Money Beat

Just another squeeze on our pockets. I honestly believe we are going to fall hard in the next few weeks. I may be wrong but it is very scary right now. What happened in the 30's?? How bad was it??

Oil went up because the dollar went down because of this $700 billion bail out plan.

Ron Paul and his advisor Peter Schiff have been talking about this for years. They have also in recent days talked about the fact that oil will rise almost uncontrolably for quite some time, and the dollar will crash in light of this bailout. I would encourage Bianna to give Ron Paul some love. Surely the guy that predicted Fannie and Freddie's demise in 2003 deserves some love.

Well when you talk about over a trillion dollars for the bail out so far what happens to the dollar? It falls. Now if you want to shore it up the taxes will have to be raised. What the Republicans fail to tell us is that the Great Tax give away during the time of war has essentially strapped us with higher prices for everything, because of the falling value of the dollar.

The Republicans keep saying we can not afford Democratic policies, well it is no wonder when one looks at the huge defict they have managed to create.

Let them sink for all I care. I am agianst bailing the, out even to save my own rear end.

It looks like Dr. Paul said the truth.

I am not suprise since he accepts no special interest money. To me the politicians that are free of this conflict of interest can tell the truth. Bravo Paul.

Doesn't this just show how fickle the stock market is? Sounds to me like these nervous investors would just as quickly shed another $700 billion of risky investments on the American taxpayers if they have the chance. We seeing the fragility and the absolute house of cards that Wall Street really is. No way no how no bailout. Let them all suffer. If we have to go down, let's go down.

Dont be manipulated by the market. Those who lived by the sword should die by it. Stop the Bailout or slow it down until we get the protection we deserve.
Write to the Senate Banking Committee at the attached webform. Tell them to SLOW DOWN and not be railroaded into a deal that will create runaway inflation.
Senate Banking Committee Website:
http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.FormDo

How about we spend the 700 billion on alternate energy plans to free us from oil dependency, which is at the bottom of so many of our problems, including the climate crisis, the obscene power of the recently tribal and undeveloped middle east nations that we are spending billions now to protect our interests in and wage war with, and a great slice of the corporate lobbying, greed and political powerbrokering that are poisoning our governance.

Why isn't anyone in the media talking about the Gramm-Leach Bill signed into law in 1999 by President Clinton. This bill repealed laws enacted in the 1930's to separate banking industry from Insurance Industry and Securites and preventing another Great Depression. Well Congress repealed this laws and now we are on the verge of anotehr Great Depression. I think the country should kbow about how Congress banrupted our country.

No bailout. Why not poll the American people. Let's vote for the bailout come November. Put it on the ballot along with Ron Paul's name for president.

i am a democrat that is voteing for obama. that said if ron paul was the republican candidate i would vote for him he would stop all the evil the republicans do.

Trickle down economics at work

Look at the positve side. If the country goes into a depression, then there will be less money for the U.S. Government to wage war on the American people. If all these Government agencies and special interest groups were shut down like Ron Paul suggest then that might save the country from a depression. The U.S. Government can't be the moral police and spend like idiots. Enough is enough. Leave us alone!

Sorry, here is the correct website for the Senate Banking committee comment form:
http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Form

tom - Obama will win in November, and I hope he serves us well. I hope he makes good choices. I just can't believe the republican candidates ridiculed and laughed at Paul in the debates when he said our economic prosperity was going to come down hard and fast. Remember the question at the Reagan library where the candidates were asked if we were better off now than 8 years ago. There was a lone "no". Gee I wonder who that was? I choose Obama over McCain because of foreign policy. The "bomb Iran" song makes me sick and embarrassed.

Gramm-Leach Bill is the cause of all this crap.

Capitalism with no regualtion is a recipe for disaster

I say No Bail Out. We are going to fall anyway, we should just do it now and save 700 Billion.

I thought that gov't wasn't needed - that pure capitalism could handle everything.
The Christian Republican Church Party is losing its grip. Even its corruption practices cannot help overcome the currect world problems.

Does this really surprise anyone? For the past eight years, we have been spending far more than we are willing to pay for through taxes. We are getting exactly what we deserve. W. and McCain have touted their lower tax mantra for the past eight years, but spend, spend, spend on war and other nonsense to the point putting us and our way of life in peril. Let's all just sit back and enjoy the show.

This is just the beginning, bail out or no bail out. I don't think Washington has any idea how p***d off folks are on Main Street. We are mad! There may be blood in the streets before all of this is over, even with the bail out. And I don't say that lightly. There are real problems out here, real anger. Somebody in Washington better be paying attention.

Michelle-WA - It never was pure capitalism. The Federal Reserve has seen to that. They have made policies to create what appears to be prosperity. Problem is that it exist because of a mountain of debt. Our money is also not worth anything thanks to the Feds policies.

Worst President ever Bush has got to be impeached that is the only soulutions

I have said before and I'll say it again. I am concerned that we are headed for another Great Depression. I have heard horror stories about the last one. People were eating lard sandwiches or bean sandwiches and money was very scarce. We all will be in trouble if this happens. We better all start praying to God to turn this situation around.

marlene - This time around those lard sandwiches are genetically modified, full of pesticides, and most likely artifically colored. Damn things suck right now. Go Ron Paul!

JJ---I agree, but it is far too late to impreach Bush. The election is 43 days away and then we will have a new president-elect that will begin a transition into what will arguably be the hottest seat in the world. Can you imagine the scale of the issues our next president will be facing? Whoever he is will no doubt need everyone's support, regardless of which party you belong to.

Well, I'm seriously beginning to wonder if I'll survive with a retirement lately.

Let's all pray?

Has any body figured out what if might cost to help the home owner directly instead of the greedy bastards on Wall Street whi will find a way to steal even more money from tjhe taxpayers.

We could help owners to bridge the gap between what they can afford and what the owe. This assistance would eventually decrease as home prices are restored. People who have wealth and simply walk away from their properties because they are no longer "good" investments should be prosecuted and their wealth seized to pay for their speculation. Thrifty citizens should not be expected to pay for gamblers who can still afford their mortgages.

OUCH!!! It I was an American tax payer I'd be pi$$ed in a big way!
The mess started way back in the 90s with the internet hype:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dotcon/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/wallstreet/
Then the government started spending (accounting lag, so they start spending after the boom). Then we had a war in there (everyone in business knows war brings prosperity!). Then an oil crisis. Commodity stock hype (including gold - which seems to fluctuate with stock, gotta start to wonder if it is used as a means of liquidating dough to some other currency?). Then the housing melt down. Only so many jobs can be created then what goes up must come down. Crashing down! Bail out!
What gets me is this 700 BILLION (Say it! cause you will probably never see it!) is free money!
Free markets doesn't mean free handouts! And, that is what this is. A free handout! Fluff funds!
Wouldn't be that bad if it went to technology that created jobs with substance. But, it is going to the housing boom. Which just keeps the local economies afloat really. No long term job growth. No innovation. Just same old same old bum showing stuff - making money the easy way.
So, what do we have since the boom?
Probably jobs that live off fluff (fake dough), unsustainable.
Probably higher housing prices.
Probably more poor and more rich (won't be reported till next year or later).
More foreign owned debt.
More dependence.
They call it free economy. Now I know why. Lots of free money to be had.
Again, I'd be pretty pieved off if I was an American tax payer struggling away... cause someone making money some place (select few).

I agree. Why should responsible consumers pay the bill for people that decided to make risky purchases.

I'm an old timer, so indulge me a bit. There are some similarities of today and the crash of 1929. But remember one thing - there was a clear law that separate banks (which take deposits and make loans) and brokers and investment houses. The crash in 1929 followed a speculative boom that had taken hold in the late 1920s, which had led hundreds of thousands of Americans to invest heavily in the stock market, a significant number even borrowing money to buy more stock (well that hasn't changed much since there are now margins, puts, etc). By August 1929, brokers were routinely lending small investors more than 2/3 of the face value of the stocks they were buying (in the housing market that can also be an issue when money was given for loans when assessors were on the dole for more than real house value, deceptive loan officers and "snake oil" salesmen).In 199 the rising share prices encouraged more people to invest; people hoped the share prices would rise further. Speculation thus fueled further rises and created an economic bubble - now that similarity with today is freightening. All that being said we as a nation have always taken our economic stability to be a collective one. In the crash of 1929 it was private investors who tried to prevent the decline (many of the wealthy bought steel stock at ridiculous high prices, but it still crashed) but government did intercede and stop the fall. Today, since FDIC secures the normal cash deposit and in reality the stock market is much like betting on horses I really don't see why the taxpayer is bailing out anyone. Yes (YES) don't yell at me there will be great, great pain - but I honestly believe that this planned bailout is a delay of pain of which we have never seen in this country which follows a clear separation of the wealthy/middle-class and working poor. I would never wish anything like the depression on any nation (soup lines, apple carts, desperation to the extreme and real poverty), but a whole lot of dirt is being swept under the rug because accountability, responsibility and honesty wasn't at work in America's big business - and I don't see anything in the bailout that changes that. (By the way, we survived because we had a little 15 acre hillside farm that provided the basics - and even with that the times were so very difficult.) Smarter people than I certainly will have to figure out this one - but my grandchildren and their children are going to pay for pure greed, corruption and frankly what I consider blatant exploitation and criminality.

WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT?

I suspect inflation will rise. Printing of money of this magnitude will cause hyper inflation if dished into the economy all at once instead of letting it simmer into the economy over a long period of time.
So, inflation will rise. The banks will state that interest rates have to rise. Good claim to the game!
Interest rates will rise haulting the housing market even further. Making the economy really nose dive!
Government will have to raise taxes.
Further driving the economy into recession.
Where did the 700 billion go to?
The tax payers money. Money doesn't grow on trees! For we live on a finite planet, I think! (except for the sunshine, which is free energy!).

Most likely to pay off foreign debt so select few can build a nice big house and drive a big fine car in a big fine fenced lot!

good god we are stupid!
Strangest creatures on the planet.

geneonlbk - $700e9/300e6 people = $2333 per person. If Ron Paul is correct the eventual bailout will be in the trillions. This means probably about $7000 per person not including interest that will never be paid off. Maybe this money could go to what you are alluding to.

"Loan Titans Paid McCain Adviser Nearly $2 Million

Senator John McCain’s campaign manager was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations, current and former officials say.

Mr. McCain, the Republican candidate for president, has recently begun campaigning as a critic of the two companies and the lobbying army that helped them evade greater regulation as they began buying riskier mortgages with implicit federal backing. He and his Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama, have donors and advisers who are tied to the companies.

But last week the McCain campaign stepped up a running battle of guilt by association when it began broadcasting commercials trying to link Mr. Obama directly to the government bailout of the mortgage giants this month by charging that he takes advice from Fannie Mae’s former chief executive, Franklin Raines, an assertion both Mr. Raines and the Obama campaign dispute.

Incensed by the advertisements, several current and former executives of the companies came forward to discuss the role that Rick Davis, Mr. McCain’s campaign manager and longtime adviser, played in helping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac beat back regulatory challenges when he served as president of their advocacy group, the Homeownership Alliance, formed in the summer of 2000. Some who came forward were Democrats, but Republicans, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed their descriptions."

SEE: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/us/politics/22mccain.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=us&adxnnlx=1222103488-5de8RfsUDRInL0G4at2vFw

geneonlbk - I forgot to mention I think homeowners shouls accept responsibility for their choices.

Why would anyone want to be President over this mess!!!

"but my grandchildren and their children are going to pay for pure greed, corruption and frankly what I consider blatant exploitation and criminality."

AGREED 150%.
Damn shame really damn shame.
I surely hope many American families don't get caught in all of this. But, most likely they have in all the market hype. Banks handed out money like candy. Enough rope for people to hang themselves with. The fishers come calling now. What goes up must come down. Simple physics. To me, everything can be related to physical models of the planet, even the economy. For we are all governed by the laws of the planet in one form or other. To govern means to avoid "over heating". The economy was hot. Now they are pouring even more fuel on it! Thinking it is some infinite equation that can go on and on.

Damn, I surely hope many families don't get hurt. For a lost family is a lost generation. For many generations that have to clean up the mess.

Something should have been done a long time ago. Governing before it overheated.

The greedy home owners that financed more than they could ever afford are just as much to blame as Wall Street.

Let the homeowners face the music. Why do the rest of us have to pay for their stupidity? If the government is going to rescue everybody whenever irresponsible decisions are made, why play by the rules? This does not give you a reason to be smart and use good sense about anything. Does the US need money in a hurry? Bring the troops home as soon as possible!

"The greedy home owners that financed more than they could ever afford are just as much to blame as Wall Street"

Depends on how you look at it. It's all market hype!
From the haydays of the high tech boom. The masses followed like sheep to pasture! Everyone buying at high prices then turning over or keeping.

Tell me that the select few running the show don't realize that the masses will move this way! Of course they do. Just take a basic 101 course in university!
When the masses move, move the opposite direction!

Lots of people are going to get nabbed by all this. But, its the tax payer that has to foot the bill at the end of the show.
Someone should be monitoring for red flags in the market place!
Stopping/inhibiting/mitigating this trend we have seen over and over again (in 10 year cycles).
To a more sustainable economic cycle with real jobs!
(opps! Someone took Americas real sustainable jobs! Innovative jobs! right from out under yah!)

debt nation.
With future generations stuck with the bill.
Tell me that 700,000,000,000,000 isn't going to hurt the US tax payer!
(aside from the fact that interest rates will most likely increase soon)

ouch. It's gonna hurt like hell.

why is it,a black man gets beaten by the cops and there are protest marches.The gov.tries to stop migrant workers and there are protest marches. And we are all being robbed by big oil and crooked government and nobody does a thing about it?

That is too big of a payout, too big. I'm a democrat and believe me none of us think that is a good number at all. That will have increased the national debt over 1.2 trillion this year alone. I think that we have been raped by these speculators and they want us to throw money at them to save them basically from personal ruination. I think a better plan would be to legistlatively force them to sell all the mortgages at auction and whatever doesn't get paid, doesn't get paid. If the company bankrupts then the mortgages get sold to other US companies at acution. Lifes tough.

i am so sick of what the republicans have done to this once great nation. i cant wait until obama stomps mcbush and teh democrats gain many more seats in congress so we can turn around this country turn it back from the open pit to hell bush and his nazi republicans wanted to push us in.

Bottom line and Im not saying its all President Bush's fault but this finance situation as well as a list of failures has happened on the GOP watch and with a Rep sitting in the White House. Just like if a Lt. messes up on a ship the Capt is responsible for everything that happens on that ship. Why reward the Rep's with four more years after the last eight.

And we worry about these politicians being qualified to be VP or President. The congress is woefully incompetent to make these decisions. Any good idea has a partisan string attached that offends the other party and poisons it. I don’t expect these amateur welfare state economists to come up with any consensus. They have been too interested in filling the pockets of their special interest sponsors that the consequence of their deeds has come due. And now they are inept to protect the American people. They are even now looking for foreign money to help. Be assured that foreign money will manipulate our economy in the future. Say so long to a free and independent United States. Our politicians have sold us out.

CW -
The congress is a separate branch of government. Do you mean to tell me that Bush is responsible for an incompetent congress? It's a different ship.

We the American people are witnessing the decline of our economic society because of this collapse of capitalistic society, now don't get me wrong im all for the buck cause it pays my bills and takes care of the familiy but these companies looking for a bailout from the gov't make it worse not just for the people they do business with or have a loan through them with but now the American people have to suffer because a 700 biliion dollar buyout plan....Republican, Democrat or whatever who is to say who is right anymore they are all interested in self preservation and not the preservation of the people within or nation or the nation in general. I say this because most of them hold large stock these companies and their special interest groups.Why should the American people have to pay for bad business practices by extremely large companies?

CW -
The congress is a separate branch of government. Do you mean to tell me that Bush is responsible for an incompetent congress? It's a different ship.
-----------Posted by: MBell_TX |-----------Good point and yes they are, thats why no one can put flat blame on either party. However it will be perceived as another failure of the current administration. I am a Obama supporter and cant stand the way the Dem Congress has acted over the last two years. I think they wanted people to suffer so the Rep would be blamed. They also didnt do anything they promised. Making people suffer over political agendas should be a crime.--In saying that the Rep held congress of 6 years and Rep held House for five were not any better.
I am scared that McCain and Palin think to much like Bush and will bring little change. Palin wont be able to do anything nor write policy has VPs cant and will be basically atie breaker for the Senate. I will vote Obama.

Greedy home owners? No greedy speculators buying single family homes as an investment maybe. Greenspan was telling poor dumb American Schmoes that variable interest mortgages were a good deal just a few years ago. Blaming the folks who dreamed of buying a house and had faith in the financial system is just idiotic.

Let’s look at the facts.

Ronald Reagan was the godfather of deregulation. As president he eliminated many of the safeguards installed by FDR to ensure a safe banking and investment climate.

McCain’s chief economic advisor, Phil Gramm railroaded the legislation that created the current Wall Street meltdown. For 8 years, McCain did nothing. He favored total deregulation.

Now he wants some sort of oversight committee. And who does he plan to appoint? Donald Trump? We’ve seen oversight McCain style for the last 8 years. The polluters regulate the EPA; and the pharmaceuticals regulate the FDA. McCain approved of the appointment of Chris Cox, whom McCain now wants to fire. If we were to create an oversight committee for the bailout, McCain would appoint lobbyists cronies or K Street crooks to run it.

Obama has long ago called for responsible, tough regulation to prevent wall Street disasters. He is demanding that the benefits go to Main Street not Wall Street. He proposes modest tax hikes on the rich to balance the budget.

My only complaint is that these proposals do not go far enough. The rich robbed working class Americans. The rich must give the money back. We need to cancel all the tax benefits the rich enjoy and hefty surtax on the incomes of all the multi=millionaires and billionaires. It’s time for Cindy McCain to get by with one car, not 13, and figure her household budget on one kitchen table, just like the rest of us.

Man made problems....

I cant understand how ower stupid citizen still giving their vote for Republicans, Every time we have Republican President we have War or a mess some where, walkup WHITE PEOPLE where you going, se what going on in our economic , who destroying our neconomic, and how benefeifts from the BIG OIL companies, WALK UP WALK UP, And still voting REpublican sooooooooo stupid .

The fundamentals of our economy ARE strong. You can whine about that all the way to the bank you mental cases.

The fundamentals of our economy are strong. George Bush found oil when he was in the oil business. George Bush found weapons of mass destruction when he was in the Commander in Chief business. Give him another trillion.

Is it just me or does that Merril Lynch Bull at the beginning of this article look as if something were being stuffed in the part you cannot see?

STOP THE BAILOUT NOW!

http://www.votenobailout.org

WALL STREET BAILOUT = GENERAL STRIKE!!!

There are 300 million people in this country. Give the poorest (those who make less than 100 grand a year) a million dollars each, and save the other billions. Thats what I call a fair stimulus package. Stop feeding the fat cats. Jim

There are 300 million people in this country. Give the poorest (those who make less than 100 grand a year) a million dollars each, and save the other billions. Thats what I call a fair stimulus package. Stop feeding the fat cats. Jim

CW -
Thank you.
I'm still trying to decide if either ticket will get the job done without selling us out further, rewarding special interest, or lowering the qualifying bar for those that expect entitlements.
We need a presidency that can successfully hold members of congress to public scrutiny; a scrutiny that can clear the House and Senate of parasites and con artist every election cycle.
Obama seems heavy on entitlements and eager to punish those that have a small business that turns enough of a profit (larger than 250,000 dollar) to employ others. The change mantra sounds great but what change is he capable of since the executive branch does not legislate. If he follows party lines I don’t see relief but more burdens upon the shrinking portion of the population that already carries the entitlement burden.
McCain claims he has been unsuccessful in pushing through congress change that benefits the American people. If he hasn’t been able to do it in congress I don’t see how he would be able to do it as president. The only appeal I see in the McCain ticket is Palin’s audacity to challenge the status quo and endure the ire of the politicians that got exposed or knock off their pedestal.
The debates will determine whether I vote or not. For me, to-date there isn’t much to get me to the polls.

Hey Neocons, thanks for ruining the economy.

Ron Paul's got my vote. He is the only true Conservative left in the race.

Conservative means NO CHANGE. But for the first 6 years of bush his Republican Senate and Republican congress passed little tid bits of small deregulations in different legislations and bills that help to allow the fallout of the economy. Yep, Now we taxpayers are bailing out the companies whose unsavory business transactions are no longer regulated. Yes, no longer criminal. Ouch! and to top it off, Not only are we bailing out those Financial corporations and banks and wall street companies, but all of their FOREIGN INVESTORS. Yep, Foreign investors, like foreign corporations owned by foreign governments, MANY of which do not like us and wish us harm. Isn't life with a Republican administration just grand?

cut and paste ----------------> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290261427780&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling

all this mess boils down to one thing high gas prices things were fine untill oil execs decided lets screw the people take all there money ,and laugh all the way to the swiss bank

u want to know how unstable the oil market is right now??? it just dropped 12 bucks a barrel to 108 when it was at 130 a couple of hours ago

Top contributors for the John McCain Campaign in 2008 --- Merrill Lynch $298,413 --- Citigroup Inc $269,251 --- Morgan Stanley $233,272 ---Goldman Sachs $208,395 --- JPMorgan Chase & Co $179,975 --- AT&T Inc $174,487 --- Blank Rome LLP $150,426 ---Credit Suisse Group $150,025 ---- Greenberg Traurig LLP $146,787 --- UBS AG $140,165 --- PricewaterhouseCoopers $140,120 --- US Government $137,617 --- Bank of America $129,475 --- Wachovia Corp $122,846 --- Lehman Brothers $117,500 ---- FedEx Corp $113,453 --- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher $104,250 --- US Army $103,613 --- Bear Stearns $99,300 ---- Pinnacle West Capital $97,700 (http://www.opensecrets.org)

Don't be fooled again by these Rovian tactics of John McCain. Obama has no economic plan! Obama wanted to bail out the home owner 18 months ago, this would have shored up the economy and the credit of the sub-prime market and we would have avoided this whole stock market mess. But McCain and the Republicans did not want to bail out the home owner (McCain kept calling the home owner a speculator when asked this question). Now that it hit their big business buddies on Wall Street, they are bailing out the speculators. Crazy! Where is the McCain plan? When your plan is the status quo and rubber stamping the Bush administration I guess you do not need a plan. Don't be fooled, the McCain plans are just more of the same. An independent non-partisan expert analyst that both Obama and McCain agreed to, analyzed both the Obama and McCain economic plans. He tore apart the McCain plan essentially as a fraud. McCain will have massive debts and will have to bring spending down to 1950 levels if he does not want to raise taxes, yet when confronted by this McCain still says it will work. This reminds me of George Bush Senior "read my lips; no new taxes" What did he do? Raise taxes! McCain will to, he has no choice now that the republicans have crashed the economy with deregulation and deficit spending. The only thing truthful out of McCain's mouth is that he does not understand economics. Obama/Biden!! 2008!!

Let the blue chips fall where they may. Look for private buyers, realignment and mergers but NO TAX PAYER BAIL OUT FOR WALL STREET CASINOS for mismanagement, high risk behavior and speculation. It is time to discard and forget what does not work and let innovation emerge. Paulson is a stock market executive who is trying to take the easier option. No bail out is the bitter medicine that can be taken now or taken in a few weeks. It will be much more cost effective if it is taken now.

Let's all start pulling our money out the banks. The Democrats are on the rim - let's send them jumping! They're a worthless bunch and we need to get rid of them. Markets tanking - oil prices through the roof. Democrats doing nothing.

While everybody trys to blame political party "A" or "B" or "C" remember one thing, no person in a private corporation can legally be held personally responsible for legal actions of the corporation. If you are the owner of a business you can be held personally liable for the business indebtedness. If you are partners with others in owning a business, any and all partners are personally legally liable for the business indebtedness. A private corporation is a legal fictional person. No person within a private corporation can be held personally liable for the legal indebtedness of the private corporation. That is the problem. Severing personal liabiality of management who deliberately spend other peoples money (the stock holders) to plunder the private corporation. There were NO such things as private corporations until about 1870. It was predicted that they would destroy the United States when Congress legislated them into existence. Teddy Roosevelt in 30 years battled the Trusts which were private corporations. Legislate out private corporations in the U.S. and management of businesses become personally liable for their actions. Plunder can be retrieved.

Why aren't people calling for the imprisonment of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney for gross financial mismanagement? We can't give these corrupt people another $700,000,000,000.

Bailing out companies for financial transactions that were once considered savory. Bailing out foreign investors some of which do wish us harm. Bailing out with my hard earned Federal Tax Dollars. Isn't life with a Republican Administration just 'PEACHIE KEEN!'

$700 billion for going-bankrupt banks is the biggest earmark in history.

Unbelievable how blind people are. all of this is the result of greed. I can't believe that some of you people want to blame homeowners. If a lender is not sure that a person is capable of making their mortage payments they make a risky loan at a higher interest rate. which means this person has to pay more than a person you can more easily pay for that same amount. A true recipe for disaster. If the government does not regulate Banks than there own desire to turn profits eventually leads to their and our downfall.

Jitters over the proposed bail-out? The bail-out is the most responsible thing the Government has done in years. Unfortunate that it has come to this, but the only responsible thing to do

Whens the last time the McCains borrowed money for a family home,a new car or ran out of gas?

It seems when Obama goes ahead in the polls, the price of oil goes up.

Coincidence or not?

The government bailing out a major finacial institution is scary. It will not solve the problem.

When will they stop? or won't they.

I know the Democratic/Chicago Machine deep down are estatic about it all. They want government to own and control buisness and industry. Falls right into their overall plan.

I am against the buy out. It will not solve the problems of this country. It will not uncover the underlying cause.

Hopefully with out a buy out, all can be made public information.

Maybe nows a good time to talk about privatizing social security!!!

The following is my personal opinion and not a solicitation. Written as a concerned U.S. citizen & not a representative of any company or organization. I have put this together to help people understand what I believe is the root cause of the mortgage melt down and subsequent Wall Street crash. It is critical to understand this because the core problem is continuing and will prolong the bottom. And the current bailout plan does not take these factors into account and sets us up for another wave that could send us over the edge. I have first hand real life experience working with families to solve this problem and have read & researched everything I can get my hands on. The problem is found on the front lines. While there are many who could take blame, I want to outline the process and describe everyone's roll in the process. My belief is that it is the non-traditional mortgages that are at the core of the problem. Read along & see if you agree.

First layer of blame goes to the consumer. There are two areas here. First is lack of financial education to understand how mortgages work in the first place. People hold fast to interest rate & payment being the only consideration when choosing a mortgage. This belief has cost many of them dearly. This is a majority of the population. Just ask anyone how his or her mortgage works or even what his or her note rate is, or how note rate compares to APR. A smaller subgroup of this are those who overextended themselves & bought too much home. These are the people who the media & the experts like to blame. Later I will give detail & examples of what mortgages these people accepted.

Next are the mortgage brokers. This group of mostly unregulated individuals often has just as little understand of the mortgages as their customers. And they were driven by greed. They could make 2 - 3x the commission for selling a non-traditional mortgage to any client. And because of competition they had to offer the product with the lowest initial interest rate. Which excluded a 15 or 30-year traditional fixed mortgage. So prime borrowers got the same loans as everyone else. The Federal Reserve estimated between 2003 & 2006 60% of the mortgages sold were of a non-traditional type. That is ev