By Liz Gold, for Planet Waves

вЂњThe bailout is bullshit. WeвЂ™re going to stop it.вЂќ

вЂњThe bailout is bullshit. You broke it, you bought it.вЂќ

вЂњNo bail! Send them to jail!вЂќ

These were the chants heard over and over again as protesters infiltrated the Stock Exchange Thursday in ManhattanвЂ™s financial district. These rallying cries were urgent, guttural, angry and directed at President BushвЂ™s plan to spend upwards of $700 billion to make up for the disastrous Wall Street shakedown.

Protester in New York’s financial district Thursday afternoon. Photo by Liz Gold.

The proposal, announced by the president Wednesday evening, would allow the treasury to buy troubled assets with the hope of restoring confidence to the credit markets. On Thursday, Democrats and Republicans battled it out in Washington D.C. in an effort to come up with a nonpartisan counterproposal. Instead, they are at a standstill unable to agree on what needs to be done revealing their divisiveness – even in the face of a profound crisis that affects all American people.

Needless to say, people are pissed.

вЂњIвЂ™m here because IвЂ™m furious that the government is considering giving $700 billion to financial companies,вЂќ said Hannah from Queens. вЂњIs there money for healthcare? No. Is there money for education? No. But there is a trillion dollars for multi-million companies? ItвЂ™s crazy.вЂќ

The protest was a call to self-organize set forth by Arun Gupta, a journalist at the Indypendent newspaper, who sent an e-mail to friends and colleagues earlier in the week that quickly circulated the web and sparked the rally downtown. People brought personal trash and junk to illustrate Wall StreetвЂ™s now worthless assets. The pile, appropriately enough, was stacked on the ground by the famous Bull of Wall StreetвЂ™s back end, aka its balls.

вЂњThis is the financial equivalent of September 11,вЂќ Gupta wrote in his e-mail. вЂњThey think, just like with the Patriot Act, they can use the shock to force through the вЂ?therapy’, and weвЂ™ll just roll over!вЂќ

Starting at the southern end of Bowling Green around the bronze Merrill Lynch bull, protesters started marching to Wall Street where the rally congregated on the steps of the Stock Exchange. Chanting ensued. Cameras were snapping and rolling, journalists were quoting people with their notepads. Handmade signs with messages such as вЂњBail Me Out Too,вЂќ circulated within the crowd – which was in the hundreds. All this while business people in suits and ties dodged the rally the best they could, many with BlackBerry to ear, annoyed and somewhat smug at the situation.

One disgruntled man grumbled, вЂњMotherfuckersвЂќ while briskly walking through the shoulders of people.

Protesters on the steps of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday afternoon protest the proposed bailout for investment banks. Photo by Liz Gold.

вЂњThe idea of just handing our money to Wall Street is dog poop,вЂќ said Eric from Brooklyn, who happened to be carrying a blue bag of fake dog doo. вЂњThatвЂ™s what weвЂ™ve been asked to do. These guys lost all our money and now they want us to refill their bank accounts with our money. ThatвЂ™s insane. For every dollar we give them, we need a dollar worth of equity in their company.вЂќ

Some financial folks, however, got right in with the protesters. One smiled but refused to talk with me, but his sign, вЂњThe crimes are endless. Drive out the Bush regimeвЂќ said it all. Another shrugged and said he didnвЂ™t have an opinion. His buddy, though, did.

вЂњItвЂ™s necessary for the entire economic structure,вЂќ offered вЂњBobвЂќ from New Jersey, clad in an expensive suit, clutching his cigarette like a gangster. вЂњThereвЂ™s the potential that the government can make money off this because they are buying assets. They are going to get 11 percent.вЂќ

Then Bob got a little more real: вЂњI think what happened was a mistake, yes. The money train was rolling but nobody thought it was going to stop.вЂќ

Tony, an investment banker who works in the financial district, was watching the crowd dissolve from the Stock Exchange steps and flow down Broad Street. He said he thought most people really didnвЂ™t understand the scope of what was going on.

вЂњI think a lot of people are putting a lot of blame on Wall Street but you have to put the blame on the home owner in Iowa who makes 50 grand a year and wants a $500,000 house, the head of the local bank that gives the loan to that person, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that package those loans together and the people on Wall Street who paid too much for those packaged assetsвЂќ said Tony, who identifies as a democrat.

вЂњTo be honest, I think the bailout is the right solution. They [just] have to figure out how to do it. I think itвЂ™s going to end up better for the taxpayer in the long run and in the short term it will make the market more stable.вЂќ

Daren and Dara in Battery Park after the Wall Street bailout protest. Photo by Liz Gold.

The protest threaded through the Wall Street area, with police officers standing off on both sides, mainly on motorcycles and on foot. When asked how many officers were dispatched to the scene, an officer refused to answer. When asked if he knew the rally was taking place today, the same officer replied, вЂњI canвЂ™t tell you that.вЂќ

Heading towards Battery Park, where a mime of the Statue of Liberty stands with tourists as they take photographs, the last of the protesters gathered around a fountain, a cruise ship as a backdrop. Drumming calmed the crowd, while the rally slowly dissipated. Walking toward the subway, a couple was perched peacefully on a bench, as the man holds up a sign that perhaps sums up the plight of many: вЂњIвЂ™ve got a 4.0 GPA, $90,000 in debt and no job. Where is my bailout?вЂќ