos and commenting through the Cover It Live platform here. Our coverage of the event will go live at 11 on our home page. You also can post comments at the end of this story.

If you are tweeting from the event, please email me, Regional Editor Hank Kalet, at hank.kalet@patch.com. I'll be compiling a list of local Twitter feeds that can be pulled into our live coverage. Please us the hashtag #occupy in your tweets.