Main Street Skeptics Slam Bailout Scheme

While Wall Street stands to gain in the federal bailout, many on Main Street are deeply skeptical, the Washington Post finds in a heavily foreclosed-upon Virginia community. “I've been financially responsible with my own money. Why should I now be responsible for the fact that you were not?” wonders one local. Many agree, and the government has hardly tried to convince them otherwise.

Though President Bush finally gave Main Street some lip service Friday, many in Manassas Park, Va., don’t seem satisfied. “If I spent more money than I have, I don't deserve to have somebody bail me out,” says another resident. There seems little doubt about the root cause, however: “Greed. I think anybody can see that.” (More Main Street stories.)