The international financial crisis of several years ago cost  finance capital trillions of dollars, even though the US bailed them out with 15 to 20 trillion dollars (the same US that allegedly owes a big chunk of its national debt to the banksters it bailed out; shouldn't we have gotten a forgiveness of the "debt" we "owe" them ?) Even with the bailout there was a big loss to finance capital.  Transnational finance is recouping that loss by forcing austerity programs on social spending in the US ( just happened led by the Republicans, not just Tea Party – the whole Republican party); happened in Greece, Spain, Britain, Ireland, France et al over the last year. The Mad Tea Party House attack on social spending must be seen in the context of the Wall Street crisis, and Wall Street making the working class pay for its massive losses. March on Wall Street!