I agree with your sentiment.  The entitlement mentality is incredibly destructive.  I am always amazed by those who want everything and don't want to work for it.  And, the OWLS are extremely fragmented - they don't seem to have any common theme.

I saw a video interview with several of them in New York - most of them were just plain crazy (which I assume was the videographer's goal).  Maybe there are some well organized, cohesive factions within the group, but I haven't seen anything like that so far.

One guy was rambling about how the banks should have been left alone to fail, which is a point of view expressed by many outside the OWLs.  But this guy believed that since the government bailed them out, the banks should be socialized - our banking system should be state run.  He was adamant about it!

But, when he was asked if he would feel the same if we had a Republican administration, he paused.  His reaction was "God no!"  Well... you can't have it both ways - you cannot socialize the banks when we have a Democratic administration, then expect to privatize them if a Republican wins in 2012.  This, for me, just underscored the insanity of the OWL movement.

HOWEVER... to some degree, the OWL movement underscores the insanity of our government, too.  Our government created many of the problems we have today, and I can agree with the general sentiment of the protest - the people are not satisfied with our elected leadership. 

Just to give you a couple of examples... the government tinkered with the housing market to help everyone become a homeowner.  It caused a housing bubble, pushing up housing prices to the point where practically nobody can become a homeowner.  Banks aren't able to make "good loans" anymore, housing prices have dropped causing nearly half the existing homeowners to owe more than their homes are worth. 

The government wanted everyone to have the opportunity to get a college education, and the student loan program has caused the price of education to rise.  Now college graduates incur unsustainable debt (that is non-dischargable in bankruptcy) and many cannot get a job.

When this all blows up, the government is right there with a bailout for the banks and the auto industry.  But, there is nothing there for the PEOPLE who were caught in the disaster.

My point is... it may not be right for the PEOPLE to expect a handout, but is it right for large corporations to get public assistance when it isn't available to those who need it the most?

Right, as usual, Robert. The best source for the facts on government's involvement in creating this crisis is: Wallison, "Dissent from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report" January, 2011.

Keep the Faith

35 years ago, 1976, was the year Jimmy Carter was elected 39th president.

And if you take in all the unfunded stuff and contingents like pension fund liabilities it may be north of $115,000,000,000,000.00. That would be somewhere around $375,000.00 per man, woman and child or $1,500,000.00 per family of four!!

No Handle on Debt

The ones who have put us in this mess are Washington and Wall Street! They were the ones who designed the system and demanded our trust.

However inarticulate the protestors or however mischaracterized these events may become the system has betrayed those who believed in hard work in exchange for reward and success!

It's about attitudes with leaders such as John Corzine, the former president of Goldman-Sachs and governor of New Jersey. He has been running MF Global which declared bankruptcy today. The reason was "the bet" on the movement of European sovereign debt. He lost because he made a bad wager in the Wall Street Casino!! To what benefit to any of us was "a bet" on the value of debt??

He had guided the firm to borrow over 5 times its net worth. I would like to know anyone reading these pages who could go to the bank and borrow five times their net worth to place "a bet" on the direction of debt!! And I'll guarantee you MF Global was paying interest far below any rate available to the general working person!

Losses will accrue to JP Morgan and BofA! Who will pay??

But let's keep climbing and chipping away at our $375,000.00 personal indebtedness to keep these bookies in their Gulfstream jets!!

And thanks for the good if horrifying statistics,  Mr. Bell. 

Cameras do seem to focus on OWS people who are not as articulate as others might be.

I can't disagree there are a few among the OWS'ers with an errant sense of entitlement. But most Americans aren't lazy.  We're frustrated.  It was once possible to pull one's self up by the bootstraps, and many people in fact did.  By and large, most people are simply venting frustration, however inartfully,  at the situtation in which we find ourselves.  A common theme is that government is in the pocket of WS.   Our elected oficials seem to have been asleep at the wheel, or worse.  People are livid about TARP bailout and the refusal of that same gang who unbelievably received billions more for HAMP refusing to grant the homeowner any meaningful relief.  The fact that the government gave that same gang these monies for HAMP instead of administering the funds itself speaks volumes and is an inherent admission of the systemic problems with unravelling the true financial interests in our homes. Back in l976, it would have been possible to rely on public record.  

JP Morgan and B of A's likely realization of losses from MF Global's debacle ls another symptom of a system gone far, far astray.    

John,

MF Global is but one example. This firm, reported by CNBC, had leveraged its positions in the debt casino 35 to 1!! And these leveraged positions were by virtue of loans from JP Morgan and Bank of America!! It is beyond belief that the American people allow these lenders to make loans which, in turn, are used to "place wagers" on further indebtedness!! This, while it is crystal clear, that the claims currently existing are beyond our abilities!

And keep in mind the average hourly wage of a working American based on the most recent jobs report was $23.12 per hour or about $50k per year. It is calculated that Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan earns about $10,000.00 per hour according to Bloomberg!!

One begins to give-a-damn when the amount taken from one's paycheck goes to provide bailout-funds and near 0% interest rates for those demanding their fortunes and salaries be kept intact after monumental mismanagement and corruption!