People who think investment bankers make too much money have converged on Wall St. to protest that executives there earn millions and they do not. Bankers who barely survived the credit crisis and the government investigations that followed do not care about meek protestors. The worst of what shattered their banker’s world is a year or two behind them. So a ragtag army of disaffected people now will not even cause the millionaires in tall office buildings to look up from the piles of money on their desks.
The Wall St. protests are a great example of people who pick the wrong place to gather. The head of MoveOn.org, Justin Ruben, told the AP, “From our perspective, we’re protesting kind of the greed that led to the collapse of our economy. The fact that these banks aren’t paying their fair share.” It would be hard for historians to find a time when bankers were taxed at a rate that would satisfy the desires of the average American, who makes only about $50,000 a year.
It is Washington who will have to do something to make the very wealthy pay a great deal more, their “fair share,” if anyone can. Protestors would be better off in front of the White House or the Capitol. The protestors could at least threaten to vote for new representation. What bankers make or pay in taxes is not effected at all by the views of the average American.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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