BAILOUT: Yes or No?

[Koga No Goshi]

I'm currently of the opinion that we're basically screwed either way. We can print 700 billion dollars and have all the problems associated with that, just to get the credit machine running again- the same one that got us into this mess in the first place. Wealthy corrupt businesses will get big fat bailouts from their wealthy corrupt patrons in congress and maybe the unsustainable system can trundle on for a few more years. What's solved then? If we don't do anything we're probably heading for a serious recession. Both options stink, but right now I lean towards letting "nature" run its course.

This is exactly how I have felt, as well. In EITHER scenario, the party that gets screwed is the taxpayer, working and middle class. And maybe some dumb rich people who aren't rich enough to be major CEO's and own corps, but rich enough to have tied tons of money into Wall Street. The people directly responsible for this pyramid scheme? They had their golden parachutes pre-packaged. ANd they KNEW this was coming down; look at how many retired as CEO just months before this came down the pipeline. Look at how whatcha call it... Indy Mac and others were saying they were "just fine" right up until the day it was announced they were entering Federal conservatorship. Liars, the bunch of them.

I think the reason the fear tactic isn't working on us (the normal peon folk) is because the fact that we're in an economic downturn is NOT NEWS TO US LIKE IT APPEARS TO BE TO RICH PEOPLE AND INVESTORS. How long has gas been over $3 a gallon? How long have house values been going down? But, when it hits Wall Street--- then it's a crisis? The American people are stupid, but they weren't stupid enough to panic and start fleeing the theater no matter how many times Bush yelled "FIRE! FIRE!!!"

One of the neat ideas I've heard (this is pure pipedream, I'm sure, but I still love it) is get all these CEO's and execs under RICO laws, and repossess their property up to an equivalent value of what they got out of all of this racketeering. Won't happen, but I am mad for the idea.

To me this is not an issue of "I'm just stubbornly against the bailout because I'm mad at Wall Street fat cats." To me that ship has sailed; they made their money on this pyramid scheme and they're not going to be the ones losing a house (their ONLY house, to boot) over this, or struggling to make ends meet. That falls to us, the peons.

There isn't a pretty solution. I think we get screwed in this either way.

I am really, insanely happy that the first version (the one that 'Republican holdouts' prevented, I suppose), did not get passed:

Quote:
Thanks to the House GOP's intervention, the Paulson plan is also better than it would have been. Republicans helped to eliminate the Barney Frank-Chris Dodd slush fund for liberal housing lobbies; a plank to let judges shield deadbeat homeowners from bankruptcy laws; and a ploy to stack bank boards with union members.

CR I am really confused, a page back weren't you blasting the Democrats for not overwhelmingly voting lockstep to get this bailout passed? I can't even keep track of whether you are for or against the bailout that failed today. I am against it, because of insufficient accountability and the fact that it basically made Paulson into Finance Czar with no oversight of how he choose to dole out the money. Also, while you are busy applauding your little GOP minority for squashing this bill, let's not overlook that the head of the GOP (the President) and the heir apparent (McCain) both pushed for it in unchanged fashion. I agree with others that this partisan crap isn't helping but if you're going to take partisan snipes let's place blame where it's warranted.