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Give Thanks We're Not Thanking Wall St.

Be grateful for new skepticism on financial industry

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 25, 2009 8:04 AM CST

(Newser) – There won't be a lot of people thanking the financial industry this Thanksgiving, and that in and of itself may be cause to be thankful, writes Thomas Frank. There's been a shift in thinking and newly skeptical Americans no longer believe that the market is omniscient or that colossal Wall Street bonuses are good news for everybody, Frank writes in the Wall Street Journal.

"Maybe that prickly new mood is what I should be thankful for. We're reading headlines about Ponzi schemes and not instantly brushing them off as irrelevant buzzkill," Frank writes. Conservatives deserve some thanks, too, Frank writes, for while "the tea-party set may be groping toward the answers in entirely the wrong way," they are at least forcing the administration to explain and defend its actions, making sure it can't just coast through the next few elections offering clichés.

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NYSE Euronext market indicators are shown on a board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

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Maybe that prickly new mood is what I should be thankful for. Americans are finally paying attention to issues like financial regulation. We're reading headlines about Ponzi schemes and not instantly brushing them off as irrelevant buzzkill. - Thomas frank

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Give Thanks We're Not Thanking Wall St.