Fail-out Bail-ure
As the day grows on, the more I read, the more convinced I become that it was a really good thing the bailout bill failed. We have before us a great example of bi-partisan agreement in congress.
I’m hoping that congress doesn’t just put a few more bells on the Paulson plan and pass that when they get back.
I’ve read somewhere about other possible plans that haven’t really been part of the debate in Washington, but I can’t find the link.
One thing that a number of people seem to mention is increasing unemployment coverage. I like the idea of solving this with a demand side solution after all the supply siders got us into this mess..
Paul Krugman and Robert Reich have pretty good statements about the whole mess one their blogs. Also worth listening to is this lecture from Robert Reich last week at the World Affairs Council.
One of the best lines I’ve read so far comes from Brad DeLong, professor of economics at UC Berkeley, via TPM
As I said, raze the Republican Party to the ground. Plough it under. Scatter salt in the furrows so it can never grow back.
We need another, very different opposition party to face the Democrats. We need it now.
Though Paul Krugman may have a better one:
So what we now have is non-functional government in the face of a major crisis, because Congress includes a quorum of crazies and nobody trusts the White House an inch.
As a friend said last night, we’ve become a banana republic with nukes.
(Update:)
Another good one for the day, this attributed to Winston Churchil:
You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they’ve tried everything else.
(Update:)
I found some links to other alternatives to the dressed up Paulson plan.
I like the sound of this one put forward by George Soros. When corporations need cash, they generally trade it for stock. Thats what Warren Buffet got when he bailed out Goldman Sachs. I doubt the concervative republicans will go for anything with George Soros’s name on it, but maybe no one has to tell them.
