If it was just a case of the GTVA was running the economy badly I would have to agree. but in this case there is also a charismatic, dare I say messiah like figure, who holds/held a respectable position (lets face it a Fleet admiral is pretty high in the scheme of things) with a lot of support, calling on Terrans to join him in his vision of a new terran home with the vibrancy and culture of Earth, presumably with a vibrant economy, jobs for all, free public health care and the rest of it. In exchange all he is asking people to do is fight against a treaty with an alien species with a superior economy to the terrans who aren't sharing the wealth. To top it all off his credibility is boosted by the GTVA's seeming inability to wipe out his little insurrectionist in a few weeks.
Messiah-like figure? Who?
Admiral Aken Bosch
And economy? True, the humans had a harder time recovering from the Great War than vasudans, but by the time of the Sol Gate opening that would have been ancient history. It practicly is by the time FS2 starts - the reconstruction period is over.
And economicly powerful Earth? Possibly, but I doubt it will have the power it had before the node collapse. Remember, Earth trived on export and many companies had their HQ there. With the node collapse, massive markets are suddenly gone. A large economic crisis is more than likely. Just think what would happen to the US if it were suddenly completely cut off from the rest of the world..
http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Neo-Terran_Front
Bosch's vision of Neo-Terra informs the ideology of his movement. With contact to Earth severed since the end of the Great War, Bosch imagined a new home world for the Terran race, a utopia that would restore the grandeur of the lost world. As the people of Earth once relied on Polaris to help them navigate the seas, the North Star would become the spiritual and political compass for Terrans of the new era. Bosch's message had a profound impact on the so-called "Lost Generation," born during the post-war Reconstruction. Bosch's message resonated with many people, largely because his pro-Terran ideology,
Most of the adult generation by the time of FS2 grew up and worked during reconstruction period and those sorts of memories last a lifetime ask any working class British citizen over 25 about Margaret Thatcher and you will have a good clue what I am on about. Throw into that the resentment the differences between the Vasudan and Terran economies which for 1 would highlight how badly the Terrans were handling things and secondly the fact that significant numbers of people would have thought the vasudans could have done more to help.
Now throw in a person who is literally promising heaven to the terran people, we are talking a world to rival Earth in grandeur, to do this would require a thriving economy which means jobs and wealth, to working class people who grew up in the reconstruction era which is basically a recession, this is the stuff heaven is made of, (these are also the people who build and crew your warships remember).
Also remember that with people like Bosch appearance and promises are more important than fact, lets face it we all know each politician will screw us over on at least some of the promises they make that we find important yet we vote them in anyway, why? Because humans are creatures of hope, we like to hope that we will get what we want even if it is impossible. So is Polaris being a rival of Earth possible, probably not inside a few generations, but Bosch, this visionary, is promising it and even without saying them, all the things that are implied that each person finds important. The fact that He was an Admiral in charge of a fleet gives him credibility, throw in that his comparatively tiny fleet is holding out against the might of the GTVA, this gives him more credibility.
On the xenophobia against the Vasudans I think that came from the wording of NTF propaganda combined with what I said above and was a useful tool for NTF recruitment.
