The new "Let them eat cake!"

The new "Let them eat cake!"
10 shocking, illuminating moments that prove just how out of touch the powerful really are
By David Sirota
Salon.com

"Let them eat cake" is a phrase composed of four simple, easy-to-remember words, which is probably why it became so emblematic of a larger set of ideas. "Suck it up and cope" is a phrase made up of five similarly simple and memorable words, which is why it may well replace "Let them eat cake" in the annals of history.

Yes, "Suck it up and cope" -- that is what billionaire Charlie Munger said that the unemployed, the homeless and the impoverished should do as their lives are torn apart by the recession.

Of course, had he said the same thing about bailed-out banks, his now-infamous line might have just seemed like the innocuous rant of a crotchety geezer who might be a little too zealous about old-school principles. But no, Munger made the remark during a 2010 speech to University of Michigan students in which he first lauded bankers as people who "saved your civilization" and then urged all Americans to bow down and "thank god" that the bailouts preserved the financial industry's profits.

And so we end this feature with a worthy successor to "Let them eat cake": "Suck it up and cope."