[lbo-talk] Main St. USA's mood: 'We need a revolution in this country'

[Carl Remick]

[Just returned from an usually interesting visit to the dentist -- 
interesting because it gave me an opportunity to peruse Business Week's 
cover story, Sept. 3, on the subprime crisis, which openly ridiculed Wall 
Street's financial engineering innovations of the last 25 years.  The 
magazine cover art depicts an expensively attired Wall St. exec wearing a 
red clown's nose.  Most interesting of all was a cover story sidebar article 
(see below) discussing Middle America's mood these days -- i.e., DEEP 
alienation.  It's pretty eye-popping to see a Kansan (other than Chuck, of 
course) saying:  "I think we need a revolution in this country."  If the 
left doesn't seize the moment, it really deserves to be in history's 
dustbin.]

Main Street Is Fed Up:
A wide swath of small investors feels duped
By Steve Hamm

When I called my 87-year-old father in Wichita a few days back to 
commiserate about the recent financial turmoil, I had no clue what I was in 
for. "How about that crazy market?" was my opening gambit. "It's terrible," 
he said bitterly. "I think we need a revolution in this country."

A revolution? This was my father, a lifelong Republican until he quit a 
couple of years ago over Iraq and global warming. He had never staked out a 
position to my left. "All these excesses, the hedge funds, private equity, 
and these CEOs who pay themselves incredible salaries—the greed is 
outrageous," he said. "And we all pay the price."

The problems on Wall Street are making folks on Main Street plenty 
angry—even those who haven't bought a new home or refinanced a mortgage in 
recent years. Regular investors feel as if they, too, are victims of the 
predatory lenders and gluttonous financiers whose actions are wreaking havoc 
on the markets. It doesn't help matters that the recent moves by the Federal 
Reserve will largely benefit big institutions such as Countrywide Financial 
Corp. (CFC ), the nation's largest mortgage lender. "I've been watching my 
401(k) and wondering if I'll have anything left," laments Lisa Moon, a 
49-year-old paralegal in Middletown, Conn. Says Craig Dalrymple, a 
37-year-old salesman from Northbrook, Ill.: "People are losing their homes, 
savings, retirements, and we're seeing worldwide financial chaos because 
mortgage brokers can make empty promises, lie, cheat, and steal without 
penalty." ...

<http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_36/b4048008.htm>

Carl

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