What Do You Think About the Rescue?

Irma... Please don't place comments on this blog until you really know your history and learn how to spell.

Here's a lesson of history, Our 26th president which for those that don't know who he was (Theodore Roosevelt) which was a republican that also lead our country into our first depression. Again history is repeating itself with the past eight years of republicans leading our country into another resession/depression. When you go to vote ask yourself are you willing to take a chance on the well being of your family and this country under the hands of another republican. So people think hard and clear of your future desision on your accountable vote.

To Whom It May Concern: (We The People) the middle class, I strongly believe that this whole political plan should have been revised more towards our future, our kids and grandkids future, Why should we bail out the banks and walstreet and etc, where are they when some of our responsible tax payers are in the middle of losing their homes because our greedy bankers won't work out something with you especially when your trying to make good on your IOU. And what God given right do we have to say which is the better man or woman to run our country, we estabished knowledge as we grow same for Obama and Mcain, or is that our society is still bend set on being prejudice. As far as either man they are in a rude awakening when they finally become president. But the main goal is to get back our country the land of the free and of course FREEDOM OF SPEECH. I am a proud American and without God we are screwed one way or the other. Obama may be green in some areas but Mcain is out for hidden revenge due to his suffering of being a soldier, knowing the consequences that attain his position of serving his country. With our technology that we have the satallites we have in position to be able to view everything that goes on this world they know exactly where bin laden is why have'nt they taken him down, because Bush has so many connections with his money involved with bin laden just as his father did when he serve our country as president, its time for a change, but nomore Bush, Mcain saga.

This "rescue plan" is the most serious attack on Americans and the Constitutuion, but it doesn't come from foreign enemies nor terrorists, it comes from the White House and Capitol Hill. The impact will be felt for long times to come, if ever overcome. The real enemy of America is not from abroad, but from within. We seem to have no other choice than to vote for cholera or pestilence - which one is better?

My thanks go out to all the Senators and Represenatives who voted nay on the bill, to those that changed their vote to yes because of the added pork, you have let the American people down, as have all who voted yes on this bill. I do beleive that some sort of financial aid bill was needed but not with out more planing. All the canidates running for President and Vice President have lost my support. I hope that all voters across our country will remember those that voted yes on this bill and Not re-elect them when the time comes. My "Thanks" to Representative Lucas and Senator Inhofe for voting the voice of the majority of Americans and pressing for a better financial bailout bill.

The Bailout is totally stupid.... fire everyone in washington and put some people in there with some basic common sense!!!!!

Time to boot the idiots out. Reading the comments show the DC circle is completely out of touch with the rest of the country. I'd like to see a grand jury investigation. Just to see where Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Paulson, Barak Obama and the others involved in this bullcrap. Of course I will vote against my representative and senators.

I don't support this plan, but think that it will go through no matter what the majority of the American people desire. But I would like to make a request that should be included in the plan. I think that the American People should get a detailed spreadsheet of some sort - showing where this $700 Billion bailout figure came about, with details on who is getting how much. We should see, as we are the people, and it should be clear to us. We elected each of you no matter what party you represent it is the USA's money. You know those hard working people who now will have to postpone theire retirements. That is very unfair as their are individuals who will buy themselves out of jail or out of accountability in taking part in this mess. I will take part in making sure that we hold everyone accountable for their part and we expect you to do the same. Will this be swept under the table after the bill is past or will you stand up and make sure that we communicate the spending of this $700B to the public and will you reassure that each person involved will be prosecuted and their profits be taken to reimburse the $700B? The people deserve more than a blanket statement from our government, we deserve and demand a breakdown.

I don't support this plan, but think that it will go through no matter what the majority of the American people desire. But I would like to make a request that should be included in the plan. I think that the Americann People should get a detailed spreadsheet of some sort - showing where this $700 Billion bailout figure came about, with details on who is getting how much. We should see, as we are the people, and it should be clear to us. We elected each of you no matter what party you represent it is the USA's money. You know those hard working people who now will have to postpone theire retirements. That is very unfair as their are individuals who will buy themselves out of jail or out of accountability in taking part in this mess. I will take part in making sure that we hold everyone accountable for their part and we expect you to do the same. Will this be swept under the table after the bill is past or will you stand up and make sure that we communicate the spending of this $700B to the public and will you reassure that each person invovled will be prosecuted and their profits be taken to reimburse the $700B? The people deserve more than a blanket statement from our government, we deserve and demand a breakdown.

The market can solve this on its own with a little more time. If these mortgage backed securities are worth something, then let the free market sort it out. If folks took crazy risks in a greedy way betting that the housing market would continue to go up faster than normal, whether large banks or individuals, then they must pay the price for that risk taking they undertook. It's ridiculous to say credit will freeze all over if the Government does not buy all this stuff. There are still millions and millions of credit worthy Americans that can get a loan now and in the future, because there is profit to be made lending to them. That is not going to stop. It may be true that it will be more difficult for less credit worthy Americans to get loans...but that is natural and we must get back to that at some point. That our laws have pressured lenders to make loans to these risky borrowers for decades now has warped the system and we have to get back to letting the lenders decide on their own who they'll lend to based soley on the credit/business risk of that decision. Why drag it out and obliterate the lesson to be learned. I can assure you there are still many companies making money and therefore the stock market will not crash for an extended period.

This passes without grass roots suppoort. It amazes me that all 3 senators who promise "change" have voted for this bacon bill.

Want a healthy economy? If you really want to see the economy grow just get Government out of the way by shrinking it and cutting taxes on investment (which drive the economy). Cutting income taxes should be a strong second move. No giveaway’s to those who won’t work. Welfare should only be for the destitute (whether infirmed or disabled). Unemployment should be temporary and meaningful. In no way should any Government ever attempt to create a job. Such a job would only remove both the worker and the investment from the economy. No Government guarantees for anything or anyone except for war Veterans healthcare and welfare. Guarantees do only one thing, promote and protect fraud.

Insure or guarantee the securities in question, but don't buy them. The FASB needs to re-visit the "marke-to-market" rule. Put back in the "uptick" rule, which had been around since 1934. Get the SEC back in the oversight game - 33x leverage is ridiculous. Work with homeowners in danger of foreclosure to re-write mortgages.

This is an overdue crisis of confidence in the financial community. It stems from hundreds of trillions of dollars in reckless bets (credit default swaps and other derivatives) founded on a few trillion dollars in loans, many of which never had real prospects of being repaid. Banks and companies like AIG and GE Capital "insured" quantities of debt against default without anything like adequate resources to pay up when default occurs. $700 billion or $850 billion will be swallowed up in this maelstrom without a trace. The crisis will end when investors realize that borrowing and lending money is of limited value and can only be expected to earn a small return in aggregate compared to activities that actually create wealth. Banks should go back to banking, and insurance companies should go back to insurance. My solution is for Hank Paulsen to quit the Treasury and start a mutual fund to buy up these toxic assets at market prices. I'd far rather put money into such a fund than have it confiscated by the government with any profit wasted on pork.

Dont call it a crisis and encourage people to take care of themselves. Let the people be free.

To Whom it may Concern: Today on Sept 30, 2008 it was annouced that the bailout of the stock market was denied by congress. As we all seen and heard on the News President Bush pleaded with them to change their minds. He stated that this is not just a give away but a loan in which will be paid back by the TAX PAYERS. I don't know about you but to have the working class pay for something is going to bail out rich is just insane. Pres. Bush stated that this is the only way to keep the economy going and keep from so many jobs laying off or closing down. I recall a number of years ago there was a freeze on inflation. THIS WOULD HELP THE ECONOMY. Not only would it restrict the price you are paying for gas, but also lower the cost of living. Wether this bail out happens today, next week, or next year doesn't really matter. Regardless layoffs were hitting our industrial works before the stock market began to crash. Take a look at the state of Kentucky. Here is a state that has a high industrialism. They manufacture anything from frames for automobiles to tubes for airplanes. But yet come april of this year some plants started to see drastic changes. Several plants laid off anywhere from 20-150 employees. One plant in Crofton, KY Closed it's doors for good. Others are just barely scraping by. Several Industrial plants around the country are closing down or laying off. I know of one company that has closed 3 of their manufacturing plants across the US. Ford, GM, and many others are taking an incredible hit. IT has nothing to do with the bail out on WallStreet All this happening is due to the rise of inflation and until we control of this situation it is only going to get worse. We need to put more effort into finding other resources for oil, we need to put a freeze on the inflation before it turns us into a third world country. People are losing their homes, jobs can't afford to feed their children. But yet it would appear that Pres Bush is more concerned with bailing out the rich instead of finding a way to help the lower classes. We all understand that Pres Bush is from Texas and has a large Oil Field, and has lost money due to crashing economy. But he cant think of himself and those in the same class as he is. WE NEED TO TAKE A STAND. IF you think that this bail out is wrong and that there should be a freeze on inflation please tell your story and email it to the Pres. We need for him to stop the bail out and make him see that we are the ones that are hurting from this more than they are. If inflation doesn't go down whats going to to happen to people like us? I guess the reason why I decided to write this is because I worked in a factory that recently had no choice but to close its doors due to the rise of inflation and crash of the economy. I don't know whats going to happen to us. We can get unemployment for up to 6 months but even thats not going to help us make it. I have been out of work for 3 weeks now. No one is hiring and when my husband and I applied for State Aid even with unemployment they said we made too money and there was nothing they could do. So now that we have been denied help and hearing Pres Bush beg for the bailout of WallStreet to happen just sickins me. They all have millions of dollars what does the average working class have? As of right now not enough and possibly none at all and it will remain that way until someone is willing to take action. Even if it is turned around and the bail out happens it's not going to solve the problem. We still have the price of oil rising which effects everyone. WE still have the cost of living going up. The only thing to stop it is to put a freeze on it before its too late. Middle Class Tennessee soon to be 3rd world country

If we fail, we have ourselves to blame. I can only say, hold your senator and congressman accountable for this mess. They either don't care about the impact to people or they they believe we're stupid enough to give them a pass. Trust Bernanke, Paulson and others to know what needs to be done. Trust them to care. They are willing to act. They've demonstrated that willingness every step of the way. They will make mistakes, but in total I think they will do better than anyone I can think of. The excesses were the natural outcome of good intentions. Certainly people got rich. Some will be excused for getting loans they shouldn't have. But it is critical that we not punish the innocent just to express our displeasure with those who made money off of this. Think the bigger picture and remember that the weakest amongst us will suffer the most.

I would let those that would try to buy something they can't afford, and the illigals who don't belong here, and the crooked mortgage companys who prey on those people, suffer the largest penalties USA can impose on them ! Pithy and to the point.

Fatcats on Wall Street and corrupt Politicians should all have to pay. Wall Street goons made a lot of money making bad bets and paying politicians for no oversight, now the American people need to "bail them Out"? This is what we should do: 1-Have all assets and funds seized from the corrupt rich that made the bad bets (loans). Use those funds to start paying back the bad paper. Let them start over with nothing. 2-Investigate our folks in Washington and make those accountable for corrupt practices. 3-Slow down Hank Paulson and company to review the entire fine print. Such as: Tax cut for Wooden arrows use by children, bail out foreign banks etc… 4-If we are going to bail out Wall Street, make sure there is something in the plan for the tax paying US citizen. Such as: Stock from the companies receiving bail-out, this way we are able to get some of our money reimbursed. 5-Better yet, help those that may loose their home and those that pay their mortgage by taking the 700 billion dollars and use it as an economic stimulus. Every adult would get approx 200,000 dollars. A married couple get over 500,000 dollars with stipulations that mortgages and credit cards be paid off and also taxes be paid. This not only pays back the government, but releases the banks of debt which give them the opportunity to give loans for development and thus puts builders, department stores back to work. This will also help government, banks, small business, etc. But mainly stops “Americans” from the burden of “bailing out” wall street and the economy caused by our government. Everyone wins not just the rich CEO’s that created the financial troubles. One last thing to remember, if we want the corrupt out of congress, we have to be serious in the upcoming elections and vote them out and put the honest in. Finally, if all else fails and government won’t listen. Please ask them to add in to the “bail out” or “relief package” $15 million to the Mike V foundation in care of Mike V.

Before we can accomplish anything it is going to be necessary to obtain control over the situation. In watching and reading about what has and is happening it becomes obvious that we the citizens have relenquised the power to control what is going to happen. Going into both voting sessions the massive public rejection of the bailout was well known. Many members of both houses were asked why they voted in direct opposition to the wishes of the people that elected them. Most declined to directly respond to this question. Of those that did address this issue it went along the line of: "I know better than the voters about what needs to be done." This can be read as meaning that they are the only ones that can understand the problems. The congress barely had enough representatives that listened to their constituents on the first round of voting. The senate didn't even come close to having enough true representatives of the people. (To a certain extent this should probably be true. The people causing the problem should certainly know more about what they did than those that have somewhat been treated like mushrooms over the years.) Bottom line: Until we replace elected officials with true representatives of the people we are going to stay in the deep gooey brown stuff. Pay attention to how they vote. Ignore what they promise. Then... treat them accordingly on election day! C. E. Coker

First of all this is such a crisis why is their so much pork in this bill? Look at page 263. “Wooden Arrows?” Are you kidding me. Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children. My solution: Say there are 100 million people paying taxes. What if we allowed each tax payer the option of giving $7 to the US government for the bail out. This would give them $700 million dollars. Then each person that gave money would in turn get a bond or certificate representing a piece of the debt so when the investments mature or are sold for a profit the taxpayers get thier money back and a small profit. The result would be no bill, no pork and would generate the money needed to bail us out of this mess. We, the middle class, will pay for this one way or another and I'd rather give now rather then pass a Pork laiden bill which is going to cost me, my children, their children and their children's children. Why the heck wouldn't something like this work?

- In its current form, the rescue package is worse than a pig with lipstick, a poorly conceived instrument of government which will facilitate a huge transfer of wealth while increasing the national debt at the expense of current and future taxpayers. The bill passed by the Senate is a by-product of groupthink, political arm twisting and corporate lobbying. - Based on past performance, Congress lacks credibility as regards its fitness to oversee a massive "asset acquisition & management program". Because the government does not possess the expertise to efficiently carry out such an operation on its own, it will in effect be handing over the treasury keys to private financial interests. Under the proposed arrangement, the so-called taxpayer protections are weak at best and certainly not commensurate with the level of funding involved. - I am in favor of approaches that keep the government out of the business of purchasing and managing complex financial securities. Several experts have offered constructive suggestions, including former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, Congressman Thaddeus McCotter and Carnegie-Mellon economist Allan Meltzer. Given half a chance, a well-picked team of experts and conscientious lawmakers could quickly develop a better alternative. - The House of Representatives has a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership by reshaping the bill into a practical set of measures that respects the constitution. Such leadership would go a long way toward restoring the public’s confidence in Congress.

I would make the Fed part of the Government. Right now it's members (cartel)have trillions of dollars that they are making off of the U.S in interest. If we grabbed the Fed and made them go to Congress for allocations then there would not be the problems with greed. matter of fact we would likely not have to have a income tax. Is this not what Kennedy tried to do before he was assassinated and that is when we went of gold and silver.

Simple. Dave Ramsey's plan is simple and full of Common Sense. Adopt his plan and save us trillions in debt and get things rolling again. What happens when they put in $700 billion and nothing changes.

Solutions are difficult to come by since it is clear that we do not have a fundamental understanding of the economic system and can only speak in nebulous terms such as "Wall Street", "Main Street", "The Market", "The Economy" without any rigorous definition and understanding of what is clearly a "medium number" system. Nevertheless I have added a solution at the end of this e-mail that is simple and direct. Please read the 01 Oct 2008 NY Times Op-Ed article "This Economy Does Not Compute" by Mark Buchanan. He is spot on. Earlier this year I tried to find out if anyone was working on modeling the economy/financial system because of my dissatisfaction with traditional economic approaches. Extracted portions of an e-mail I sent to Sandia Labs in March of this year follow: "Hope you won't find this too naive but I, like many others, am not too happy with either the economy nor with economic policy development. I recently sent MIT ( economics school) an e-mail (below) trying to see if there were causal economic models under development. I hear a lot of moaning and groaning about this policy or that policy but nowhere do I see a rational exposition using scientific methodology to support or refute a particular policy. "I would like to know if anyone at MIT is working on economic models for the US economy, and, in particular, causal models of the economy. I have not yet seen one government agency nor aspiring presidential candidate express an understanding of how the US economy (or any other, for that matter) actually operates. Instead, I hear and see the same old hackneyed solutions trotted out - a banality of generalities. I get the same sort of thing by so-called "economists" or "economic experts" who seem to really have no idea what are the major parameters of the US economy nor do they seem to have any idea of how these parameters operate. I include "The Fed" in that statement. With all the universities churning out degrees in Economics I would have expected by now that someone could prepare a briefing on the US economy that emphasized causal relationships and identified the key parameters in the US economy and their inter-relationships ---before they trotted out a solution to the economy's woes......" From what I could glean from your brief outline of the Aspen model it sounds like you've got quite a model on your hands. Now I am assuming that your model does assist in determining which parameters are significant and which ones are not. Does your model have the capability to take into account hard-to-quantify parameters like the impact of the almost inscrutable Fed pronouncements? What are the key parameters which influence the economy and has any of the presidential candidates bounced their proposed economic policies against your model? Has the Fed vetted or tested Aspen? Does it take into account fraud, such as occurred at the very top of AIG and Enron? How about the subprime mess and the "bundling" of mortgages as (poor) investment packages? Would the model have predicted the impact of the subprime debacle given the right data input?" Again, I'd like to reiterate that Fox Business, and especially you, Mr. Cavuto, and your experienced guests, could play an important role in any model development. Liquidity Crisis Solution Assumption: Institutions are not lending because they lack confidence. Draw on a whiteboard ( or blackboard for that matter) Venn Diagrams for the following sets, and develop the data for the population of each set. - A the set of all lenders (institutional not individual) - B the set of bank-to-bank lenders - C the set of lenders who refuse to lend - D the set of wavering lenders (those which have not made a choice to lend or not to lend) - E the set of lenders who continue to lend Now while these sets deal with institutional lenders each institution has specific individuals who are empowered to make the decision to lend or not to lend. Identify all those who match the institutions in set C. Call this set C Prime. Adopt the Chinese method of instilling confidence. That is, have a public show trial and execution of all those individuals in set C Prime. That should have a beneficial effect on set D such that this becomes a null set because all members of this set migrate to set E. Set E and set A become coincident for all practical purposes. Thus the liquidity crisis is solved.

How did the $600 BUSH Economic Stimulus payments work six months ago? How will the $700 Billion BUSH bailout work six months from now? Why prolong the inevitable collapse of democracy?

This whole mess and the aftermath of Congress trying to fix it is just another example of how our government no longer listens to the people. A majority of Americans are against this bailout in its various forms. Why is congress only considering a federal bailout instead suspending problematic accounting rules, taxes, etc? It seems to me that our government has been slowly departing from a democracy to a modern day aristocracy.....run by corporations and their pawns in Washington. Regardless of whether your politics are red or blue, I believe we all agree that government does not seem to be on our side anymore. I wish we, the american people, could fire all of Washington and start over.

If the Government is hell bent on spending $700 Billion dollars of the taxpayers money, they could issue a check for $250,000 to every taxpayer and let them have at it. Just think of what a stimulus to the economy that would create. Sounds crazy? Of course it does. But if the government is going to hang a rope around the neck of the taxpayers, let us at least go out with a bang. History has shown that government engineering of the economy, while temporarily appearing to solve an aberration, usually creates even greater fluctuations in the economy and further weaken the resourcefulness of the economy to correct itself. The more cumbersome it is for someone to take a risk, the less risk will be taken, and our society will become one that encourages handouts instead of opportunity. I'm certainly no economic guru but the last time I checked, our country was built by hard working people willing to build a better life for themselves. They understood that there was always a certain level of risk and therefore acted responsibly. The government fixing mistakes by people that did not act responsibility is not what America is all about. If you disagree, go move to Europe. You'll fit right in.

Lyndon LaRouche, the famous US Economist predicted our present disaster a year ago! The 1st link is what LaRouche suggests for the economic change. He suggests to restore the "Glass-Steagall Act Now!" http://www.larouchepub.com/other/editorials/2008/3539restore_glass_steagall.html The 2nd link is for Lyndon's web site, Executive Intelligence Review, Founder & Contributing Editor - Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. http://www.larouchepub.com/ The 3rd link is a very informative Lyndon LaRouche video. I finally understand how the US economy has completely disintegrated. The You Tube video is very helpful! I Hope this helps everyone understand what I am beginning to, which is truly sickening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE0VaUm51z8

I would pass the legislation for the Treasury to buy these bad securities and then once they have all been purchased change the tax law to treat income from them the same as muni bonds, tax free income. Government then unloads them at a huge profit to people who can afford them on their balance sheets. And also change the rules of what banks can own and use as collateral for loans so that they don't get in the same mess as before.

People: I thought that appropriation Bills must originate in the House and then be sent to the Senate upon approval. Is the action taken by the Senate constitutional? Maybe it is but I wish that the Senators would have worn their Powdered Wigs for the occasion. Please read the Declaration of Independence our forefathers wrote 230 some odd years ago. It is just as relevant now as it was then. We have a governement that is corrupt. A Congress which will not stop the bribery of lobbiest and special interested. A Congress that no longer supports the vast majority. They could stop the influence of money if they wanted to. They could stop "earmarks" that buy votes if they wanted to. They hold us in such contempt that they are now "sugar coating" this bill with additional giveaways in order to lessen our outrage and to provide cover for the true patiots in the House who voted this Bill down. READ THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. We have a right to desolve this governement. We have a duty to America to FIGHT for its survival and to cast out the scum that has taken it from us. King George and is parliment be damned. Len Eckert

Cody, I just heard your interview and analysis. Thank you for reading the 400+ pages of the bailout bill as passed by the senate. You are SO right! The consequence of global banking will necessarily lead to the loss of our identity and capitalism. The recession that lies ahead amounts to the world's claim to U.S. assets. New World economics is old world socialism. again ... where is John Galt?

The tax laws are antiquated. The capital gains and corporate tax rates are the best way to spur the economy. Businesses hire and drive the economy. free them up money and let the system work. as far as housing goes, lock in the current homeowners with a reasonable fixed rate and lenghten the terms to 35 or 40 years. We still need homeowners to pay property and school taxes or else we will have even bigger problems down the road!

This just totally proves that our "leaders" don't really give a hoot as to what we say or think. As for my state reps, you won't be getting my vote come November. I will stick to my word, and be the better half of this. America said "NO" and yet, you don't really care, with your high end salaries and your back door politics, and your perks from lobbyists. It's disgusting. Oh, and FYI-I'm a registered INDEPENDANT. I don't care what side of the party you are on, I just want someone with integrity. No one in Washington has any, and although we've known this for years, we still vote, so this time, I'm voting you OUT! Disgusting!

We can't solve this crisis,we've been trying to for years,finally resorting to creative financing and creative accounting as last resorts. It's time to face the music and turn our efforts to rebuilding what we've lost. That is how we can best serve our country.

Simple All these proposals would sunset 12.31.2009 unless extended Let the market fix itself. Let the business community repurchase these securitites. Don't let them come home to momma and have the government bail them out. Repeal Sarbanes Oxley reporting Assess a maximum 15% tax on any interest earned from bad loans -0- capital gains taxes on all loans and all long term capital gains Maximum corporate tax rate 25% Maximum tax rate for bringing $ US back into the US 25% Allow corporations to fully write off capital losses we would have a simple 1 page bill and have trillions flow back into the economy most politicians could not run a vending machine

So the House said no to $700 billion. The Senate in its infinite wisdom decided to add pork to the bill that increases the total to over $850 billion in hopes of taking a leadership position and ease the burden of the House so that the House can feel good about changing its mind and voting yes to the bailout, and yes it is a bailout. I get the logic, NOT! I communicated multiple times with our 2 Senators, Coleman and Klobuchar. Coleman is up for re-election this term. The democrat opponent, Franken is a very bad joke. Barkley the independent is definitely the underdog. However, after Coleman’s yes vote to this ridiculous bill Barkley may now have a chance. I will be changing my vote from Coleman to Barkley. I encourage everyone else to do the same and vote this back stabber out of office. Oh and by the way, the markets did real good today after the Senate’s glorious victory. What a joke. David in Minnesota

Now that the Senate has passed this "bail-out" package, against overwhelming public outcry against it, it becomes painfully clear that the tax payers are neither represented nor considered despite claims that this bill is for the public good. Although it is clear that action in some form is imperative, it is not clear that this bill is the solution. There have been numerous, intelligent objections to this proposal by many experts in the field. The need to provide available credit to the public aka "Main Street", can be accomplished by lending the 700B, or a portion of it, to institutions who are not at risk of collapse. The assumption being that these institutions making better business decisions, would use better judgment in extending credit to borrowers based on their good credit history and ability to repay!! Then rather than rewarding Wall Street's mismanagement & corruption by bailing them out, we are instead enabling Main Street to buy their car, make their payroll & obtain their student loans, while validating hard working, bill paying, credit conscious tax payers who've purchased homes they could afford !! We will avoid an additional 100+ million dollars in unnecessary add-ons and extend opportunity to smaller institutions who operate with good business practices and have the potential to provide jobs secured by stable corporate policies. I would like to request that Fox News post on their web site, a list of the Rep.s who vote "yes" and those who vote "no". Since it is clear that tax payers have no recourse other than our one vote, we should have the opportunity to either vote out or re-elect our Congressmen & women as we see fit. Voters who feel this bill was warranted are free to re-elect those in Congress who supported this bill and those who feel their wishes were not represented can choose to vote accordingly. The market has always had some degree of risk. Poorly run corps should fall (or be sold) if they fail, allowing for growth in smaller better run organizations which may provide additional employment opportunities. In every instance, free market solutions will always succeed where socialized government intervention will always fail. We are at such a crucial crossroads... Do we choose Liberty or Socialism??

Couldn't agree more Don...cudos.

Saving the "Big Fish" on Wall Street won't save the economy, only the "Big Fish";The increase in taxes and cuts in other programs that will be required to fund the inconceivable $700 billion will only add to the finacial stress being felt by "average" Americans and small businesses. Ultimately higher taxes and inflation will put companies out of buisness, thus people will lose their jobs and homes. Let the "Big Fish" that made the mistakes and abused the system for their own net gain sink, and let those that did things correctly for all these years, not risking their own or their customer's assets, rise to the top. The economy will rebound and the "average" American will be the bigger winner in the long run.

Comment by Clif Allen has everything that's needed...please give this some light on the FNC before it's too late tomorrow. Oct 1st, 2008 at 9:12 am Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps: Common Sense Plan. I. INSURANCE A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity. B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things: 1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage. a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes. b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives. 2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs. C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal. II. MARK TO MARKET A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate. B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing. III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing. B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

The blame game is as follows in my opinion: 1. Lenders did not ask for documentation verifying borrower income. (Clintn Adminstration Bad Policy) 2. Borrowers signed contracts stating they made the money and could repay the loan. (Bad Borrowers) 3. Fannie and Freddy bought these loans from the banks who loaned the money under the Clinton plan. (Clinton Adminstration Bad Policy) The people who are responsible are the banks, borrowers, and feds who kept the packaged loan repurchase market alive to transfer these over-leveraged assets. Those who profited directly from these bad schemes, including Main Street Joe who signed the contract and then took out a second to buy flat screens and cars. Main Street Joe is driving a paid-off car and has lower credit card debt than most because he stole from the system. Main Street Joe, Wall Street Bankers and Freddy and Fannie need to give the money they made illicitly from these deals back. Includign their golden parachutes (Countrywide) Obama and Dodd need to retun the campaign contributions they received from FMx2. And we need to employ the free market stimulation that will lead to a true economic recovery not more layers of wasteful government bureaucracy. P.S. - Obama is not qualified to see us through this mess

Jean got it right...insurance, cut the bad stuff...but she forgot that term limits (limited to 2 terms total) is the key to getting the fat cat Pelosi's, Bidens, Schumers, Reid's, Lott's, and Hastert's out. They've all become millionaires, and some like Raines & Johnson (Obama's guys) have made 100'S of millions in bonuses for destroying Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac. Americans need to take control and create a real free market...free country. Socialism is not the answer!

I think its A bad Idea! My only Question is How Long will it take for this to turn around and help Main Street. I'm Wondering if this thing passes will I be able to re-finance my home and how long will it take.I was one of the lucky ones to get a teaser rate mortgage but it capped the amount of interest at 11.5% or so. As of now I'm struggling but able to make my payments each month, and unable to re-finace because of the house value dropping too low. And if it does pass congress who is going to oversee the care and maintenace of these House's? Pay The Home Owners Insurance? Property Tax? etc. Is Congress Going To Go Mow The Lawns & Paint etc.. BAD IDEA! BAD IDEA!

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00. What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family? Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved. Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads Put away money for college - it'll be there Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs. Buy a new car - create jobs Invest in the market - capital drives growth Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces. If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President. If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+! As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up. Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't. Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work." But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party! How do you spell Economic Boom? I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC . And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam. Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest. Kindest personal regards, I don't know who Birk is.....but he has a good plan......I think just giving each taxpayer $200,000.00 would fix it!!!

We do not need Socio/marxism.

Good comments John Linder. I can't afford any more "change" either! What I can get behind is a bill that would eliminate the lifetime pensions and ridiclulous salaries for Senators and Representatives who work 75 days a year. However, as long as the fox watches it's own hen house, we'll never get the chance to change their compensation plan. No one will sponsor a bill like this, and there is no way congress would cut themselves off. They just gave themsevles raises for Pete's sake! A truly bipartisan effort led to SOMETHING last night. If congressmen and congresswomen were actually required to work together to come up with reasonable solutions, we would have a heath care plan that works, we would have an energy plan that leads to U.S. energy independence, we would have a fiscal plan that does not seek to balance the budget but to PAY OFF OUR DEBT. But these arrogant windbags won't set their pride aside to do the job we hired them to do. They have had zero results, and yet they still get paid! It looks exactly like the WaMu president deal to me. Only this has been going on for years in Washington on both sides of the aisle, all while contributions from Fannie and Freddy have been flowing into their bank accounts. Why is examination of Washington's compensation off limits for Americans? And why is it wrong do demand action out of congress?

Dear Citizens: My comments for your review: * The so-called rescue is a cleverly disguised yet pernicious instrument of government which will facilitate a mind-boggling transfer of wealth while increasing the national debt at the expense of current and future taxpayers. The bill passed by the Senate is a scandalous piece of groupthink and a by-product of political armtwisting and corporate lobbying. Without question this bill is a slap in the face to the U.S. Constitution. * Based on past performance, Congress lacks any credibility as regards its fitness to oversee a massive "asset acquisition & management program". Because the government does not possess the expertise to efficiently carry out such an operation on its own, it will in effect be handing over the US Treasury keys to private financial interests. Under the proposed arrangement, the so-called taxpayer protections are weak at best and certainly not commensurate with the level of funding involved. * If you think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is an unmitigated disaster, just wait until you read the headlines one or two years from now. * The U.S. economy will very likely experience further stress irrespective of the outcome of the House vote scheduled for Friday 10/03/08. Congress has an obligation to deliver a better plan - we DESERVE it and must DEMAND it. It is not unreasonable to ask the Congress to spend another week or two, as necessary, to produce a well-thought proposal. * Our leaders should not base such important decisions on daily market movements in the Dow Jones. The market is omniscient and thereby able to discern the truth, sooner or later. * I am in favor of approaches that keep the Government out of the business of purchasing and managing complex financial securities. The following experts have offered constructive suggestions and solution frameworks: 1. Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill advocates an insurance-based solution 2. US Congressman Thaddeus McCotter has proposed ideas on expedited recapitalization. 3. Allan Meltzer (Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University) favors a market-based solution. * Given half a chance, a core group of experts and conscientious lawmakers could quickly develop a better solution that is palatable to the American people and the financial community as well. * In my view, the Senate has not performed its mission in the spirit intended by the founding fathers. However, the House of Representatives has a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership by rejecting the current bill and propose a superior bill. Such leadership would go a long way toward restoring the public’s confidence in Congress.

In my humble opinion, the root of the problem is not being fixed. I think Congress should abolish the Community Reinvestment Act which forced banks to lend unwisely. Also, Congress should abolish Frannie and Freddie. After both of these acts have been accomplished, Congress will be free to investigate agencies like ACORN who have stong-armed banks into making unsafe loans to unqualified applicants. Their should be harsh penalties for the individuals who have ran these banks into the ground. The FED should do everything in its current powers to assist the market and we should not borrow more from other nations. We have a huge expenditure problem in this country. Everyone from the Government to the unemployed think there is an inherent right to huge summs of credit. Fiscal conservatism needs to be re-introduced in every walk of life. Not bailing out these monstrasities we call large banks and insurance companies would definately hurt everyone for a number of years, but if we address the heart of the problem, we will all be better off in the long run, which investment is about anyway. Some people would have to work longer and not be able to retire at the age they wanted, others won't be able to buy large homes, but one thing is sure, prices will not fall when we introduce trillions of dollars into our economy either and in 10 years we might be in the hot seat again.

Let's try Dave Ramsey's Common Sense Fix!