On drums...

Has anyone figured out what is the purpose behind the protests going on at Wall Street? I've read a lot about it but still can't make any sense. The most I can glean is that they're, like, against corporations because corporations are all sort of... corporate, you know, and make money. Perhaps they just want to be part of something, but without having to do the work to think about what that something is and how they participate.

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Gregory

Gregory,
Maybe, I'm just out of touch. I've read a few articles about the protests and still don't know what's up with these folks. USUALLY, when people unite in protest, they have hopes of reaching a specific target audience to achieve a clear objective. The Wall Street protest appears to be as aimless as the demonstrators themselves.

Brian

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Drums and No Money will get Me through Hard Times better than Money and No Drums!
-A Recovering Drum Addict

My read on it is that it's an expression of collective frustration and anxiety. The process in Congress does not seem to have real people in mind. The sub-prime deceptions and the sale of worthless bundled mortgages put the whole country at risk. Since "laws" weren't broken, the thieves responsible for this mess will never be held accountable. The trickle never came down to most Americans under any administration. The banks were bailed out and the CEOs got their scheduled bonuses. Banks are foreclosing on homes with fraudulent paperwork. Profits are kept and jobs are not created according to the myth. On and on and on.

My family is doing fine for right now, but a l have lost some private students for economic reasons. I have close friends who have been loyal to companies for years lose their jobs without notice. I have taken friends grocery shopping for their families. I have never witnessed such despair.

I don't hold the banks solely responsible for this fiasco. It is without question a fact that many loans should never have been approved, but these people went into the process with their eyes open. I don't care how much a bank or credit card company says I can afford. I know how much I can afford. I know how to live within my means. I do the math when a bank says I qualify for a certain figure on a mortgage but they don't factor in the insurance and property taxes that I can't afford to go along with the MacMansion I have no business buying.

Because of the greed of one sector playing to the avarice of another sector, hard working people are losing their businesses, jobs, homes and all sense security. There is plenty to be angry at. I am not inclined to agree with or appreciate any sense of effectiveness such demonstrations may bring about, but I do understand the anger.

Roland

The key word there is "collective." Most of those involved don't seem to have had the experience to warrant frustration or anxiety, except that form which is free for the asking. An informal poll (linked below) reveals these commonalities; I've removed anything below 80% concurrence.

80% of those polled said that the rich should pay higher taxes and that it’s fair that approximately the top 10% of tax payers pay more than 70% of the taxes in the US and about 40% of employed people pay no income tax.
93% say that student loan debt should be forgiven
98% believe that health care should be free
98% believe that Insurance companies make too much money and some of their profits should be taken to pay for more healthcare for others
95% believe that drug prices should be controlled
88% agree with the statement that “The government should put some controls on CEO pay – like limited to 20x or 30x the lowest paid employee.”
93% believe that communications like cell phone and internet access be a right and not just reserved for the rich and we should have free internet and cell phone service as a national goal.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherp ... otherwise/

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Gregory

I have not seen a demographic breakdown of the various groups involved in the demonstrations to make an informed comment. I simply do not know the circumstances of "most of those involved".

Roland

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

Cliff,
I never even considered the role of debt rating agencies in this fiasco and I think your observations are spot on. I imagine these debt raters in the role of "the Fates" from Greek mythology. Who lives? Who dies? Who gets a loan or not? How can we determine the fate of the foolish mortals?

I don't think that all the protesters were against the bail outs as much as they are impatient for positive consequences as a result of the bail-outs. If their is a major flaw in Capitalism, you identified it's underpinnings:



I am just as guilty as any other American for allowing myself to be conditioned by a consumer driven culture that has me obsessed with buying stuff I don't need and that I really don't want once the infomercial has faded from memory. The real solution, the tightfisted frugality of our Depression Era parents seems the only fix in the micro and will bring complete collapse in the macro.

Roland

I'm not so sure responsible economics would be bad for the macro. After all, both ends of the economic spectrum thrive on trust and confidence. In my opinion, the economy will not recover until business and consumers think they can reasonably rely on the rules of the game not perpetually changing.

Banks seem like banks, to me. They won't lend while they're not sure of being able to recoup, not unless they can sell the debts to someone else. One thing that has always bothered me is that government leaned heavily on banks to make bad loans under the Community Reinvestment Modernization Act. It seems to me that the worst things often result when government starts to micromanage. The Third Reich was a prime example. Great Britain another. Greece is instructive as well.

I'm glad the world still pays attention to things like this: LOOK! A SQUIRREL!!!

http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/index?id=7070570

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Gregory

That's just the marketing guys trying to make baseball watchable.

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

THE #$$$#!! BASTIDS!!!...

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Gregory