Grandma Takes On Goldman Sachs in Chicago

Editor's note: Grandmas went storming Goldman Sachs HQ in Chicago over loan mods and I'm compelled to point out here that Grandma has a limited amount of rage. Let's make sure we're directing our rage at the right people and in the right avenue, ok Grandma? There is plenty to be mad at Goldman Sachs about but this Chicago protest might be a tad misguided. Save it, Grandma! End the Fed is on November 22nd, go to NY Fed and demand to know why Goldman Sachs got 100% returns on AIG swaps. - JDA


Rule #1 of civil unrest: If you are going to protest, know what in the hell it is you are protesting against.

WSJ:

Most of the protesters on the Chicago streets Monday appeared to be with a union and many of them were brought in on yellow school buses from across the Midwest. The message was one of ire at bank executives' large bonuses, bank foreclosures and predatory lending.

"I'm here basically for my grandchildren," said Peggy Sower Knoepfle, a protester who traveled in on a bus from Springfield, Ill., with National People's Action. "If we don't stop these foreclosures we're not going to have a country left."

I love - LOVE - the idea of storming Goldman Sachs and demanding they take their bonuses and shove them directly up our broke a$$es but I think there's something missing in the execution of this particular protest. Why would Goldman be involved in loan modifications? They didn't even want TARP money. Trust me, there are plenty of other GS sins to pick from, just make sure they've actually done what you're accusing them of before you attack HQ with the flaming pitchforks, Grandma.

Community bankers should be just as pissed off as the unwashed masses at this point. They are the ones falling by the roadside on Bank Fail Friday - meanwhile Lord Bankfiend probably has his own fluff boy under his desk. Trust me, I get it.

Right rage, wrong targets.

Read the rest via Jr Deputy Accountant (Misplaced Rage Greets Community Bankers in Chicago)