Wall Street has turned the economy into a giant asset-stripping scheme, one whose purpose is to suck the last bits of meat from the carcass of the middle class.
Interpretation
The quote criticizes the practices of Wall Street that exploit the middle class for profit.
Matt Taibbi's quote highlights the detrimental impact of Wall Street on the economy and the middle class, suggesting that financial institutions prioritize profit-making over the well-being of ordinary people. He views the actions of these institutions as a systematic depletion of resources from the middle class, describing it metaphorically as a process of stripping away the last remnants of value from a once-thriving segment of society.
In practice
During a lecture on economic inequality, one might cite this quote to emphasize the exploitation of the middle class by wealthy financial institutions.
You win the modern financial-regulation game by filing the most motions, attending the most hearings, giving the most money to the most politicians and, above all, by keeping at it, day after day, year after fiscal year, until stealing is legal again.
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