Bloomberg View: Occupy Wall Street's Next Move; Speeding Up Keystone XL

The subject of Occupy Wall Street for this editorial page—Bloomberg Businessweek is part of Bloomberg LP, majority-owned by Michael R. Bloomberg, mayor of New York—has “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” written all over it. We’re opting for “damned if you do” because the swift removal of the Occupy Wall Street protesters from Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park on Nov. 15, after demonstrations were shut down in Portland, Ore., and Oakland, Calif., marks an important evolution in the life of a significant movement.

After police cleared the privately owned park, Mayor Bloomberg insisted that the protesters be allowed back in, although not to camp. This seems a sensible compromise. Concerns over safety and health at the site were legitimate, and the assertion of political grievances shouldn’t require tents and tarps to enter the public arena. In a Nov. 15 ruling, New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Stallman agreed.