Pass the Bailout

I thought the bailout plan would pass, and by Sunday, given the compromises all sides had agreed to, I hoped it would.

Over the weekend I absorbed hours of commentary on the big-picture reasons to take action now, which boil down to easing panic, shoring up confidence, and getting banks back to their normal day-to-day operations — steps that were not taken, with disastrous results, before the Great Depression.

Given the way Paulson and Bernanke first approached Congress, it’s no wonder they got the initial reaction they deserved. But I hope later this week wiser heads will prevail.

If you’re boycotting all financial news headlines these days, take a peek at this great, short summary of where we are now from the New Yorker:

Here’s a snippet:

“After protests from all sides, negotiators from both parties in Congress and from the Treasury put together a much improved plan, under which the Treasury would be granted access to three hundred and fifty billion dollars, but with a strong oversight board and an independent Inspector General monitoring its actions, and with the Government Accountability Office reviewing them.

Access to the remaining three hundred and fifty billion would be contingent on a vote in Congress.The revised plan almost certainly wouldn’t turn the economy around by itself, but it could help, and some of the objections that have been raised to it are misleading.”

It’s true we have no control over this scary situation, but we still have a voice. This blog is for action, now.