Brother, Can You Spare $700 Billion?

I've been too wrapped up in our little ol' MidPoint Music Festival event to pay close attention to the political maneuvering around the federal bailout of Wall Street and Sen. John McCain's bailing on tonight's debate. But the debate seems to be back on, and it should be quite a show.

I'm just flabbergasted by the back-to-back weirdness of McCain dropping his campaign to rush back to Washington to oversee the Wall Street bailout plan, then apparently sitting through the big meeting with President Bush and Sen. Barack Obama and not saying anything of substance, and of Gov. Sarah Palin asserting once again that she has foreign policy experience because Alaska is next to Russia. It would all be a joke if the presidential election weren't such a serious matter.

Looking to bone up more on what exactly this $700 billion bailout is supposed to fix, I found this helpful essay on DailyKos. Of course Congress is going to go along with the plan, trimming a few edges off here and there, but the lack of details is outrageous.

Enjoy tonight's debate! I'll be out at MidPoint and taping it to watch it tomorrow, so don't tell me how it ends!

— John Fox

Comments

[Not the Mamma Cass!]

Color me shocked that your three linked-to references critizicing McCain-Palin are leftist!

Wall Street isn't being bailed out- sub-prime mortgage debtors who took out loans they can't afford to repay are being bailed out. That's a good thing, no?

[David E. Gallaher]

As a peaceful anarchist, I look forward to the day when folks will look to capitalism as the refuge in tumultuous times rather than to government. After all, government intervention into free markets is what causes panic, so why should the causer of problems be the answer?

A positive sign may be that more folks here in the US are finally discovering that round-abouts are to be preferred over 4-way stops?

[John Fox]

Mamma, from what I can make out, not a single penny of the $700 billion bailout will find its way to a person who can't pay his or her subprime mortgage. All of it goes to Wall Street firms to buy up their mortgage-based securities. This bailout is not for the average person having a hard time paying a mortgage. So, yes, I find this plan not to be a good thing.

Here are a few sentences from an article earlier today on Yahoo News, not a leftist media outlet:

"WASHINGTON -- Congressional leaders said Saturday they hoped to reach an agreement on a multibillion-dollar bailout plan for the financial sector before the markets open Monday, even if House and Senate votes would come later. ... The bailout is intended to rescue bankers from bad loans that threaten to derail the economy and plunge the country into a long depression. Lawmakers likened the situation to a major car wreck that has backed up traffic -- credit, in this case -- for miles. The rescue is meant to remove the wreckage so credit can start moving to borrowers again. ... Some Democrats still want a provision allowing bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgages to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Thune said that would be 'a deal-breaker' for Republicans."

So GOP lawmakers are fighting the idea that any amount of the $700 billion would go to "help homeowners avoid foreclosure."

My main point here is that you and I clearly have little idea of the details of this colossal bailout, and I expect no details will be offered until the ink is dry and the deal is done. Taxpayers will guarantee $700 billion (with a "b") to Wall Street firms and not a single average ordinary American will get any help paying off their mortgage. What a country!

[Justin Jeffre]

Only in America, the best democracy money can buy.

Hey Mr. Fox, do you know which presidential candidate predicted this meltdown almost ten years ago?