Pelosi pinpoints jobs as crux of protests

Bloomberg News
Posted: October 09, 2011

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Occupy Wall Street protesters were upset over a lack of employment prospects and government actions that were "not relevant to their lives."

"I think they are angry that they don't have jobs," Pelosi (D., Calif.) told ABC News' This Week program, scheduled for broadcast Sunday. "There's nothing that makes you angrier than not being able to provide for your family or understand what your prospects are for the future."

Americans' pessimism about the economy helped send President Obama's approval rating to 38 percent last week, the lowest of his presidency. The nation's jobless rate, which has been at 9 percent or higher since April, remained at 9.1 percent last month.

The stagnant labor market has limited consumer spending, which grew at 0.7 percent last month, the smallest increase since the last three months of 2009. The European debt crisis threatens to trigger another recession.

The protesters' message to the "establishment," including Wall Street and politicians, is that "change has to happen," Pelosi said on ABC. The U.S. government's bailout of banks has not made capital available to people as expected, she added.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) has called the movement "growing mobs" that are dividing the country. Obama has expressed empathy with the demonstrators while stopping short of endorsing their movement.

Occupy Wall Street began three weeks ago in Manhattan and has spread to other cities, including Philadelphia, Washington, and San Francisco.

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