The Big Picture - Macro Perspective on the Capital Markets, Economy, Technology, and Digital Media

12 Responses to “Wall Street vs Main Street”

1. bsneath Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 5:45 pm

   One gets the feeling we are once again living in the age of the robber barrons.

2. Dogfish Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 5:55 pm

   So true.

3. call me ahab Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 6:01 pm

   so . . .why hasn’t he beat that dude’s ass and taken his money already

4. GB Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 6:10 pm

   they need to incorporate uncle sam to. That would be golden.

5. HarryWanger Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 6:17 pm

   ahab: That’s the best post I’ve seen in a long time!

6. emmanuel117 Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 6:21 pm

   @ahab

   Which guy is doing the beating?

7. franklin420d Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 6:51 pm

   So is that little dude harry?

8. TakBak04 Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 7:22 pm

   Well…BR…maybe Ms. BR is a gem and very docile and NEVER opinionated…never complains about anything…just paints and teaches. But, in her “heart of hearts” if you dig deeper…she might have some very strong opinions about this:

   —-

   QUOTE FROM ARTICLE:

   “I didn’t know Brooksley Born,” says former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, a member of President Clinton’s powerful Working Group on Financial Markets. “I was told that she was irascible, difficult, stubborn, unreasonable.” Levitt explains how the other principals of the Working Group — former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin — convinced him that Born’s attempt to regulate the risky derivatives market could lead to financial turmoil, a conclusion he now believes was “clearly a mistake.”

9. nobetanofun Says:
   October 20th, 2009 at 7:35 pm

   anyone else think the Main Street guy looks like Joe Paterno?

10. The Window Washer Says:
    October 20th, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    call me ahab Says:

    so . . .why hasn’t he beat that dude’s ass and taken his money already

    Ahab
    Because he lacks a work ethic and that’s why he’s a bum. Obviously

11. CTB Says:
    October 20th, 2009 at 11:41 pm

    I think the main street guy looks kind of like Michael Moore.

12. mathman Says:
    October 21st, 2009 at 6:30 am

    The “everyman” character has been “conditioned” (or indoctrinated) to vote, appeal to his representatives, and fall back on the society at large – anything but violence – to remediate his plight.
    Going forward, as he gets ever-more desperate, these societal trappings may disappear out of frustration, anger, and revenge (dare i say “patriotism” ?- whatever happened to the Constitution and our so-called rights? why do the “laws” only apply to us and not corporations, the wealthy, and the powers that be?).