Pelican, in that case the demonstrators should be demonstrating
in Washington, in front of the headquarters of the Republican
party. But it was of course the peoples choice to elect the
new senators etc, who have defeated Obama.

How easy to blame the bankers, for the peoples own stupidity.

Yabby
It is not about 'blaming' the banks or Wall Street in entirety, but protesting at the government's policies that led to the GFC.

While I understand your knee-jerk response to anything that smacks of anti-business, the protests go much deeper. It is always the government's responsibility to regulate the economy and to ensure fairness. However, there is some blame to be apportioned if and when business employs dubious practices to grow influence involving corruption and a lack of transparency. The out of proportion response to Wikileaks demonstrated how real the threat when the early revelations about Swiss banks and tax evasion became public knowledge.

The US has had some pretty disastrous record of appointing members of Boards or Regulatory Authorities who have blatant conflicts of interest especially in food regulation.

Bottom line is people are fed up and one cannot pretend that it isn't happening nor why. There are other factors including ever-reducing transparency in government dealings and pressures and imbalances in free trade.

Fact is the protests are real and it would be foolhardy to assert the sentiments are misplaced, or the group is a radical Lefty conspiracy or out of step with reality. I would have no difficulty in marching along with these groups should the opportunity arise.

"""
How easy to blame the bankers, for the peoples own stupidity.
"""

Come on Yabby, the people didn't roll up loans and sell them off as collateralised debt obligations. True they didn't have to take the easy loans loans which became toxic, but then if you do something silly in your own business, I'll bet no government official is going to hand you a million dollar bonus and allow you to keep trading as nothing has happened!

If you're truly for the free market, then these scumbags should have been allowed to fail, just like the rest of the population!

*but protesting at the government's policies that led to the GFC.*

Well in that case Pelican, its yet another reason to demonstrate
in front of the Republican party headquarters, for of course it
was the Bush regime who were responsible. The people carry the
responsibility of having stupidly elected him twice, they can
only blame themselves. But it is a human foible to blame everything
but ourselves, when things go wrong in our lives.

In Europe they are demonstrating against cutbacks. Well it was
Govts elected by the people of those countries, who borrowed too
much.

*Bottom line is people are fed up and one cannot pretend that it isn't happening nor why.*

Oh the "why" is easy. Ever since the release of the iphone and other
smartphones, people can walk around whilst on twitter and facebook,
organising the next demo as easy as pie. Technology created by those
"evil" corporations, has made it a breeze, so they can and they do.

*I would have no difficulty in marching along with these groups should the opportunity arise.*

Pelican, your political views expressed on OLO, are hardly middle
of the road. More like leftie greenie, which is only a small %
of the population, mostly feelgood dreamers

Raw Mustard.
Truly never thought I would agree with anything you say,did this time.
It is about greed,uncontrolled and unpunished investing greed.
Republican stubbornness, a separate issue, but a symptom of an illness.
Ronald Regan,idolized for it, hurt his country a great deal, by removing what checks and balances existed.
Never enough.
This protest will continue.
And it will too continue to be damaged, by design, by people from all sides turning it to some thing it is not left or right.
It takes little imagination, to understand the violence its self may be paid for by interests other than protesters.
It took place in Egypt, it is happening in Syria, why not other country's.
Deception is a weapon.

Yabby
This is not about Right/Left politics as much as I can see you are still easily tempted into ad hominem attacks. It is a good avoidance technique but has little relevance to the issues being discussed.

The financial sector is not blameless Yabby and I can understand why the protests are focussed on Wall Street but agree the protests could also be 'at home' in front of the White House. In fact I think the protests are moving about between the two.

It is Wall Street that has influenced the idea of share price as the only indicator of success in business, leading to all sorts of ridiculous short term strategies including uneccesary layoffs and pressures on employees to engage in unethical practices to meet the bottom line.

While some might think it is 'good business' practice to talk up stocks that are clearly dogs to make commissions (eg. Merril Lynch fraud case) but many people from the Right and Left are no longer accepting the lack of ethics so dominating business.

I urge you to read American's Cheating Culture by David Callahan which offers insight to changing ethical and moral compass specifically in business practice. He writes more eloquently than myself and while more relevant to the US the ideas can be applied globally. Callahan also makes reference to a growing ethical wave in relation to personal morality which is not matched by an equally strong force in business morality particularly by the Conservative Christian Right. He offers a rare insight into how and why this mindset originated. It is not anti-business only anti-corruption and speaks to the lack of regulatory checks and balances in the US financial system.

IMO it would be a mistake to assume these protests are only from the usual anti-globalisation suspects.

http://www.cheatingculture.com/aboutdavidcallahanhtm/