Harvard is a federation of many nearly autonomous entities. The Business School cannot tell the Medical School what to do, etc. By 'fat cats' I meant power centers who can't be commanded to downsize -- at least, not quickly -- by anyone.

The people protesting layoffs were, essentially, protesting this structure, whether they realized it or not. Some of them did realize it, and so were a little more aware than the G-G-P's hypothetical Californian voting for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses.