Includes bibliographical references and index.

American beliefs about the wealthy are changing / Michael Hiltzik -- Investment bankers are responsible for the American financial crisis / Bill Buzenberg -- Investment bankers are not responsible for the American financial crisis / Jim Reynolds Jr. -- Rich white men--not minorities--caused the American financial crisis / Alex Blaze -- Loans to minorities fueled the American financial crisis / Michelle Malkin -- Wall Street financiers manipulate the stock market to benefit themselves / David C. Korten -- Wall Street bailout recipients should not pay bonuses to employees / Ruth Conniff -- It is necessary to pay bonuses to Wall Street employees / Edward M. Liddy -- The wealthy profit at the expense of the poor and middle classes / Leslie Davis -- The wealthy should pay taxes at a higher rate / George Lakoff and Bruce Budner -- Raising taxes on the wealthy is bad for the economy / George F. Will -- Raising state taxes on the wealthy harms state economies / Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore -- The health care system favors the wealthy and harms the poor / Guy Adams -- The wealthy are monopolizing prime living space / Barbara Ehrenreich -- The addictive striving for wealth has negative social repercussions / Peter C. Whybrow.