Do the steps being taken by the U.S. government restore your confidence in the economy?

you got better ideas? let's hear'em. stop whining, do something constructive.

This Government needs to be removed and we need to start a fresh. McCant gets on tv this morning trying to be reserved and calm and speak real eloquently, and you can steal see the lies in his face. Sarah paLIE and John mcCANT look very very shaken as if they have no clue. THEY LOOKED SCARED STRAIGHT AND NERVOUS. Obama needs to continue to come out swinging that BAT OF TRUTH because it is something they can not run from. Everytime the truth comes out and hits them square in the face, IT BREAKS THE REPS DOWN MORE AND MORE. I kept saying you cannot fool americans especially when they are struggling from day to day. You have people living in tents in this country THATS LUDACRIS. While you sit back and choose which of your seven houses you will sleep in tonight. McCant is out Of touch and out of mind YOU CANNOT HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TO McSAME no way no how and then you say you tried to do something exactly 2 years ago about this economic problem? WELL MCSAME THATS ANOTHER LIE BECAUSE YOUR RECORD SHOWS DIFFERENT.
Funny how Obama warned people 2 years ago about this current situation then you come out and say you also tried to warn people 2 years ago lol YOU JUST CANT GET OFF OBAMA'S JOCK.
So get on tv MCLAME and tell us more lies because thats what you think we want to hear, then we will run to the polls and vote for 4 more years of the same.
You are actually going against people you help put into place. THATS LIKE ME STARTING MY OWN BUSINESS AND IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS AND THEN WHEN I SEE IT FAILS I POINT MY FINGERS AT THE PEOPLE RUNNING MY BUSINESS INSTEAD OF TAKING THE BLAME MYSELF
EVERYONE YESTERDAY SAID YOU WOULD GET ON TV TODAY AND BE CALM AFTER OBAMA HANDED IT TO YOU YESTERDAY YOU STILL HAVE A LONG RECORD OF MESS YOU NEED TO OWN UP TO.

something is wrong with you, honey.
handouts to the poor? How dare they bail out the working poor that clearly pay the cost for the rich and very rich to prosper in this country.
corporate WELFARE is fine, because that benefits your class of people, but the people that were duped by you and your unconsiconable children employing predatory practices, into believing that they could afford the mortgages they were offered should further foot the bills?
you will answer to the God you worship.
your greedy grasping and entitled children will pay as well.

you continue to follow mccain and in very short order you are going to find that you will no longer be able to afford what you.

I will see you in the hood.

And MSNBC is their propaganda wing. It's amazing how if you type anything that sways from pushing the Republican/Democratic monopoly it doesn't get posted. Good show with the censorship MSNBC, you never fail to disappoint.

Vote for a third party or flush the country down the drain. Both "mainstream" candidates come from parties that have done nothing but continually fail us and drive this country into the ground. If you want to destroy your country keep buying into the two party monopoly. If you want to save it vote for someone that really cares about this country and knows the economy, like Dr. Paul. Oh, that's right. I forgot he's a nut case because he actually has answers instead of rhetoric.

How do you Republican Trolls (paid posters) have the nerve to comment when you have led our country on the road to communism.... all in the name of democracy? 1)Government bailouts - when did that become a Republican mantra
2)Bigger Government - sure happened in the last 8 years
3)Selective takeover of failing companies - then owning them - can we say communism at its worst?
4)Loss of individual liberties in the name of security - can you say one you give up one to support the other - you achieve neither?
5)Not fixing the core problems that caused this- can we say greed at the top?
6)Blaming others for your failed policies- Ok.. that is a Republican stronghold! Sad sad sad .... you destroy this country - all in the name of what? .... Obama/Bidden 08 - May not be the best solution - but for now it is the ONLY solution

This does not resolve a thing. The reason it happened needs to be fixed not the end result. If you do not fix the problem, we will be bailing it out again a 10 years. Wipe out the average american's debt and their charge card will be max out in less than a year. The move helped the market and people who have money to put in it, but nothing for the average american. NO WHINING, JUST FACT

Bob, you forget, ANTI-ABORTIONISTS are ONE ISSUE VOTERS, forget economics, forget foreign policy, forget any other social issue, forget the person you are voting for is a crook, liar, thief, scoundral, male chauvanist, etc... they vote one issue only anti-abortion.

ANTI-ABORTIONISTS are a VERY FORMIDABLE FORCE that we need to unite against - tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your co-workers, there are more important issues than voting for the same failed policies of the last eight years...

p.s. I like to add that to anti-abortionists, its okay not to kill Christian Babies, but its okay to kill and maime innocent men, women, children and BABIES 1/2 way around the world - they are HYPOCRITS... anti-abortionists should be the most anti-neocon people there are but instead they ARE THE MOST NEO-CON PEOPLE THERE IS.... again the TRUE hypocrits that are heading to hell...

YES! The government is buying up home foreclosures, these banks and other institutions (bailed out) the government now own much of the United States businesses and homes...this is what communism is people...WHERE THE GOVERNMENT OWNS OR HAS STAKE IN EVERYTHING!!! The presidential seats should be regulated and required to have an extensive educational background with YEARS OF STUDY in foreign policy, economics, international law, sociology etc. beyond having "real" experience. I can say that I have more foreign policy and economic education than McCain and Palin combined and we the people should be EXTREMELY SCARED that they are putting themselves and political interests BEFORE THE PEOPLE AND THIS NATION!! We are a DEMOCRACY so let's put the "DEMOCRAT" back in this democracy!!! We must wake up and take action before they own ALL of our property!!!

The republican party have been in control for the past 8 years. Are you seriously considering keeping them in for at least another 4 more, you have to be out of your mind. And PALIN as a possible president, what is wrong with these conservatives.

yea I got a better idea: Get the government out of our lives and leave us alone

You are right! The Republican answer to financial crisis has always been lets protect thefinancialcial system! The person who commented about whining sounds like another great Rebuplican , Cheney.
The last Republican bailout the RTC cost every man woman and child in this country $8,000.00. This from a party that changed the bankruptcy laws so that credit card companies could hound citizens. Do you know who owned the biggest S&L bailed out by the RTC
Silverado S&L, Bush's brother! One of the ones they keep in the closet. He then promptly left Arizonia and went to the state with the most liberal bankruptcy laws at that time Florida and filed banruptcy,

Go have some coffee before you start typing. We are a Republic, NOT a Democracy. And the current mess is brought on by the same get rich quick investors that are now backing Obama, and have systematically deregulated the mortgage and investment industries, the same Democrat-run Congress we've had for ever.

To Newswine:

If you think that you are not affected by Wall St. because you do not have money invested STOP posting immediately and go back to school and try learning something. Wall St. effect everyone, banks and lenders especially, do you have a bank account? Do you own a home? a credit card? All efected by the market. On top of that US markets lead world markets, we go down, they all go down, up = up. End of lesson.

No go learn more and stop wasting space here.

And here I always thought we were a democracy (within a Republic framework) ... thanks for the lesson ... now perhaps you can have the politicians and schools correct history ... To quote the encyclopedia:
In republics that are also democracies where the head of state is selected as the result of an election - In some countries the constitution limits the number of terms the same person can be elected as president. This type of democracy was used in Ancient Rome.

Wow .. thanks for trying to confuse everyone... that worked

The scariest part is that Ancient Rome finally fell after imploding, not from being conquered by outsiders. The US is in danger of the same - democracy or republic, either way we are too greedy and driven by instant gratification and need BIG change to drive us to a future worth having! I agree with your earlier post except I don't know about the Obama/Biden part....guess there just isnt much to choose from since a third party will never get elected.

Bush has so polarized our country I will be amazed if the Republican party survives. Under Republican rule it's always been all about big business and never about We The People. They don't care about the 5 million+ people losing their homes and everything they have worked their entire life to gain. I support clean money, clean elections, do you?

saywhat-485833

You must get away from the wing-nut cool aid

Nothing in your post has any factual substance
you say "We are a Republic, NOT a Democracy" wrong we are a democracy look it up
you say "And the current mess is brought on by the same get rich quick investors that are now backing Obama, and have systematically deregulated the mortgage and investment industries, the same Democrat-run Congress we've had for ever"
wrong wrong wrong again
the current mess is brought to you by the lobbyist and the great Greed Over Patriotism party they have in their pockets the same lobbyist that are currently heading john mcbushes campaign The real fact is the Greed Over Patriotism party has controlled both Congress and the white house for 6 of the last 8 years and controlled the congress for 5 years before that so all your buddies in the Greed Over Patriotism party are responsible for the deregulation of wall street and now that it is imploding have no problem using tax payer dollars to bail out the rich

when will this country wake up Greed Over Patriotism party = big business and the rich

Things wrong with this country:
james4obama
bob, lincoln county, NC
kjacks08
matt
...

Every single post has at least one spelling error. The real problem is the stupid people voting for these candidates. I think it's a sad day when America can't @!$%# in proper English. Everyone can see things are bad. Democrats need to stop hating on the Republicans and realize that they aren't the answer either. Is it really the governments fault that people don't know how to use credit?

This move will create huge inflation. Do you think my 401K will lose half its buying power, or more than that? I'd rather the stock market wasn't propped up and a dollar stayed somewhere close to a dollar.

This is going to create huge inflation and is essentially a cut in my pay and loss of a large part of my savings. I don't feel "rescued".

Whenever the Bush administration demands quick action, I think Iraq war, Patriot act, Telecom immunity. He's pushing congress to leap before looking. I hope the congress takes the time to write good legislation with serious penalties to any company they bail out. No rewards, maybe some jail time , and certainly bans from working in the financial sector to the CEOs and managers who made this happen. We trusted them with minimal regulation, "self regulation", and they betrayed that trust. All the assets of the bailed out company must become federal property, not just the bad loans. Maybe after the fog clears we can sell the good assets back to the private sector and recoup some of the money we're being blackmailed for now.

How can McCain even look viable after this? Deregulation has been his mantra for 20 years, he freed the thieves to steal.

To saywhat-485833 above: Like I told Chris Adams below, I will be more than happy to give you some of my background history as WE ARE NOT A REPUBLIC:

Associate's in Business Administration
Associate's in Financial Service Management
Bachelor's in Business Administration with emphasis in International Business (magna cum laude)
Bachelor's in Paralegal
Master's in Criminal Justice in Criminal Law and Investigation with emphases in International Crime and Complex Investigations...

Perhaps you should have some coffee and read up on the subject before you start typing. It does not surprise me and I find it very disturbing, that there are those like you out there that are voting for someone who is under investigation for ABUSE OF POWER prior to be chosen as VP.

Let me see ... China builds everything on the world market. Their economy is on the rise.

The USA builds nothing for the world market and our economy is declining .. is on a banana peel on a down hill slope. We were the envy of the world until Reaganomics (Supply Side economics) took hold. Greed at the top and corruption in government became the business model and now the same people who benefited so much from these policies are whining for a government bailout. We can't afford to do this but we can't afford to not do it either. So much for this "Resilient economy"

Why do we whine and complain ? Because its US who suffer the rising costs of EVERYTHING. Is there anyone in the Bush administration responsible for the economic mess who is poor ? NO ! These guys can afford inflation ! Its US who will be paying for their mistakes for years to come, losing our homes, and paying debts they incurred !

If you look at at every department in the executive branch they are filled by people who contribute in some way to getting Republicans elected and a lot of them have ideas that would lead to this sort of thing. Look at the FDA The consumer products people the FDIC FEMA and you will see what I am talking about. They are all Appointees based on party loyalty not what they can accomplish. Deregulation helped get us here and while some make the excuse that it is both parties I see it as the Republicans as the culprit. They are the one who wanted business to be free from constraints. First the go deregulation but there were controls. All it took to go all the way was an executive branch that looked the other way and let business do what they wanted to and the results are what you are seeing. Today's headlines just might be next years headlines with different people in different departments if we are stupid enough to elect another Republican President that just may not be as smart as Bush.

I seriously doubt pawning off all of bad debt onto taxpayers is the correct course of action. Paulson's plan sucks. Period. I do not like it and once again, it is national socialism and corporate welfare in action.

'Stop whining and do something constructive?" Is that you Mr. Phil Gramm? All you Republicans do is whine about the Democrats, then when you get called on your screw-ups, it's everybody else that "whines!" Well I am definitely taking your advice and doing something constructive...namely voting out EVERY single Republican that appears on my ballot!

The action is a temporary fix.

The general population should not be taxed to save those who gambled on the markets. The markets are supposed to be a "risk"... that's why all the advertisements say that you should be able to "RISK your monies" to invest.

Hell... if I could go to Vegas and blow my lifesaving on the Crap Tables and then say... "GAWD, HELP ME!!! I've lost everything!" and the Casinos or the Federal Government bailed me out... I'd be in Vegas everyday... I'd have "nothing to lose."

The tax to pay for this should come from those who have stocks, portfolios that were saved.

WHATEVER tax rate is needed to cover the bill... that is what's charged... the RISK has been applied to those that took it and not to those who don't have the money to RISK.

Again, GREED... "how much CAN I get" rules... it's not what we NEED and anymore, but what I WANT... NOW!

Obama will increase taxes? how do you think the gvt is going to pay for this bail out?TAXES, this is Bush's and the republicans little gift to the American people, the biggest debt ever, while he and his oil and war pals dance their way to the bank.

800 military bases around the world !!! 600 Billion dollars a year military budget when China or russia's military budget is less than 60 Billion dollars.. THIS IS INSANE !! THIS IS PURE MADNESS !!!!

NOW, WONDER WHY THERE IS NO MONEY LEFT FOR THE PEOPLE??

Americans have been living far beyond our means for far too long. This was not the "fault" of any politician or party. The crisis was fueled by a failure on the part of Americans to pay their mortgages. We refinanced and took out home equity loans that did not reflect the market value of our homes. We spent money we didn't have.

Did the banks make it too easy? Yes . . and those policies were mandated in the Clinton years. Banks don't WANT to make bad loans, but they were forced to it by mandates to "make housing affordable" and "not discriminate". So we can blame the banks or blame whoever you want, but the bottom line is this: People spent money they didn't have, took out home equity loans and mortgages they couldn't pay, and then defaulted. Now just because the bank consented to give you the money, does that mean you had to take it?

This is our wake-up call. We have to start behaving like adults. I know it's easier to blame "corporate greed" and CEOs, but this thing was called a mortgage crisis because it consisted of a lot of mortgage defaults. The free ride is over. Now we have start spending money we actually have. We've all been told for years that we should save a greater percentage of our incomes, and not spend money like drunken sailors. Guess what? It was true! Who knew Mom and Dad could be right?

""I hope the congress takes the time to write good legislation with serious penalties to any company they bail out. No rewards, maybe some jail time , and certainly bans from working in the financial sector to the CEOs and managers who made this happen. We trusted them with minimal regulation, "self regulation", and they betrayed that trust. ""

EXACTLY, Condew. I don't mind a bailout IF there are provisions in place to punish those who caused the problem and safeguards make sure it never happens again. To let the fat cat, incompetent bankers sail off on their yachts while we bail them out would be a slap in the face to every hardworking American

Smitty, you make some legitimate points but I find it interesting that you are so willing to let the bankers off the hook and put all the blame on the borrowers. Don't forget, some of the lenders took advantage of people and lied to them to make the sale. Plus, no one FORCED banks to take risks they didn't want to take. I cover banks as a reporter and I know of many smaller institutions that backed off and refused to get involved in the crazy mortgage programs that were out there. Now they are sitting pretty with few foreclosures. The underwriting power was always with the banks.

Yes, some people got in over their heads and should have known better. But many others were doing just fine until the economy went sour and they lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

I think the blame should be put on both sides

I think Smitty was spot on. We live in a new neighborhood as 50+ empty nesters. Our house barely makes the minimum square footage covenant, we have the only clothesline and vegetable garden for blocks around, our cars are paid for and over 10 years old.

While others have boats, Harley's, etc. we have been saving with a passion for the last 20 years, the goal - mortgage payoff and a 7 digit nest egg, and we are within months of doing so.

There is, and always have been hard luck stories, the media is perfected its process for finding them and making them known to all of us for political fodder. We struggled through the Carter years of 14% interest rates and inflation, but emerged stronger and more determined. We all will this time as well, better prepared for the future.

Our economy is more sound than the bloggers and media would like you to know. I have worked for a Fortune 500 company for over 35 years, our business is growing and includes exports to China and India. The reports of the death of manufacturing in the US are widely exaggerated. I travel the USA and the world, and believe me, we have it very good here in the US.

But we have become a very impatient society, and want things now, as enabled by easy credit. Restaurants are full, as well as football stadiums at $72 per average ticket, I could go on and on. We need to return to basic personal financial conservatism and make responsible decisions.

I have no real favorite presidential candidate, realizing neither can accomplish everything they are saying, we are not electing a king. I have contacted both incumbents congressional members form our locale, asking them about their positions on the economy and energy. I suggest you all do the same. If they are not aligned to you, vote them out, that is where real change will occur as congress appropriates all spending.

Really thought this through didn't you Republican posters ? Do you think us holding the bag for these payouts are a reflection on your fairness - your ability to deregulate .. or is this republican idea of parity ... grow up people .. this is greed and every one was/is a republican... booster of McCain/Bush... this is the golden parachute we are paying ON TOP of the salaries thanks to not only deregulation - but the creed of greed ...

CEO Merril Lynch - O'Neal - $161.5MILLION
CEO - AIG - $54 million (2 former CEO's in the last 2 years) CEO Lehman Brother - Fuld - $22 Million
CEO Fanny and Freddi (combined) $26.5Million (regulators are trying to ax this) CEO Bear Stearns - $61.5Million

And this is just examples.... why????? Greed - run a PUBLIC company into the ground - make sure the government will pay you - then rape it with a golden parachute.. way to go deregulators .. sure worked for us little folk - we get to pay in the long run for this quality of government oversight....

Bob have you noticed that the dems are just as responsible for this fiasco?? or are you just biased against republicans???? tell the whole story and quit blaming one party...try being honest

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight..... > * If you grow up in Hawaii , raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'

* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story. > * If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow , Trig and Track, you're a maverick. > * Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded. > * If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive. > * If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month,
you're a Christian. > * If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you're very responsible. > * If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represenAmerica's.

* If you're husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the ecession of Alaska rom the USA , your family is extremely admirable.

Ok Now It' Clear To Me!!!!!

How about helping out those who are losing their homes first, then the greedy banks who went in and took advantage of them? Yeah, a program that doesn't deal with the root problem, but helps out those who really don't deserve it - way to go Duh!

i got a better idea.. how bout bail out all the average everyday people who are the ones who actually feel the pain of finical distress.. pay off their mortgages it gives money to the banks AND because these people no longer have to spend more then half their salary on house payment the can go out and put money into the economy

In return for taking these toxic assets we should be demanding a share of any future profits from these companies, say 10% for ten years.

Bush said in his speech that we will get this money back. THAT IS WISHFUL THINKING!!! We'll get it back if China continues to loan us hundreds of billions of dollars... If they stop, we're left holding the Queen of Spades!

This is a massive golden parachute for all Bush's friends.

Trickle down economics at it's best.

Uh.. Democracy? I thought the USA was a Republic?

Jesus 214154

.....you said it right.

If McMummy/Mommy get to the White House we will have a continuation of the

KAKISTOCRATIC GOVERNMENT GW BUSH and the REPUBLICANS CREATED 8 years ago.

Unfortunately you don't realize that 'the government" is every taxpayer (and welfare recipient) in this country. I am unhappy with the knuckleheads that have been chosen to represent us.

My confidence in our economic system ?

ZERO

its a twin engine airplane that was flying on one engine when Bush took office in 2000.
Trade imbalance from hell and the bleeding of the economy into foreign entities was already rampant then.

Dont delude yourselves into beleiving that either party has somehow caused this whole thing to begin with. You common retarded consumers who didnt care if you were buying foreign made consumer garbage (items) for the last two decades helped set this up.
You bought your toyotas and nissans ( datsuns ) and your chineese toys and clothes , with no conscience because our FAILED education system (from public schools all the way to the top universities) stopped teaching common sense, as the american industries that supported our nation since WW2 shut down and went out of buisness. The handfull of crooks who profited from buying foreign sh!t on the cheap and reselling it to you nimrods who didnt know better ( again , education ) effectively sliced the wrists of lady liberty long ago. Now she doesnt have enough blood in her to get up and fight. Good Going Educated consumers !!!
Now that we have allowed the elected public aservants to plunder whats left the last 12 years ( NAFTA, CAFTA and beyond ) the inevitable is really starting to sink in.
Just two years ago I was ridiculed by supposedly advanced "educated" economists who still refused to see the writing on the wall ... the writing that the unemployed and broken clearly saw. Now, as the hand of fate comes like the reaper of death, i actually get a sick feeling of amusement as I see these high class, self important turds finally panicking.
Theres no bailout, theres no quick solution, and this sh1t they are trying to do to save the economy isnt going to bring back dead american industry, its not going to bring back jobs, its not going to do anything but bury us within a year or two under a massive slab of granite once and for all. military spending will vanish and the already spent military will not be able to save the country from invasion from a carefully cultivated force like the chineese or russians will have very shortly.
The warnings went unheeded, and went unanswered because our populace has been blinded and obsessed with hollywood and drama and filth and excess , just like whores and drug addicts are. This is a problem with the very base fabric of the population, promoted and perpetuated by our media and politicians at the expense of our futures.
Kiss it goodby, because the life as we knew it is going to vanish.

Join the Rebellion
www.timeforrevolt.com

When the President pleads with the Congress for $700,000,000,000.00 and absolute power to fix the financial disaster that deregulation created, he might want to get ready to bend over....

The fact is, if the economy is truly on the verge of collapse and Congress is the only one who can authorize the $$$ and powers to save it, then the administration will sign anything. If not, then Executive is just bluffing and this is a power grab, or worse.

Honestly, it would only strengthen the economy and stabilize home prices if we put an additional $300,000,000,000.00 into infrastructure and unemployment benefits. It would put people to work, improve our country and help those who have lost their jobs to this debacle make their mortgage and credit card payments. If we're going to borrow the money anyway, let's borrow enough to do the job right.

Furthermore, it is only reasonable to expect reciprocity from corporations seeking public assistance by placing limits on executive compensation and corporate perks. The legislation must insure that corporations have removed all excess expenditures and non-medical benefits, eliminating executive bonuses and stock options, and ensuring maximum liquidity and available capital. This can not be a free ride for those who so poorly mismanaged our financial markets. These firms must take responsibility for their mismanagement of the U.S Economy by enacting strict and painful reforms within executive management and without punishing their rank and file employees.

Otherwise, no deal!!

You are right.
The govt got us in this by NOT using sound judgement themselves.
How can a govt print money w/o gold backing is this not ludicrous?
they have the maturity of a typical 5 year old child.
our system of checks and balances obviously failed.

I agree. As for NotObama, those responsible for this mess should get themselves out of it without taxpayer money. You said if Jesus had a better idea to let's hear it and quit whining.

Holding those responsible is NOT WHINING. The middle class supports the poverty stricken with Welfare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, subsidized Housing, etc. Now we are being MADE to bail out the idiots who have caused this financial turmoil! That's crap!! The market, if left alone, will correct itself. Yes, it would take time, but soooo what. Those who caused this mess will never be able to do it again. If we (American People) bail out these CRIMINALS than who's going to stop them from doing it again? NO ONE! If this bail out goes through than all of us (except the poor and EXTREMELY RICH) will basically become indentured servants for the rest of our lives. I was a Republican supporter, but after this mess, Obama is not looking bad at all. At least he tells you he's going to raise taxes... the Republicans say they are against higher taxes and smaller government. Well, Bush just proved that a smaller government can be more dangerous. You have a few Suits making millions off the backs of American people without batting an eye. PLUS, McCain was one of the senators involved with the S&L crisis. If I recall correctly, he was part of the Keating 5!

If this is going to be a free market society, than let the markets work themselves out. If you take the risk and reap the benefits, than you also take the loses.... PERIOD.

We need to take back our country JUST like our First Rebels did in the 1700s. Get rid of this government that does not answer to their employers US. Only problem is they call it terrorism now.

It drive me nuts to see comments like "it's our govt's fault". We're the govt. We appoint/vote representatives to run it. The gov't isn't somebody else. We elected Bush whether you voted for him or not. The other misconception talked about here is that regulation or governing is bad. I agree our govt doesn't need to be in or run every aspect of our lives but certain core infrastructures are needed and private enterprise can't properly accomplish this since they are only in it to profit. Let's privatize the armed forces...maybe we wouldn't be in Iraq. De-regulating the airlines is working well. Let's see...de-regualting the financial markets is working well. Maybe we privatize social security...I guess we were lucky considering the mess Wall Street is in that we didn't.
Whether you like the idea of bailing out the banks or not, you might consider for a moment what the situation would or might still look like if left unchecked.

I will go beyond implying Bush is responsible. He is!! He told us to buy houses in 2004. Yes the idiot told us "Everyone will be in a home" to make the economy not look as bad as it really was. He was then elected. Mind you he pays people six figures to forecast things like 9/11, Katrina, Iraq intelligence that started a war, and a Depression. So yes interest rates fell and I guess Bush forgot variable loans need to be paid but saying that would not be good for his election. Old Mccain is the same. He paved the way for deregulation and wow now wants some? See beyond party lines people this is not rocket science. Some let their party politics to cause them long term memory loss but I was Republican last week and I remember what Bush said and yes he encouraged this problem and notice I did not say he made it but he did not help and that is not what we pay him to do. He needs fired and Mccain needs to go and look somewhere else for a job. Eight more years of lies.

Put a tax on the sale of stocks and bonds use the money to bail these fools out of it. Its their problem not John Q Public

With his sweeping powers couldn't Paulson simply deposit that $700 billion into his own bank account, and that would be that?

IF you're against the bail-out, this website will send an email directly to your Congressional Representative: www.votenobailout.org

this goes beyond the republican or democratic parties. NO BAILOUT. AND NO THIS WILL NOT WORK. NO CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT, THEY ARE DOING THIS AND THE CITIZENS OF USA, AS EVIDENCED BY THIS POLL SAY, NO BAILOUT.

Get rid of the cause(s) and you get a different effect(s).

How long have we been bailing out the unAmerican Auto Industry? 25 Billion this time.
This bull@!$%# about retooling, research and bailouts has been going on since 1970s. GM, Ford already have built more than 3 million E100 and more than 6 million "Flex Fuel" Vehicles in Brazil (ethanol fuel in Brazil, wikipedia). Isn't lying under oath to Congress a crime?

The bums keep coming back to the "cash cow" because we don't get rid of them, so there is the precedent of what these "Wall Street" Corporations are going to keep doing until they are gotten rid of.

I keep saying that Ford, GM, Chrysler are unAmerican. That is the truth, where are they built?, Mexico and Canada. So unless the United States of America annexed Mexico and Canada as new States. These are Mexican and Canadian products. Putting on one or two bolts at an assembly plant in the U.S. on a car made in Mexico or Canada is not assembled in the U.S. stop lying. The only real American Auto Plants are located in Kentucky, Toyota; California, Honda; Alabama, Hyundai; Nissan, USA.. Americans building cars at U.S. of America for Americans. Stop lying to the Citizens of the United States of America, we know. Since 1994 NAFTA, Ford GM Chrysler and afterwards all their U.S. Auto Manufacturing was being sent "outsourced" to Mexico or Canada. This makes them Canadian or Mexican built or assembled that makes Ford, GM or Chrysler Canadian or Mexican, NOT AMERICAN.

Get rid of the Corporate Board "good old boys and girls" of AIG, Lehnman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac as what they are, Treasonous Terrorists. Ship them to Guantanimo no legal representation, no communications, just like the Treasonous Terrorist they are. They made their choice, stuff their pockets with money over the Citizens of the United States of America and the interests of the United States of America. (definition of Treason, wikipedia).

We are at War, "Global War Against Terrorism". They succeeded in accomplishing what the 911 Terrorists failed to do, collapse of the U.S. Economy. Legal precedent, World War II, these people would have been tried by Military Tribunal and executed as Traitors. Even Warren Buffet called this crisis "an Economic Pearl Harbor". Ok, these are the individuals (Corporate Board Members) that attacked the Economy United States of America and therefore; the Citizens of the United States of America.

Same with the Corporate Board Members of the unAmerican Auto Industry, GM, Ford, Chrysler, sabotaging the U.S. Industrial Complex, part of the U.S. Defense Industrial Complex.

Stop calling it "Wall Street", Wall Street is inanimate, just like saying that a car drove into something. The car cannot drive it's self, someone is responsible as the driver. These Corporate Board Members are the ones that bombed "Pearl Harbor"ed the U.S. Economy.

Bottom line these "Lawmakers" are bailing out their buddies. Read the Biographies of the Corporate Board Members of Lehnman Brothers, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. These lists of these Corporate Board Members should be the Prosecution Lists for Treason and Terrorism.

Former CEO Haillburton, Presidential Advisors, Federal Reserve, IBM, club members of Economic Club, etc..

Cross reference these lists with the "Law makers" and political contributors. So unless you get rid of the cause, same effect. Over and over again just like the unAmerican Auto Industry bailouts.

BOHICA (Bend Over Here It Comes Again), no KY Jelly or Vasoline, maybe a "donkey punch" this time.. Trillion USD.

Better Idea Trillion USD + 25 Billion USD = Trillion, 25 Billion divided by all US Citizens (not illegals) = how much each of us gets to "stimulate the U.S. Economy".

Nail on the Head Magnum..Bravo !

amen to that

I agree with you Magnum and I believe Obama and Biden are highly capable of stopping these abuses. Further, there should be some sort of established criteria that MANDATES anyone wanting to run for the presidency seats to have so many years education in foreign policy, economics, business administration, etc. BEYOND real life experience. THIS needs to be regulated a little better as there are 100's of thousands of people with more education and life experience than both running in the GOP party combined, which is scary. Being a criminal investigator myself, both nationally and internationally, I can say that the qualifications for becoming an investigator are much more substantial than the educational backgrounds of these two...and they are running for the top two most powerful positions in the United States? Totally unacceptable!!!

you're worried about being paid back? you may be certain that there will be no "payback" if you give $0.5T to the poor....other than more reliance on government hand outs.

I completely agree with you. bail out after bail out for banks and corporates that are managed by greedy, self interested, fools with no morals and certainly no business judgement.

Make no mistake, you, your children, your grand chidren and your great grand children will be paying for this for decades to come.

I heard Judd Regg ( R , New Hamsphire ) yesterday on Bloomberg saying the $85 billion bail out of AIG by you and me was good as we'd make money on the deal because the sale of assets would make more than was lent !! I guess that's why Warren Buffet and all the other institutions turned it down, what a joke, just how stupid do these people think we are ??

Constantly we hear " they're too big to go under, there would be global implications ". Sure there would be but it's called market forces, the strong and well run will survive the rest won't it's simple.

I hear liquidity seize up, at the moment there is an absolute fortune of cash sitting on the sidelines which has been moved to government bonds, gold etc etc waiting to see who is going down and who will make it. People who have invested money into companies that go down will lose it, period. They were driven by greed trying to out preform the market and made poor investment choices. WITH INCREASED YIELDS COMES INCREASED RISK, if you don't understand that then you shouldn't be playing the markets.

I DO NOT WANT TO PAY FOR THIS !!!!

Market forced should prevail, step out of the way Mr Bernanke and Mr Paulson, you played a great part in getting us into this mess.

Frankly I could go on about the massive pay offs given to the people who lost billions, how the Fed by increasing rates time after time while the economy was slowing down over the previuos two years and the government having no regulation of the markets caused most of this, but I am a slow typer !!

I AM ANGRY AND UPSET BECAUSE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BETRAYED !!!!!!!!!!

Because, moron, er, Magnum, if the government restores financial stability, there will be fewer homeless, a stronger economy, and more tax revenue at the local level to build more hospitals and schools.

What you propose is called "France."

And as for kjacks08, have you even looked at the resumes of your candidates?

You are VERY ignorant and have no concept of how the financial systems work. All you are looking at is yourself and "I DO NOT WANT TO PAY FOR THIS" --- well guess, what, you would be paying for it tremendously, if the government does not take this action. This action is not meant to "protect" the wealthy nor corporations. It is being taken to protect EVERY citizen that has money in a bank and or money markets or stocks.

Stop your attacks when you have no concept of what you're attacking or even why for that matter. If the financial system collapsed, do you understand how many thousands, upon thousands of jobs would be lost? Do you understand that if these "corporations" you are talking about, can't lend money to these "other" corporations, in many instances those corporations will then close, and then guess what, the hard-working, middle class American is out of a job. And, let's see, as a hard-working middle class American, did you ever plan on buying a house? Not if the financial system collapses and banks stop lending money.

You all should stop speaking about things you have no concept and most of all stop assuming that "market force" should prevail --- if market force prevailed in this case, untold numbers of AVERAGE working citizens would be out of a job. But, then, you same people would be screaming and yelling that the government didn't do enough to protect your jobs.

Gee what would the TWO TRILLION DOLLARS spend on the Iraq war have been able to do here in America... help fix social security, help fix our failing infrastructor, help stop illegal immigration (Texas leaks like a sieve) but NOOOOO Bush wanted to be known as a WARTIME PRESIDENT JUST AS MCSAME IS GOING TO DO...

Get wise America - WITH ALL THESE WARS ONLY *ONE* NATION IS WINNING - CHINA!!!

We need someone with the mind of Magnum for president.
Someone who cares about the people instead of the only the rich.
Magnum for president!!!!!!!

Ignore NOTOBAMA - he is paid troll (republican paid poster) whose job it is to spew hate .... common sense says if you are spending trillions - do it where it does the most good.... once gone NOTOBAMA - you can be sure it will not be "repaid"... despite the nonsense your party is spouting....

Magnum - totally agree - *trickle down economics* is a farce - the only trickle down there is, is the blood of the middle and lower class....

p.s. concerning Ms. Palin - she is NOT pitbull with lipstick - she is a wolf and that is blood on her lips...

I have decided to bear the children of Magnum and Devils Advocate.

You guys ROCK!

Yes, vote for Obama and Biden because they would do something different. Oh, wait. They're both senators with the power to HAVE done something about this and DIDN"T just as much as McCain didn't. None of the three even had the slightest idea something like this would happen. Good thing Ron Paul has been speaking about this very thing for YEARS. He's had plans that would actually prevent this thing from happening in the first place but he's been ignored because at the time he was saying it, more people were worried about abortion and lipstick and gay marriage and what a pastor says or how many houses does he own. You know, the really important issues that apparently affect everyone. Not this economy thing that only affects a few people.

When are you going to wake up and realize both of these parties have contributed to this mess? You blame bush and the old republican congress, but don't point out dems have been in power for two years and have done nothing to stop this. but you give full credit to only bill clinton for his economy but but not to the repub congress at that time. But someone has to take the blame don't they? How about people on both sides grow up and take some responsibility instead? That to hard?

If you really want to send a message to washington, vote for a third party to let them know we aren't going to take it anymore. Until you do, you will be taking it, and you know where too!

To CHRIS-ADAMS: I do not know who are saying is "VERY ignorant" but I will be more than happy to give you my credentials:

Associate's in Business Administration
Associate's in Financial Service Management
Bachelor's in Business Administration with emphasis in International Business (magna cum laude)
Bachelor's in Paralegal
Master's in Criminal Justice in Criminal Law and Investigation with emphases in International Crime and Complex Investigations...

Devil´s Advocate- the 2 trillion dollars will never return to the U.S. economy. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were massacred and thousands of soldiers dead. And for what ? A war that was absolutely WRONG on all angles and based on internet evidence.

THE SOONER WE GET RID OF THE GOP, THE FASTER WE CAN PICK UP FROM THE MESS THEY CREATED ! And arent we going to pay for decades to come ? grrrrrrrrrrr

kjacks08: ignorance is defined as the lack of knowledge, education or awareness. Somehow, I think that the majority of people posting on this board and making these comments fall into the ignorance category when it comes to this level of international banking and business.

Trust me, I include myself in that category --- but at least, I'm willing to admit it, and understand the consequences of the government doing nothing --- and those consequences touch every social class in this country, and those that would be hardest hit are not the upper-level rich, but the middle class. It's amazing to me to see how everybody pegs this as a republican solution, yet, it is a bi-partisan issue, one of which both Democrats and Republicans are working to solve and approve this plan.

So, I think those of us, who, yes, the majority are VERY ignorant in this area, should not be so quick to think we have all the answers and know better.

I know and hear you there...it reminds me of my mom...she believes everything she hears including the infomercials because "the tv said so!" My mom was also the sort that said she was republican because her parents were but could not literally define "republican" when I asked her what that meant to her...makes me wonder how many people out there take a similar stance but really do not even have a clue as to what it means or stands for? After I explained the differences to her, she decided that perhaps she wasn't after all and is now voting for Barack Obama.

And Chris you bring up a good point about it being bi-partisan issue, so you aren't too ignorant if you realize this! I find it amusing that most republican followers are blaming this on the Democratic Congress as well as other similar bi-partisan issues when in fact the Democratic Congress has barely even made a dent into undoing messes that the Republican Congress have made...it takes much longer than a term to find balance.

RE: Chris Adams:hear hear on the ignorance side of things. and, despite being reasonably well read I count myself among those who I believe are ignorant of this high level knowledge.

Today, as we sit here screaming and bellowing, it does not matter WHO got us here, or HOW it happened. Today it only matters that we're here and we have to figure out a reasonable way of extracting ourselves from the bog we're in.

This has nothing to do with whether someone is Republican or Democrat, Green Party or Libertarian, Socialist or Anarchist. It has nothing to do with McCain and it has nothing to do with Obama. My degree is in history, and my reading is in world affairs. History shows that presidents of both parties have made mistakes. Mythologically speaking, the only PERFECT person was Christ --

--- condemnation and criticism will not work to solve this problem. And I have not read a single post on this forum that provides detailed, concrete financial solutions --- wasn't it Eleanor Roosevelt said that great minds talk about ideas, average minds talk about events, and small minds talk about other people?

Let's be great America - who here actually has the knowledge and skill to present some reasonable, well thought out and intelligent ideas on how to solve this problem?

Not me - I'm just a peon. Well read, but still a peon.

Call your congressman and woman and tell them if they vote for this Corporate Welfare that you will vote them out of office.

Vote against anyone who votes for this Corporate Bailout which is really corporate welfare. Tell your congressperson that you do not want your Tax Dollars going to pay this Corporate Welfare

my business is incorporated. if i can't borrow the money i need to keep my doors open in the next quarter, i'll be out of business. i own investments in other businesses, via the stock market. i'm in a bit of a quandary today. if i tell my representative i don't believe in them propping up the market, i may not have a business in 90 days, and my investments may not be worth anything at all. if this happens, my friends who are small business owners, and investors in other businesses will also fail. The people who rely on us for their incomes will lose their jobs. If they lose their jobs, they won't be able to pay their bills. If they don't pay their bills, others will lose their jobs ... hmmm ... seems to me I'm in favor of the market being propped up right now.

ps .. i'm not "rich" ... I have a nationally average / middle class income.

Everyone should just prepare to bend over......and I don't just mean to grab our wallets

Nothing but the truth!

Magnum Serpentine for President.

Chris-Adam, I certainly do understand what would happen if the Government didn't take action. That is why I said I am not opposed to a bailout. I just think there has to be some accountability

I've had it with any and all things Republican. I demand that ALL of these CEO's surrender their assets and return them BACK to the people they stole their money from-ME and all of us who DIDN'T fall for this "ownership" scam. I told my mom in MARCH of this year that Lehman's was next. She laughed at me. She's NOT laughing anymore. "Privatization" translates to union busting. Whether you like it or not, it was BECAUSE of the unions that the middle class arose.
It's time for SMART, LONG TERM REGULATION. The fact of the matter is, WE DON'T KNOW where the bottom is. It's nice the gov't is working this weekend to solve this- YOU'RE 18 MONTHS TOO LATE!!! (I guess the 1% at the top hadn't plundered the middle class enough.)
What happens Tuesday when they STILL don't have a package yet- what then?
Reagan started this mess- "W" has been busy nailing up the coffin on what was once the U.S. Government. We need to take our country back. My question to you is this: What if Obama DOESN'T win? It's going to be ugly. You can't steal THREE ELECTION IN A ROW AND NOT HAVE A NATION NOTICE!!! And what the @#$%^&% were INSURANCE companies doing engaging in this behavior?! (think AIG, here) NOW we have "bail out" a company that had no business participating in this activity. How would the average person survive being "leveraged" 24 to 1? They wouldn't. BOTTOM LINE- REVERSE EVERYTHING THAT THE REPUBLICANS HAVE DONE SINCE REAGAN. HE WAS THE ROOT OF ALL IS THIS. AND A LOT OF PEOPLE NEED TO GO TO JAIL FOR ALONG, LONG TIME!!! WHY? Because the playing field has NOT been level in 25 years!!! Give me a call when "social values" pay your rent.
If your family income has been less than 80 K a year for the last 8 years and you're a Republican, you're either stupid or a control freak. (I'm guessing BOTH) BTW- that "bailout"? you're looking at has a potential cost of THREE TO FOUR TRILLION DOLLARS!!! I don't think the government has that kind of money left. They've given it all to the rich and corporations who don't need it. And now, the Big Three want a bail out- why? They "pimped" the U.S. people to pay for their ventures in China and REFUSED to really do anything to make truly efficient cars. We've been going around with this since the Arab oil embargo of 1972. They still haven't learned!!! But the CEO's income is 500 times the workers- who make darn good money. But the government doesn't have money for healthcare. It's time for a REVOLUTION!!!

Someone said earlier, "you're worried about being paid back? you may be certain that there will be no "payback" if you give $0.5T to the poor....other than more reliance on government hand outs."

Grow up, dude. helping your neighbors does not foster dependency. Uptight fiscal conservatives have been crying in their martinis over that old saw for decades. Of course, they change their tune real quick when a hurricane comes along and wipes out their vacation home in Florida.

What is the alternative? Give the billionaires a handout, and hope they'll trickle some of their prosperity down to the little guy? Are you flippin' KIDDING ME?? Let's take a little trip down fantasy lane and assume that a Fed bailout helps a company like Bear Stearns get their act together -doubtless the CEO at the helm will get all the credit for the recovery and a juicy bonus check. If we spent a billion dollars on social programs that only lifted ONE person out of poverty, it would be a greater investment than saving a hundred fat cat CEOs who won't hesitate to take us to the cleaners again.

The difference between bailing out a deadbeat billionaire and a homeless person is that the homeless person comes away from the transaction with restored DIGNITY. The only thing a rich exec takes away from a handout is another opportunity to f__— you over.

JUST SAY "NO!" TO CORPORATE WELFARE!

A poster above mentioned being too leveraged in this economy (90 day credit issues, investments in other businesses, etc) to rail against the bailout. Maybe that attitude is part of the problem? Why did you invest so heavily in a potentially risky market with your livelihood? Do you not have any responsibility for your actions?

What happened to small businesses that acted small? When did it become necessary for a small business to be so highly leveraged that it couldn't weather a storm, or was too beholding to the banks?

What happened to credit/risk policies that allowed such extreme leveraging?

The subprime mortgage mess where banks wrote paper that was known to be worthless.
The current credit-swap mess where 'investments' are repackaged, and insurance is sold without regard to risk or necessary liquidity to cover the insurance.

Everyone was happy to take massive profits from 'the street' when they could. They should also be willing to take the consequential hit of losses from their bad investments.

The only bailout should be to support mortgage holders who truly want to stay the course - but whose teaser rates have since ballooned into rates of credit-card proportion. Increase the FHMA ceiling in every market, and offer folks an opportunity to transfer to an affordable loan, instead of the ever increasing, interest only albatross that so many loans have become.

Making such a transfer a prerequisite to any foreclosure would also help to stabilize the free-falling housing market.

I wonder why the Congress and the News media, MSM are ignoring the voices of the Citizens. I have seen polls that show that by 80% the Citizens do not want this 700 Billion Dollar corporate welfare.

MSNBC, CNN, FOX what are you afraid of? Are you afraid of We the people??? Congressional Members remember we vote. and if you vote for this 700 billion dollar corporate welfare, you will be voted out of office come election day. And if you do vote for this, we the Voters will take it as a sign you do not want to be re-elected on Election Day!!!

MR. JOHN MCCAIN it is going to take you more then several months to seperate yourself from 26 years of MESS

Well stated, and I find it amusing that the ignorant GOP followers try to find blame in the Democratic Congress which has barely even begun to make a DENT into the mess created by the previous Republican Congress. Obama shall be at the presidential desk vetoing and repealing for a good half year, I am imagining...what a micro- and macro- structural mess this nation has become!

The reality is that both parties share blame for this mess.

It doesn't matter at this point, whether a Dem or Rep. took the first step. It doesn't even matter which party shares more of the blame (if that could even be determined at this point)

Both sides have blood on their hands, so to speak.

Pointing fingers at the opposing party is EXACTLY what DC wants We The People to do. Why? Because it means that the shenanigans can continue.

We The People really need to stop pointing fingers at each other and start pointing fingers at DC without regard to party. More than that, we need to act in ways that prove we will hold our representatives accountable---without regard to party.

4 years from now, I have no doubt that we will be back here STILL pointing fingers at each other having bought into political rhetoric. Sad, but true.

Amen!!!

Let the Greedy Greedies take their lumps for once, regardless of outcome, if a business fails to survive it, let that speak to the real value of that business. Just know we are (or at least, used to be) an industrious nation and new more viable endeavors will arise and take their place. And would people quit referring to this as "Socialism" and "Communism", it is so far from those concepts, but that again speaks to ignorance and "knee jerk" cliches. This is a simple case of the economics of the infinite required to support capitalism reaching it's inevitable bottleneck, after all, our economic theory is essentially an intellectual justification of a societal pyramid scheme --- REALLY --- Think About It!

How can Bush ask us as American Tax Payers to bail out these Privately Owned Companies, without regards to our issues? How come he didn't jump in as fast to stop millions of us from losing our homes to foreclosures. Or Help the people hurt by Hurricane Katrina? Or to help the people who are now living out of their cars. How come he did nothing to reduce the price of energy, except get on his knees to Saudi to up their output? Or wanting to lift the ban on offshore drilling? That would endanger our coastlines. Just like the last 3 hurricanes that caused oil spills in the gulf. Short term band-aids and not real solutions.

But he was quick to ask us to pay for his bail out of the Mortgage/Banking Institutions. Something we and several generations will have to pay for,including 2 wars, but not including help for those hurting because of his failed policies, to be followed by McCain.
He is doing it because it happened on his watch and would tarnish his legacy as POTUS. But he has failed to tell the world that this disaster was caused by the Republicans and their deregulation of these institutions. A policy also espouse by McCain the "DEREGULATOR" AND HIS MAIN PHIL GRAMM. If this bail out goes through, it has to include the bailout of the American People who need help because of deregulation, bail them out too!!

Bush should get some of the CEO's from these institution to do the bailing out. They were the only ones that gained from the deregulations. The get all the Big Oil to put in the rest, from their windfall profits, again to the failed policies of the Republican Tax Cuts. I think that would be an excellent idea.

Amen to that!

I'd be interested in hearing how you feel in a year if Obama is elected!

Snowjob, we are not the "I told you so" type. Obama has the intellect and the cajones to get to the bottom of the problem, and actually cares about the American commoner. You will see.

Probably just fine, in all honesty. Instead of voting for "I know nothing about the economy" McCain & "What does a Vice President do?" Palin, maybe Americans should think more about this election then they do for American Idol. Maybe we can finally go back to electing someone who will be a better president, not just someone who belongs to your beloved political party or is probably a good drinking buddy. There are big issues that we have to solve right now, and who do you want tackling them? A so-called maverick who only picked underqualified Palin to appease his party or a constitutional scholar and former president of Harvard Law Review that has been active in trying to make this country a better place?

God, America, sometimes I think we're a bunch of idiots! Who would you hire to run your company if you had the choice?

Kristin,

You had better hide your money if Obama gets elected--You will see taxes increases all over the place. Capital Gains, Fuel, Natural Gas and on and on.

Listen to what Obama is going to do to help us all out and ask yourself how is he going to pay for it....."Take from the rich" well guess who generates jobs, and what do you think these people will do with their increased taxes they have to pay....Like any business they will pass there tax increases on to YOU.

Stop---Listen------Think
Ed

Ahhh.. and these bailouts are not costing the "small" guy more than the rich guy??? yeah ... right

EDS - what a stupid post - every time I hear this higher taxes on businesses will be passed on to you, then I ask WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE, WHAT IS *YOUR* FIX...

also as pertaining to higher taxes... IF OBAMA CAN GET US OUT OF THIS FRIGGIN MONEY WASTING WAR, HELP PAY OFF OUR DEBT TO CHINA, get us out of this FINANCIAL MESS, then I am willing to sacrifice a little to get this country on the right track so that OUR CHILDRENS, CHILDREN CHILDREN... arent slave labor to China... debts just keep getting bigger - it takes DRASTIC steps to turn around a run-a-way deficit...

And four more years of WAR, KILLING, MAMING OF AMERICAN YOUNG is no help or fix and will only make things worse...

You really think Obama cares about you?
You think taxes and spending are out of control now?
get back with me a few years if he wins.
And on the other hand McCain is no better.

MomintheWoods,

The "American commoner"? When the heck did we become commoners? It sounds like an extremely socialist, if not elitist, term. Why not just say "Let them eat cake?" We will see, indeed.

Lawrence: I wouldn't hire Obama or McCain. I'd accept more applications.

It would appear that the masses have chosen a socialist/communist system over reason.
What hope is there for this Country?

Why are you wishing for the end of the current administration? Don't you realize that the current administration is over at the end of the year? Luckily a new one, McCain/Palin will come in and fix things.

lol

If we were all getting rich right now non of us would be posting these comments!

Absolutely. I don't trust the Republicans at all right now. We need new people and new ideas.

DL- you are crazy if you think McCain/Palin will do anything different than Bush/Cheney. They have the same ideas, the same people around them, the same record, NOTHING will change.

Obama Biden 08!!!

This is one small business owner near retirement who can't wait to see Bush, McCain, Palin ride into the sunset. Why: inflation, tight credit, over deregulation in critical sectors, you name it..... Investment Banking, FDA, EPA. Dept of Agriculture, Dept of the Interior, health care...the list goes on
GOP always talks about less government, yet we've created less jobs and more debt in the last 8 years and instead of investing here at home allowed business' and jobs to flee overseas.As far as I know the only Industrialized nation that has allowed this to happen at its current pace. Hopefully, more former independent/GOP leaning folks like me will NEVER be fooled by this greedy partisan Republican politics again. The GOP idea of less government is to gut the agencies that work and protect us then put their cronies in as top dog instead of the most qualified and whether its natural disasters or man made ones we are seeing the results of this cronyism.

Heck yea. I agree.

This financial debacle, helping the wealthy and kicking the average Joe when he is down, will have the Republican Party with a hugh case of PMS for a long, long time.

You know, the Chinese debt angle is one that needs much closer scrutiny, after all what has "Dubya"'s Daddy been doing over there for the last several years??? Selling the average American into bondage to open new markets for the corporate Greedy Greedies. Probably based on the values instilled by Prescott Bush (Nazi Financier, Banker, Senator, Patriarch of the fine bloodline that seeks to transfer the majority of wealth to less than 10% of the population). Maybe I'm just bitter because I've purposely kept myself poor enough to avoid owing income tax (whose payment I see as tantamount to murder by financial proxy as long as one-third of our Federal revenues go directly to the "defense" industry) for the last 6 years. Yes, I do have that strong of moral commitment, even though I could be making around $100K/year in my former field with a couple of phone calls. My soul is worth more, and I'm an agnostic!

I was pretty happy when for the last two years we had no federal income tax bill. I never thought about trying to do that on purpose. You might be on to something.

The war costs will also bury our childrens children..some day we may need to go to war but the people that own us wont fund it..our debt will bury us!

Obama seems to get it more than John MacCain.

This is not unprecedented!

The Chinese government has done it over their 30 years reform period from a planned economy to a market driven economy. They have set up 4 assets management firms to digest the bad assets created by their own policy over the 1949-1977 periods.

The US government is doing the same to set up fund to manage the bad assets created by its own deregulation (congress and administration is at the helm), tax cut for the wealthy (republicans), greed on Wall Street bankers and by CEOs (republicans and democrats).

Paulson has watched the Chinese government cleans up their own mess over the past three decades and his indepth understanding of the issue on a global magnitude allows him to offer this sweeping reform.

There is no other way out of this but to have the government to clean up the mess it created at the first place. Yet, common taxpayers are getting the double dipping effects. First, the past 8 years policy has really taken a toll on the middle class already, now, we have to commit ourselves and our children's future 20 – 30 years to digest the mess created by the ruling elites.

Democracy in this country or any other ones are for people who has money since it take so much to run for an election. Democrats have the right philosophy to regulate big business to protect the common man, yet it is the big businesses who contribute to their campaigns to begin with. Republican is for big business, their own pockets at the expense of the middle class.

Please choose wisely for this election, Democratic Party is the lesser evil of the two.

Speaking of the S&L debacle, you got any idea if McCain still keeps in touch with his 'ol buddy Charles Keating and that gang? Maybe he really is qualified, after all he did play a prominent role in that fleecing of poor and elderly Americans too, or has everyone else forgotten???

Never assume it's the "final nail" in the Bush(/Cheny) legacy.

The neocon, right-wing of the Republican's agenda knows no bounds, when it comes to doing "God's work". It's documented - Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11. Hussein & BinLaden were enemies. Bush, Cheny & Rice got us into this war with lies and are doing their best to formulate the pretext to "bring Democracy" to other Middle Eastern nations. If you objectively look just beneath the surface, McCain/Palin share many of these philosophies. McCain's voting record attests to this obvious fact.

I firmly believe we need to continue the fight against radical Muslim extremist. These guys want us dead, simply because we don't follow fundamentalist Muslim doctrines. They actually attack other Muslim governments for this reason. They need to be "reasoned with", by peaceful means if possible - if not . . . Invasions of other countries and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians does not improve our popularity.

The Republican's agenda attempts to dominate any nation with resources we wish to control. It's imperialistic in nature and has severely damaged our credibility with former allies, as well as wrecked our economy. The "winners" have been those American corporations that have profited through war profiteering. Bomb the defensless county back to the Stone Age and then use American taxpayer's money to rebuild it. After all, it's a "moral" obligation to help them rebuild.

I consider myself a Christian, but a Christian theocracy in America's government is NOTHING to aspire to. The founding fathers were all to correct in their separation of church and state.

AMERICA, WAKE UP! Think what we have become!

Just exactly how are we bailing out the McCain Campaign? That would be news to me. Some of you really need to research the actual things your candidates want to do and/or stand for and thier records not just beleive the tripe you are fed. I think you would all be suprised.

BTW, Those of you fighting over the democracy/republic thing - We are a Democracy and a republic - Just recite the first line of the pledge of alleigance "I pledge allegiance to the flag... and the republic for which it stands..." A republic is political system with elected representatives: a political system or form of government in which people elect represesentatives who exercise power for them. A Democracy is the free and equal right of every person to participate in a system of government, often practiced by electing representatives of the people by the majority of the people and a democratic nation: a country with a government that has been elected freely and equally by all its citizens. So therefore we are both.

sad but true:-(

Amen

I voted for Hillary, but I don't think I will vote for Obama. Having said that, I am not so sure that McCain has any better idea about what to do. One commentator said that all candidates should have training in every subject known to man. Economics is truly the dismal science, and it is completely impossible to know it all. It boils down to this. How competent are your secretaries, your chairmen, and your advisors.

Congress beats up Bush, but I am sure they can share some of this responsibility also. Geithers, Bernanke, and Paulson need to explain to them how this will impact the country if they don't do it. By that I mean all of the options. The failure of some of these institutions has the ability to drag down the entire financial system.

I am a stockholder like many in this conversation. I don't have millions, but I have a pension and a retirement to be concerned about. I think the suspension of short selling should help because there is so much negativity in the market now that rumor and innuendo spiral down out of control.

It seems to me that deregulation has certainly contributed to this problem because greed rules. We might need to "regulate deregulation," if that makes any sense at all. I do believe that some of these financial instruments such as derivatives, collateralized debt swaps, (I think I said that right) and ARMs have lead us down a primrose path to trouble. We weathered the savings and loan fiasco. We weathered the dot com debacle. We weathered the market crunch of 1987. We can certainly do this. What worries me most is that this comes during the presidential election, and both sides are convinced that they need to show us who is right. All they can talk about is how they are going to cut taxes for the little man. No one has the guts to say what has to be said. The next year, at least, will be tough, and financial decisions will be impacted more strongly by politics. Not good, but it is how it is.

At the age of 60, I can truly say that George Bush, the first president with an MBA, is the worst president that I have ever seen. How we went from having a surplus and a strong dollar to the largest deficit ever with a weak currency is an amazement to me. I hope that both of these candidates have the good sense to be above it all and do what is right for us. Cynic that I am, I have a hard time thinking that will happen.

Boy, this turned out to be long. Like a lot of us, I am probably angrier that I thought.

Welcome to America land of the most powerful socialist party in the world, if they can get the food business, we can become communist and share the crumbs

So true. The parallels to 1929 are very disturbing. Insurance, banking and the markets running out of control to create artificial wealth. Crack open the history books and you'll see where we're headed.

Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.

The white house is just a mouth piece for the real people in power, same with congress. The battles in congress aren't about partisanship, they are over the conflicting interests of the people who financed the different congressmen and women. The real people in power are the people who financed the campaigns of the white house and congress. It is the people behind the 527s who put millions and millions into the propaganda that buys a mouth piece in the white house or congress. Want to know who those people are? Check out (www.opensecrets.org). Notice what companies have donated equally and heavily to both campaigns and congress over the years? They don't care which one gets in, but make no mistake they will own either.

Change is a farce unless you step away from the two established parties.

Its ironic, Russia and China becoming capitalistic and the US becoming socialistic.

Don't you mean the Republicans becoming socialists? Who has been spending more on their fat cat friends of their party? Who has been more than accommodating to the 1% richest? Who has bent over backward to insure that big business got more than it deserved? Socialism....thy name is Republican greedhead.

I spent 23 years in defense of this country, my wife is currently in Iraq, she lost 7 comrades yesterday. I do not wish to admit this and I want to check myself carefully, but for the first time in my life I'm starting to feel more cynical and less optimistic about the direction of this country. I feel apologetic to my grand children, but I really feel that the enemy is within and this country is headed for disaster.

Good Point ewent: We are not the Peoples REPUBLIC of China which operates on a socialist/communist system;

We are not the Russian REPUBLIC which operates on a socialist/communist system;

We are not the People's REPUBLIC of Ukraine which operates on a socialist/communist system;

The structure of the United States is that of a Liberal Democracy as the most often quoted criteria for liberal democracy take the form of specific rights and freedoms.

They were originally considered essential for the functioning of a liberal democracy, but they have acquired such prominence in its definition, that many people now think they are equivalent with democracy. Since no state wants to admit it is "unfree", and since its enemies may be depicted as "tyrannies" by its propagandists, they are also usually contested.

Right to life and security of person. Right to bear arms.
Freedom from slavery. Freedom of movement. Equality before the law and due process under the rule of law. Freedom of speech. Freedom of information. Freedom of the press and access to alternative information sources. Freedom of association and assembly . Freedom of education. Freedom of religion. An independent judiciary and separation of powers in a DECENTRALIZED government
The right to own property, and to buy and sell the same, is often seen as a liberal freedom bound up with the above, though this is a very hotly contested proposition. Right to petition elected officials for redress of grievances.

Anyone wishing to claim this nation is a republic should get an education or buy a passport.

actually, quite literally, we are a constitutional republic. yes, we are a liberal democracy. the concept of a liberal democracy does not mean that we have to follow the concepts of liberalism, however. It does have more to do with our rights as individuals where it comes to the power of government over us. Countries like England are also liberal democracies -- and there are countless other examples.

So, on one hand, yes we are a liberal democracy, that happens to take the form of a constitutional republic.

How in Gods name do you public a statement of these post. What is newsvine "SpiceWare" If you are not going to publish all comment, well just take this off the internet.

THANKS MULETEAM Good work? Newsvine

Very true and articulately simplified wellreadgoat, I wasn't attempting to go that deep as not to create confusion however ;o) ...I just brushed on that fact when I mentioned above:

"They were originally considered essential for the functioning of a liberal democracy, but they have acquired such prominence in its definition, that many people now think they are equivalent with democracy. Since no state wants to admit it is "unfree", and since its enemies may be depicted as "tyrannies" by its propagandists, they are also usually contested."

A constitutional republic is a form of democracy, but not all democracies are constitutional republics. The United States is actually one of the oldest constitutional republics in the world and it was designed so that no person or group would be able to rise to power through a series of checks and balances. Oligarchies favored the wealthy members of society and featured elected leadership positions while democracies favored poor and middle class members of society and when taken in combination the theory is that the government would rule in the best interests of society at large.

Also of some interest:

Alexander Tsesis, in The Thirteenth Amendment and American Freedom: A Legal History says, to him, a constitutional republic means "a representative polity established on fundamental law, each person has the right to pursue and fulfill his or her unobtrusive vision of the good life. In such a society, the common good is the cumulative product of free and equal individuals who pursue meaningful aims."

Tsesis, Alexander. The The Thirteenth Amendment and American Freedom: A Legal History, NYU Press, 2004, p. 5

This is the point, hard working people AREN"T working and scraping, they are getting everything thru credit and easy loans...not putting up the traditional 20% down for a home and when they get a little bit of equity they jump on it and buy more crap. Here is another thing, ever watch infomercials late night? Can't believe how many people thought they could stay at home poolside and buy up a bunch of houses no money down and become gazillionares flipping them. People blame the current administration because Bush took all the credit for the high ratio of home ownership so it should be fair that he also take some of the blame, but don't kid yourself we are all to blame for this mess it is just sad that the people who are getting the bailouts are the ones who have benfited the most and the longest for other peoples misfortunes.
Go Obama!