The Occupy Wall Street movement found unlikely sympathy from a top official of one of the main targets of scorn: the US Federal Reserve.
Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher surprised a business group in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday when he said: “I am somewhat sympathetic — that will shock you.”
The Fed played a key role in one of the protest targets, the 2008 Wall Street bailout that critics say let banks enjoy huge profits while average Americans suffered high unemployment and job insecurity.
“We have too many people out of work,” Fisher said.
“We have a very uneven distribution of income. We have too many people out of work for too long. We have a very frustrated people, and I can understand their frustration,” he said.
US President Barack Obama and US Vice President Joe Biden also acknowledged the frustration and anger of the protesters on Thursday.
Biden, speaking at the Washington Ideas Forum, likened the protest movement to the “Tea Party,” which sprang to life in 2009 after Obama’s election and has become a powerful conservative grass-roots force helping elect dozens of Republicans to office.
“The American people do not think the system is fair,” Biden said.
With support from unions boosting the protesters’ ranks, organizers predicted the momentum would build across the country.
“This is the beginning,” said John Preston in Philadelphia, business manager for Teamsters Local 929. “Teamsters will support the movement city to city.”
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