The Great Recession “recovery” abandoned working people, while introducing an insidious new discourse on economic recovery. We didn’t blame up. No bank, no CEO was ever held responsible for their immoral actions that almost brought our economy to a halt. Instead, as the recovery got underway, we were told to blame downwards.
Who was to blame for the Great Recession? Not the bankers. It was those immigrants who came to take good jobs away from Americans. It was those high-paid union workers like teachers, with their gold-plated pensions and health care plans—and summers off. The theme was, Why should my tax dollars pay for teachers’ benefits when I don’t have any?
Corporate America was incredibly successful in shifting the blame off itself and substituting a discourse of scarcity. CEOs watched as the rest of us fought with each other, blaming down.