I'd like to see the results of a survey where the only question was "Would you like to see very unpleasant vigilante justice perpetrated on the executive staff of banks involved in the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008?"
I think you're underestimating the degree of bloodthirstiness. I sometimes wonder if Occupy Wall Street wouldn't play better with Middle America if they dropped the whole Gandhi-worship PR schtick (which Middle America seems, by and large, to despise rather than admire) and more openly advocated violence against investment bankers, specifically.
> I think you're underestimating the degree of bloodthirstiness. I sometimes wonder if Occupy Wall Street wouldn't play better with Middle America if they dropped the whole Gandhi-worship PR schtick (which Middle America seems, by and large, to despise rather than admire) and more openly advocated violence against investment bankers, specifically.
"Middle America" seems to know that it wasn't investment bankers that gave govt money to banks. And, they're reasonably receptive to the accounting that shows that financial TARP was break-even to modestly profitable.
However, they're incensed about the bailouts that are costing money. For example, bailing out GM pensions isn't popular and largish govt worker pensions are even less popular. And then there are the Fannie and Freddie money-pits.
I've gotta disagree on "what america's concerned about". When's the last time you heard someone who wasn't employed by fox news actually say anything about GM pensions?
> When's the last time you heard someone who wasn't employed by fox news actually say anything about GM pensions?
I've heard actual humans say it. I didn't quiz them as to why.
As to Fox, do you actually listen to/watch Fox or are you just guessing/getting it second hand? (I ask because several months ago, I watched enough to discover that most people who talk about what's on Fox get it wrong.)
>"Middle America" seems to know that it wasn't investment bankers that gave govt money to banks.
Then they're not very well educated because that's exactly who it was. Did you miss Paulson and co coming over from Wall street right into the White house saying the world was going to end if we didn't bail out these bankers?
I really doubt that most people know this. I've had to explain this to many red-state folks. Actually, I've had to explain it to a lot of blue-state folks too. And draw a comparison to the RTC in the 80s.
Conclusion: not many people have a clue about this.
I think you're underestimating the degree of bloodthirstiness. I sometimes wonder if Occupy Wall Street wouldn't play better with Middle America if they dropped the whole Gandhi-worship PR schtick (which Middle America seems, by and large, to despise rather than admire) and more openly advocated violence against investment bankers, specifically.