SocraticGadfly: Bill Keller, smug anti-#OWS #NYT bastich

October 16, 2011

Bill Keller, smug anti-#OWS #NYT bastich

Keller rightly applauds Slovakia for throwing a temporary monkey-wrench into the latest round of EU bailouts for Greece. But, he has to add this:
By signaling that it was running out of patience, it struck more fear into the hearts of the world’s bankers than the cumulative protests of Occupy Wall Street have done in a month of poster-waving.
Followed by this, talking about Liberia:
Last Tuesday Liberia held an election in which the two top presidential candidates were both Harvard-educated — and not in the least ashamed of it!
The rest of the column is a snide dig at the Occupy Wall Street movement through looking at good news elsewhere in the world. Don't get me wrong. I'm skeptical about OWS, but in part precisely because Bill Keller's smug, snide, Harvard-educated neoliberal friends want to co-opt it.

I guess Keller ignored Paul Krugman, either today's column or past efforts. He notes the whining - but from Wall Streeters, not OWS.
On Saturday The Times reported what people in the financial industry are saying privately about the protests. My favorite quote came from an unnamed money manager who declared, “Financial services are one of the last things we do in this country and do it well. Let’s embrace it.”
So, making money off encouraging other businesses to outsource so we can't manufacture stuff well should be rewarded? Exploiting many investors based on mortgage companies exploiting would-be homeowners should be rewarded?

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