Main Street turns against Wall Street

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/26/news/economy/easton_backlash.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008092811

By Nina Easton, Washington bureau chief

Last Updated: September 28, 2008: 11:03 AM ET

Main Street turns against Wall Street

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- In one frenzied month Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke remade Wall Street. Along the way they may also have recast American politics. A month of historic government interventions shows signs of triggering a political version of climate change - unleashing a new era of class fury that could hurt U.S. companies, business leaders, and wealthy investors for years.

Will a bailout backlash batter corporate America? Tell us what you think.
"A potential calamity," predicts Democratic pollster Doug Schoen. "If the reactions we're seeing hold, we could have real spasmodic anger directed at businesses and corporations." And the timing will have consequences, says financier and onetime GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney: "Unfortunately, politicians have seized on the politics of envy," he told Fortune, "and they are stoking it this election year like I've never seen in my lifetime."

Compared to this, Enron was a warm-up exercise. For all the public outrage over accounting scandals seven years ago, the result in Washington was limited to a financial reporting rule that most Americans have never heard of (though many in the business community still consider Sarbanes-Oxley a destructive overreaction).

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This is really important because the bailout is not to bail out Main Street, nor even Wall Street.

It is to prevent the collapse of the international financial system that was set up post WW II by the United States in order to dominate the commerce of the "free world".

Of course, Main Street and Wall Street benefit mightily from the role that US dollar plays in international finance. We couldn't run huge trade deficits and fiscal deficits without dominating the world financial system.

If the bailout doesn't work, and if we don't maintain our economic superpower status, we have to start balancing our trade and our federal budget. Which is at least a decade of decline or no growth.

It is also the end of our political and military superpower status as well. The debate on Iraq and Afghanistan and Iran and North Koreas all becomes meaningless, because all our armed forces will be coming home.

eom

should not have to pony up money to correct mistakes by the plutocrats of Wall Street.

Masters of the Universe, my ass!!!

Dennis is right (again).:mad:

Lost my respect!

Today's News - 09/28/2008
Bailout Breakthrough Congressional leaders and the Bush administration reached a tentative agreement early Sunday on what may become the largest financial bailout in American history, Thousands of Vermonters have expressed outrage at the proposed $700 billion bailout, More than 42,000 people have electronically signed a letter from Sen. Bernard Sanders to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. opposing the bailout. "What people are saying is that excessive greed should not be rewarded," Sanders told the Rutland Herald on Saturday. WCAX News on Saturday night showed Sanders reading e-mails from Vermonters on the Senate floor.

Why not call it Times Square? (I'm from NY).

There's a Main Street in most towns across the country, so it's really a pretty good fit.