Mad as hell?
Caroline Baum at Bloomberg captured a feeling out there in her February 10th column that few are talking about:
Americans are angry at Wall Street for gambling with other people's money (and losing). They are angry at having to pay for the extravagances of others while they lived within their means. And they are angry at a system that privatizes profits and socializes risks.
If you haven't felt it yourself, you will start to see and feel it all around you. Those who sweated and skimped and saved these last few years are up in arms. Will resentment build? One thing I do know, this bear market is tightening its grip. Don't be surprised if we see signs of social disruption and civil disobedience.
We thought we'd see unrest from the growing unemployed. We thought maybe the poorer, disadvantaged members of society would suffer more from the economic downturn and become disenchanted, perhaps turn to crime. All that may happen. But the folks who were careful with their money, didn't buy houses they couldn't afford and didn't enjoy any of the "perks" of living high off the hog while running up debts may be getting angry too.
Americans are angry at Wall Street for gambling with other people's money (and losing). They are angry at having to pay for the extravagances of others while they lived within their means. And they are angry at a system that privatizes profits and socializes risks.
If you haven't felt it yourself, you will start to see and feel it all around you. Those who sweated and skimped and saved these last few years are up in arms. Will resentment build? One thing I do know, this bear market is tightening its grip. Don't be surprised if we see signs of social disruption and civil disobedience.
We thought we'd see unrest from the growing unemployed. We thought maybe the poorer, disadvantaged members of society would suffer more from the economic downturn and become disenchanted, perhaps turn to crime. All that may happen. But the folks who were careful with their money, didn't buy houses they couldn't afford and didn't enjoy any of the "perks" of living high off the hog while running up debts may be getting angry too.
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