Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for September 25, 2017
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
September 25, 2017: Eight years ago today, protests against the proposed bank bailouts took place in more than 100 cities across the nation.[1] The Los Angeles Times reported that “the increasingly loud roar coming from all corners of the nation shows that the idea of a bailout has touched a particularly sensitive nerve among the public.”[2]
At that time, the New York Times said, “Americans’ anger is in full bloom.”[3]
Significantly, the protests took place a day after opposing presidential candidates Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R) issued a joint statement stressing the need to pass a bailout plan.[4] The support for the bailouts among established political leaders from both parties stood in marked contrast to the public opposition found across the political spectrum.
Public anger over the bailouts eventually led to the creation of the tea party, a history recorded in a book I wrote with Doug Schoen: Mad As Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System.
Public anger grew over time as many believed that political leaders were more interested in protecting Wall Street than Main Street. That reality was described in a book by Neil Barofsky, who served as inspector general for the bailout fund. The former prosecutor’s book, Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street, describes how “his efforts to protect against fraud and to hold the big banks accountable were met with outright hostility from Treasury officials.” Barofsky noted his own surprise that the hostile reaction remained the same when the Bush administration officials were replaced with Obama administration officials.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- September 22, 2017 – 48% of Democrats call themselves liberal
- September 21, 2017 – 50% of millennials would give up voting to have student loans forgiven
- September 20, 2017 – 1,597 bank branches closed by Bank of America since 2009
- September 19, 2017 – 60 percent of second-generation Mexican immigrants describe themselves as typical Americans
- September 18, 2017 – 64 percent of Americans have positive view of police
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 13 WHAM, "Rochester Protest Against Bailout One of Many Across Country," September 26, 2008
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Masses aren't buying bailout," September 26, 2008
- ↑ The New York Times, "Constituents Make Their Bailout Views Known," September 24, 2008
- ↑ CNN, "McCain, Obama headed to Washington for bailout talks," September 25, 2008
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