Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Downside Is...
If someone asked you what the most important issue facing America today is, what would you say? I am guessing that the score of the Minnesota/Cubs game would not be the first thing out of your mouth. Unless of course you're from Chicago or Minnesota, in which case I apologize for my sweeping generalization. My guess is that almost everyone, young and old would say the economy. Clearly, it's the issue that is going to make or break the presidential candidates, and determine the way of American life as we know it now. I know that I am no financial expert, but as an issue-conscience kid I am aware of the problems facing our nation. Of course, with all the news coverage, one could be blind, deaf, and illiterate and know about the state of the economy. But after the bailout plan rejection yesterday, I am surprisingly at peace. That is not to say that I am not worried, because I of course am. I mean that I really respect the courage of those against the plan to stand up and say no. While Wall Street may seem to play with Monopoly money, those million, billion, and trillion dollar words do have a dollar amount. I like to see that the legislature is taking the time to look long and hard at 700 billion dollars of borrowed money, and the repercussions of using that money. I also love to hear about all of the electorate participation. There are countless stories coming out his week about how Representative's constituencies calling and either supporting or fighting the bailout plan. The people care, and I find that inspiring. Overall, the crash of the economy is the wakeup call that people needed. Congress is not passing any bill that comes its way, and the American people are showing more interest than ever. I would say that the only negative coming out of the economy crash is the fact that the economy crashed. It is only more proof that in times of crisis, we step up, and I am proud to see it. So if I could vote in Congress I would look long and hard before I signed anything tying up indescribable amounts of money, and I could vote at all, I would look at the person who has listened to the people, the experts, and their conscience and cast a ballot for them.
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1 comment:
Hey Betsy-
It Jim--your Mom's cousin. Interesting prospective on the so-called "bail out." I work at MarketWatch.com and we've been up to our neck in this story for the last few months and particularly in the last few weeks.
I don't have a strong opinion about whether it should pass or not. However, it is important to recognize that a big part of our economy is based on some basic principles of trust. At the core of this crisis is that the banks do not trust each other enough to make overnight loans! This has gummed up the economy and is making a huge impact not just to people on Wall Street but to everyday folks like you and me.
It seems to me that the case for action here is based on the principle that the government can essentially step in during this crazy time and re-establish trust. This should help banks start making loans and get things rolling again.
It seems to me that Bush and Paulson haven't done a good job of helping everyone understand this. They've been essentially telling everyone to put up the money or everything will crash. That might be true but it isn't something that is easy for the public to accept. Particularly after the quick march to Iraq--people, journalists, thought-leaders, are not willing to take a "trust me" approach to something this big.
In the end everyone needs to take a deep breath. There is a role for the government in securing a foundation for the economy. The taxpayers don't want to get fleeced but we also require that commerce, student loans, small business investments, etc continue on. I'm hopeful that everyone will get on the same page. I worry about what happens if they don't.
Incidentally, it is kind of ironic that on the day that the house rejected the 700B package almost 1 Trillion was lost by investors. The editor at MW did a nice piece on it which is worth checking out: http://tinyurl.com/4oc9eq
Enjoying the blog. Keep it on!
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