10/4/2011 - Mayor Bloomberg Says Occupy Wall Street Poses "Societal Concerns," We Should "Help the Banks"

Source: By Lauren Kelley - Alternet

With "Occupy Wall Street" going strong for two weeks now (and growing stronger by the day), how does New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg feel about it all? True to form, he's being pretty boneheaded about it. Via Runnin' Scared:

New Yorkers need "to help the banks" was Mayor Michael Bloomberg's message to the Occupy Wall Street crowd in his weekly radio appearance on the John Gambling show.

"The protesters are protesting against people who make $40-50,000 a year and are struggling to make ends meet. That's the bottom line," Bloomberg said, presumably meaning service workers on Wall Street, adding that "we all" share blame for taking on too much risk, not just the financial industry.

"And people in this day and age need support for their employers. If the banks don't go out and make loans we will not come out of our economic problems, we will not have jobs so anything we can do that's responsible to help the banks do that is what we need."

Yes, poooooooor Wall Street. Bloomberg also said he wants to ensure that "people who don't want to protest can go down the streets unmolested" and cited "societal concerns," such as sanitation. Asked if the city would allow the protests to continue, the mayor said only, "We'll see."