Mayor Bloomberg rapped Wall Street protesters as misguided — saying their demonstrations are targeting working class people whose jobs are tied to the financial sector, not the rich.
“The protesters are protesting against people who make $40,000 to $50,000 a year who are struggling to make ends meet. That’s the bottom line,” Blooomberg said on his WOR 710 radio show this morning.
The demonstrators, who have camped out in Zucotti Park, say they’re protesting against a financial system that favors corporations and the wealthy. They’re also protesting against the police department’s treatment of demonstrators and minorities.
But hizzoner suggested it’s imprudent to scapegoat the financial sector during a shaky economy.
“If the banks don’t make loans, we will not come out of our economic problems. We will not have jobs,” he said.
Bloomberg was coy when asked how the NYPD would handle protests expected later today. He said while people have a right to protest, other citizens have a right “to walk down down the street unmolested.”