Actually, the rich guys, and the slightly less rich guys get stiffed with taxes to bail themselves out. The guy who can only afford 20 shares doesn't actually pay enough in taxes to even cover HIS shares bit of bailout, much less anyone else's.
The only people who have a right to complain about wall street bail outs are those paying enough that they are actually contributing to bail outs in a meaningful way. That means meaningful income tax payments. No, payroll taxes don't count, since those workers can expect a positive return on their payroll tax investment (even properly counting the "employer" contribution). The bail outs---like every other government expense in the US---are overwhelmingly paid for by the top tier of taxpayers.
The most funny thing to me is that most people hear "1%" and likely think of a lifestyle actually akin to the top 0.1%, or even 0.01%. People just in the top 1% are your neighbors, parents to your kids' friends, etc. They are not pals with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. The top 1% is a couple million taxpayers, the vast majority of whom make under 500k a year. In major metro areas (where most of them live), that sort of income gives you a pretty mundane lifestyle.
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"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." — Thomas Paine
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