Wall Street is the Wrong Place to Occupy

A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that when it comes to assigning blame for the country’s economic woes, more Americans point the finger at Washington, not Wall Street. Yet for weeks, the so-called Occupy Wall Street protesters have camped out in the heart of America’s financial district–and have raised their voices in cities across the country and around the world–decrying the capitalist system as the root of all evil.

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On Sunday, these anti-capitalist protesters got a helping hand from none other than the President of the United States. Barack Obama was all too glad to lend support to the protests–which have at times been marked by shows of violence and lawlessness–saying during a speech dedicating the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial that King would have supported the movement. And yesterday, a White House official said that during his latest “jobs” bus tour, the President would be speaking to the ”the interests of the 99 percent of Americans”–echoing the protesters’ “99 percent” slogan. It’s all very ironic. President Obama’s policies have helped create and prolong the economic conditions that are causing America’s frustrations. It’s not surprising that, at a time of 9.1 percent unemployment, there is great dissatisfaction with policies that hurt the economy while helping political cronies and bailing out banks and financial groups. More...

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