NEW YORK — Concerns over Wall Street practices and economic inequality that have led to sit-ins and rallies in New York and elsewhere reverberated up to the White House on Thursday, with President Barack Obama saying the protesters are expressing the frustrations of the American public.
Obama said Americans see Wall Street as an example of the financial industry not always following the rules.
“We had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country, all across Main Street,” the president said. “And yet you’re still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on abusive practices that got us into this problem in the first place.”
Among protesters, reaction to Obama’s acknowledgment was less than enthusiastic. “His message is that he’s sticking to the party line. . . . But he’s not proposing any solutions,” said Thorin Caristo, 37, an antique-store owner from Plainfield, Conn.
