Bailout, Schmailout

What a crew.

And to think there are actually people in this country worried about Palin lacking the experience of this group of wizards in Washington?

Nancy Pelosi used the moment to pontificate and the Repugs got off the bus!

What a boneheaded move when both parties spent the weekend putting a package together that they could live with. She destroyed the entire initiative!

I can't honestly say I'm unhappy the Barney Blank Check bill didn't pass muster but the consequences to the stock market were dire today.

Officials close to Paulson are privately painting a far bleaker portrait of the fragility of the global economy than that advanced by President George W Bush in his televised address last week.

One Republican said that the message from government officials is that “the economy is dropping into the john.” He added: “We could see falls of 3,000 or 4,000 points on the Dow [the New York market that currently trades at around 11,000]. That could happen in just a couple of days.

“What’s being put around behind the scenes is that we’re looking at 1930s stuff. We’re looking at catastrophe, huge, amazing catastrophe. Everybody is extraordinarily scared. It’s going to be really, really nasty.”

I realize we've got to come up with something but I don't see 700 billion being anywhere near enough money and unless they've got a grip on reality before they disperse it, we'll be bailing out the bailout before too long snd we'll all be under the control of Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi.

Peter Spencer, economic adviser to the Ernst & Young Item Club, said: “This is the time you have to bail people out and ask questions later. It is very difficult to see how the US banking system would survive without that.This has the potential to make 1929 look like a walk in the park.”

Dude, I don't think we're up for that. Or, as Thad McCotter put it:

Let me put this in the simplistic terms for people like me to understand. Now the Wall-Street crony capitalists have put a 700-pound billion dollar bag of dung on taxpayers’ doorsteps, rung the bell, and expect you to thank them when you answer it. I think the American people will believe otherwise."

Here's some good news amidst the turmoil.

The Federal Reserve and foreign central banks moved Monday to pump billions of dollars to cash-strapped banks at home and abroad in a dramatic bid to break through a credit clog and spur lending.

The Fed said the action is intended to “expand significantly” the cash available to financial institutions, its latest effort to relieve the worst credit crisis since the Great Depression.

The goal is to boost the amount of quick cash available to banks and other financial institutions so that they’ll feel more confident and inclined to lend not only to each other but also to people and businesses.

Interesting week!