Don't blame Wall Street, It's all the Fault of Cops and Teachers

It was never really a "fair fight." What we’re talking about is who won what politicians refer to as the "blame game."

Like the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart once said, "If you don’t want to play the blame game, odds are you’re the one to blame."

Wall Street won and public employees lost if you’re keeping score.

At the beginning of the great recession several years ago, a group of extremely wealthy men, some hedge fund managers, others entrepreneurs turned one of the millionaire-congressmen and women holding state and national office, faced a terrifying reality.

The economy was so bad that people were actually angry and someone had to pay. The increasingly angry voting public always wants their pound of flesh when disaster strikes.

The target of this palpable rage was Wall Street and the irresponsible, reckless and in many cases formerly criminal acts of a few brought what many call the greatest nation on Earth to the brink of self-annihilation.

This terrifying reality led to what is now referred to as the Banksters bailout. U.S. taxpayers ponied up close to a trillion dollars so that no one on Wall Street would have to drive their own car or see even one less "zero" in their annual six-figure bonus to be added to a seven-figure salary.

The Obama Administration, which seems to feel the way about Wall Street the way that that Red Sox fans feel about Ted Williams, did anything and everything humanly possible to keep hope alive in the halls of high-finance power.

The bailout, the White House and Wall Street (formerly known as CitiGroup) told us these painful but necessary sacrifices on behalf of the working man would "jump-start the economy" and improve the ability of small businesses to start hiring. Unemployment would fall and while no one was expecting the "dot-com" bubble of the 90’s, there would be some return to economic norms.

It was probably the greatest hustle ever perpetrated on the American people.
What’s happened since is the single most effective and expensive public relations campaign in American history.

Remember all that rage- all that anger about multi-million dollar bonuses paid to irresponsible 30-something rich kids with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Tammy’s tax dollars?


It’s gone. 

Americans hate a lot of things- but rich people aren’t one of them. Everyone wants to be rich and most of us are afraid that if we say the wrong thing or ask for too much at the bargaining table they won’t let us in the club when that lottery ticket finally comes up a winner.

But cops? "There’s never one around when you need one."

"They play video games on their cruiser computers all day and retire with lifetime health care and six-figure pensions."

The fact that lots of folks actually believe these falsehoods, as well as others like public sector workers earn more than their private sector counterparts, is a testament to the power of the almighty dollar to win hearts and minds.

It may not work in Afghanistan, the whole "hearts and minds" thing, but it’s sure as hell working here.

Cops, teachers, firefighters, nurses and other public employees are now the root of all that’s wrong with America if you read Forbes Magazine or the Wall Street Journal.

It took billions of dollars in P.R. to get the target off the backs of Wall Street banksters and on to the backs of civil servants. But money is power and the plan worked like a charm.

The only question that remains is this- is it too late to change the narrative and will unchecked greed and a federal government without any real power be the end of us?