What Do You Think About the Rescue?

This bailout rewards irresponsibility! We should have listened to Ron Paul in the first place and let the free market work, now we have a plan being pushed that is just more of the same old socialistic claptrap that got us into this mess in the first place. I also agree with Vincent: much of this mess is the direct result of the devaluing of the dollar by the Federal Reserve (which is an unConstitutional body to begin with), and the lowering of rates by the same .

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the bailout bill and pray the vote is NO to the "new" bailout bill. Here are a few of my reasons: * it is a knee jerk reaction that does not address the root cause of the problem; * it is anti-free market and threatens our long-term freedom; * the government has rarely demonstrated an ability to efficiently manage large programs; * the huge dollar number is purely made up; * anyone who votes for this bill is voting for even greater socialism; * this is the largest expansion of government in the history of the world If a representative votes for this bill, they should be considered to be among those who do not believe in the free market and do not care about principles of freedom. Congressmen/women should not abandon their constituents. an opinion from Indiana

Stop! I once heard "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results". Is it any surprise that any business is asking for "bailouts"? Government has set a precedent with with conrail, airline bailouts, the savings and loan fiasco. Now the companies that have been making billions of dollars and obviously spending it, have put themselves in trouble. Should we help them? NO! Who was there when my job went overseas and we had to sell the "toys" and go back to school at 43 while working full time to acquire a second degree to allow a middle age career change? I understand Barclays has already taken over Lehman and have turned a profit. I say let stable companies buyout the failing companies, even if they have to "subdivide" the failing companies. Let the wall strret CEO's and executives sell some of their assests and live on unemployment. The next time they are in a position to make decisions, they may understand there are consequences for their actions.

How are Americans to believe that the poeple who got us into this mess are somehow capable of getting us out of it. For the past two years the Fed Chairman, Treasury Secretary, Administration, leading economists, Wall Street, the House and the Senate all let this situation develop right under their noses, and during that time have insisted that the problem is contained, won't spread, and that the economy is fundamentally sound. They've been asleep at the wheel and/or in a state of denial. The situation has been worsening and crumbling around them while they have denied its very existence. And now they want to dump it on the back of Americans. Thank you very much! It is unimaginable that the Treasury Secretary (who denied the existance of this entire economic debacle for the past two years) has the nerve to ask for $700 billion dollars based on a 3-1/2 page memo. How can Americans have any confidence in this guy? How can someone who totally missed the problem as it was (slowly) unfolding now be given authority to resolve it? The Fed Reserve and Treasury never once took any pre-emptive actions and instead were always behind the eightball and in a reactionary mode. Just my opinion but the whole bunch of them should be fired! Bring in new people. They can't do any worse! It absolutely frightening to think that these people are running the country.

Suspend Mark-to-Market. Insure the mortgages and let the banks buy the insurance. Eliminate Capital Gains tax. Lower income taxes. All of this will help the economy. Giving people who made bad business mistakes $700 billion is not the answer. If congress wants to do that, then they can lead the way by donating their salaries. I'm tired of a government that wastes our money. Quit taxing us and control your spending.

Where is the Constitutional Authority for Congress to use Taxpayer dollars to bailout private companies?? Tell me that!

ABOLISH The Federal Reserve ABOLISH The Federal Income Tax Stop Paying the government and the bankers to deprive you and your children of their birthright of property and freedom "Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves . . . I intend to rout you out, and by the Eternal God I will rout you out!" President Andrew Jackson

Step 1 - remove Capital Gains, Dividend, Social Security Benefits, and Tips Taxes - replace with a securities Excise tax (a tax that both a buyer and a seller pays when a securities transaction occurs). This will encourage savings and investing, help out the most vulnerable and the least paid, and discourage Securities speculation (which happens when an entity makes a lot of Buy transactions to inflate a stock and then sells the entire position, thus preying on Momentum traders). Step 2 - Increase the Fractional Reserve Requirements to 10-15% from the 6-12%. Requiring banks to hold more money in reserve creates a situation where Banks will have to act more conservatively with investments in the future. Step 3 - Remove all subsidies to the Agriculture, Energy, and Health Care sectors. This will mean that everyone will pay the same amount for these items (today, if you pay no taxes you benefit from the subsudies, otherwise you are actually paying at the storefront and with your taxes for goods). Step 4 - Require the Federal Reserve to monetize only US Treasury Bills (currently they have the right to monetize any asset including Mexican Bonds or Mortgage-Backed Securities). Step 5 - Issue a statement that the US Treasury will no longer bail out any more institutions, and mean it. Let a 1 year recession happen, and when its all said and done the other 4 steps will keep the problem from coming up again.

I would do three things: 1. Pass a federal law to the effect that all adjustable rate mortgages implemented during the past four years are hereby converted to the current average fixed rate and that the adjustment provisions may not be enforced. 2. Eliminate the "mark-to-market" rule, which was roundly criticized by many of the world's central bankers and economists at the time Sarbanes-Oxley was passed for exactly the sort of problem it has now caused. 3. Pass a law permitting purchasers of mortgage-backed securities to repudiate the sale if it is shown that there has not been full disclosure of the statistically-determined risk estimate for that specific instrument.

Let look at the bailout. Paulson and Bernake were telling us the economy was sound and the housing situation was under control for the last year. Then all of a sudden they realize that we have a big mess and their buddies on wallstreet need help. So they want to stick it to the taxpayers. First of all trusting Paulson and Bernake is like trusting a doctor that remove the wrong organ. They have been wrong all along why trust them now. As a matter of fact Paulson when he was running Goldman Sachs he was one of those responsible for the creation of this who CDO mess. Now were supposed to trust these fools. Give me a break. The right thing to do is liquidate this bad debt. Yes the economy will tank and we will have a very tough year or two, but then we can start rebuilding. If we do not liquidate this debt we will end up destroying the dollar when they have to turn on the printing presses. Would you rather have you stocks remain at their current levels but have the dollar drop to 1/4 of its current value? That would hardly be a good deal for any of us.

I won't paste in the Dave Ramsey plan again, but it IS the solution. The second big part of this solution: VOTEVote OUT ANYONE who votes to hand hundreds of billions over to buy up bad debts. We need conservatives who are willing to run for office, to provide an alternative to the Senators and House members now in office.

Where do we start?... I don't want to nationalize every large business in the US. Once we start these bailouts and takeovers, where do we stop? I think the basic premise of the bailout bill is flawed. We buy the toxic assets of the banks and recapitalize them with the intent of freeing up lending/credit. What if the banks still won't lend money to the folks we're trying to reach/help? We helped them out but they didn't help us out. Also, and probably more concerning, is what if they start making the same dumb loans again? For example, do we really want the banks lending to developers who will create more houses for an already flooded housing market? Why can't the SBA temporarily help small businesses with these loans that are locking up business? That way the government is directly aiding those it is trying to help and not relying on the banks to do the right thing. When the US buys these toxic assets, we will no doubt pay over market value for them in order to help the banks recover. Once the US owns these assets people will play politics and demand that the government significantly reduce the attached loans further reducing their value. Since it will be a buyers market with so much junk on the market, the US is almost guaranteed to lose money in this deal. Buy high and sell low. I really hope I'm completely wrong...

The Govt. has a poor record of trying to correct the current situation, and they were among the major causes of the problem. Therefore, I am still against the bailout and all it's attachments in it's present form. I wish that they would stop trying to serve their own political interests, stop over-regulating, and actually try to come up with free market solutions that leave a minimal government footprint. I'm sorry to say that Abbott & Costello has got nothing over our Congress today

No, on the bail out. Let the cookie crumble. Seems strange to me that a republican president proposed the bill and the democratic are jumping all over it, but not the house republicans. What is going on?

If we keep making ill conceived politically correct loans to people who have little or no means to pay them back then what have we done to solve the real problem? I bought my first house during a period where mortgage rates were 12 % and you had to put 20% down and the economy was not in freefall. Cheap money and irreponsible lending has gotten us into this mess. Neither is addressed in this fix

1. Listen to the people. 2. Cut interest rates 3. Eliminate Capital Gains 4. Make the banks work out the mortgages with the people in forclosure by adjusting interest rates. 5. Let the market work this out on its own by raising the money to bail each other outher out. After all they were able to raise the money to get themselves into this mess in the first place. Besides the government will over pay for these assets and they can not manage these properties. After they spend $700 billion who is going to pay the utilities, maitance, insurance, taxes, association fees etc. on these properties? How much will all that cost? Who is going to bail out the Government when they go bust for buying these things.

NO BAILOUT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!!

Solution: Kick everyone out of the Senate and House of Representatives. They created this problem and now they want to fix it. I'm so tired of all this mess. I looked at the Senate Bill. They are throwing everything in there that doesn't apply to ME! HOW does that help ME???? Go Dave Ramsey. Maybe if we had more "regular" people in Congress we wouldn't have these problems. Big salaries=Big Heads=Big Problems. Fire them all!

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.

If these politicians would do something to lower gasoline and diesel prices to under $1.50 per gallon as soon as possiblethe taxpayers would all be bailed out immediatly. This would put two to four hundred dollars a month in every taxpayers pocket. All you would need to do then is work on the credit problem. With more money to spend on everything else the preasure would be off the taxpayer and 700 billion may not be needed. I am a realtor in Florida and our busines is coming back without any bail out.

if they really want to solve the problem with our economy they should take that $700 billion and divide it among homeowners in america. that is after all where the real problem is. if you take the number of american homeowners and divide the $700 billion into that number each homeowner in america would receive $75000. that should automatically go to the banks if a mortgage is owed and there in solving the whole problem from the bottom up. the way they want to do it they are putting a patch at the top which only extend the amount the american people have to suffer. you wouldn't take and put gauze and bandages on the piece of finger laying on the ground to stop the bleeding would you??? no you would fix the problem which is the hand not the finger laying on the ground. same thing. if it's taxpayer money they should give it to the taxpayers. PROBLEM SOLVED!!!

Why is the government in the business of business? Do we have to save companies that are run into the ground by greedy management? Let them fail and let investors pick over the scraps and build NEW companies that are (hopefuly) run by more honest people. Bottom line: Washington should do nothing and start selling off Fannie/Freddie assets until they are gone. P.S. Paulson should resign TODAY.

1. We need to repeal mark to market; 2. Create an investors insurance program like FDIC 3. Increase FDIC 4. Repeal all capital gains tax which will increas a hugh infusion of cash into the economy and rid the economy of much of the real estate "bad paper" Even small businesses will jump at this! 5. Regulate the Commodities trading - Until traders are controlled, gas and food prices will continue to spiral out of control and continue to drive this economy into the toilet!

1.) Eliminate the "mark to market rule" - operating businesses do not revise book value on fixed assets unless they are sold, refinanced, or similarly modified....it escapes me why banks should mark down collateral ( market volatility and beta is normal and expected in a dynamic economy). 2.) Eliminate Fannie and Freddie - the Fed can offer tax credits for buying a home, and banks can capitalize those credits ( they find a way to invent derivatives for everything else). 3.) Enact laws that allow defaulted mortgage homeowners to transfer title to lender but stay in their homes and pay rent (non-amortizing)- non payment of rent can be addressed by wage garnishment. When they are able, they can resume principal amortization,recover title for a modest fee. and regain title. 4.) Tell Nancy Pelosi to put a sock in it.

NO TO THE BAILOUT. If your congress critter votes yes then VOTE THEM OUT!

We need to stop this NOW! If this passes there will be many many more of them. We need these huge monopolistic companies to fail in order to police the free market. The Fed created an environment of malinvestment with it's low rates, that caused the credit expansion and inflation by way of the fractional reserve banking system. All of this false growth steals value from the dollars people save and forces them into inflated assets. Why leave dollars around when they shrivel up and die thanks to the FED? We are not supposed to have a Central Banking system, markets should set the rates. Our money should be backed by gold and silver as required by the Constitutional. Our money is immoral counterfeited toilet paper. A strong America should have a strong currency. We should be as good as gold. It's time to end this Keynesian nightmare and be honest. Return the power from the Banking system to the free people and the free market. "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." -Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802)

First Congress has an approval rating of less than 20%. This should indicate something. If these elected officals do not represent the people who put them in office then it is time to hold SPECIAL ELECTIONS and remove these incompedent figures. The collapse of Enron should have been a red flag to these officals there was a bigger problem brewing. What role does the I.R.S. have in the oversight of these financial markets or is it just another extension of the problem? It is time abolish the current tax code and implement a Flat Tax Code.

I like this, as it was sent to me by a friend. Here's an Idea I Ãm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I Ãm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a 'We Deserve It Dividend'. To make the math simple, lets assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00. 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 lets 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 any college loans – what a great boost to new grads Put away money for college – it will be there Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs. Buy a new car ând create jobs Invest in the market creates capital drives growth Pay for your parents medical insurance – health care improves Enable â deadbeat dad 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. In addition, of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces. If we are going to re-distribute wealth lets really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President. If we are going to do an $85 billion bailout, lets 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. However, 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 the 'We Deserve It Dividend' more than the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC. And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 billion, because $25.5 billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam. ----- End forwarded message -----

Perhaps the stock market went down $777 because Main Street was afraid the Bailout would pass. No one mentions it went back up $485 after the Bailout failed. I think the people were happy it failed! I don't think there should be a bailout. I think there are other alternatives, such as many mentioned here, that would stimulate our economy, without bailing out the companies that caused the problem. Let's stay a democracy!

I am against the "Bailout" in its current form. First of all, lets recongnize NATIONALLY who is responsible for this mess..the same fools are posturing themselves as heroes..Pelosi,Frank,Reid,Schumer and the whole vile lot of them! They saw no problems with Fannie and Freddie 4 years ago..and now its the Republicans fault?? You let them oversee this "bailout" and it will be catastrophic The American taxpayer, who would be on the hook for this, would NEVER SEE A DOLLAR of any gain from this plan - it would go to fund some sort of universal healthcare, welfare, or some other government sponsored socialist program. NOT WITH MY MONEY! I have seen some good ideas posted here, and it seems like most of the same sane minds are thinking alike. First: Change the mark-to-market rules Second: raise the FDIC insured limits Third: I agree with many posters on the setup of an insurance plan, funded by the companies, backstopped by the govt, for the portfolio of properties.. It is correct in assuming they will create a market for these securities and this will provide liquididty Fourth: Correcting the inadequacies of the repatriation of taxes for businesses.. Fifth: restoration of uptick rule for short selling and increase of margin and delivery regulations on shorting... Sixth: a last idea that I have heard lately is the removal of a capital gains tax..a great idea! A poster here made a great point. The country wanted change 2years ago..well they got it. Higher gas prices, stalled economy, higher unemployment. Nice job Democrats! You suck! Now Barack Hussein Obama wants to punish success and over-tax everyone of $250k/year! Since when is $250k/year RICH? If you vote for this clown you deserve what you get! Like my mama always said, "you can't fix stupid" 75% of americans are shown to hate this plan! (Fox News Poll) John McCain needs to strap on a pair and make a bold stand..state that this plan sucks and tell the American people what he will do! In the absence of true leadership, people will follow the loudest voice, whether its right or wrong. Right now, BH Obama is loudest..and wrong!! Hey McCain - your country needs you to be a hero - AGAIN - now more than ever! ANSWER THE CALL!

My wife and I also suport the Newt Ginrich and Dave Ramsey plans for solving this economic problem. To our knowiedge the U S goverment has never saved the tax payer one thin dime. We also would like to tell these know it all polititions that if they sign on to this $700,000,000,000.oo FARCE of a bailout, we will do everthing we can to see that these people are voted out of office as soon as posible. Rest asured, we will not forget. Lee & Kris Embree

i believe there should be an investigation into this mess and the culprits need jail time.NO BAILOUT...i believe the Senators and congressmen/women that vote for the bailout need to loose their jobs in congress and i think recalls would be in order for no oversight and not doing their job and not listening to WE THE PEOPLE...CLEAN HOUSE

No tax payer money is required to bail out the economy. Here is what I and some others think. 1) Repeal the mark to market law passed after the Enron collapse. 2) Repeal the Capitol Gains tax Let the rest of the market sort itself out. The folks that made the bad investments should not be bailed out with tax payer's money.

'NO BAILOUT OR RESCUE PLAN' In my humble opinion. Do away with capital gain taxes and mark to mark down, raise FDIC amount. No governmental oversight,I don't trust our government anymore. We need a totally independent Co. to do what ever needs to be done (oversight). The reason I feel this way we are rewarding bad behavior. Some people just don't get it. It is like going to let your children get away with bad behavior, guess what if you don't correct them it will get worse. Also we need to stop pointing fingers at each party, again to me this is child like behavior instead of rising above and do what is necessary to get the job done.

The talking heads have been telling us for at least two weeks that we are on the brink of financial collapse. So far, nothing has collapsed. If you go to the mall, there is no place to park. If you go to a restaurant, it is filled to capacity. This past Saturday, I-66 west of Washington, DC was crowded with cars, despite gas prices and despite (so we are told) that "we" were on the brink of financial collapse. This is a problem caused by some individuals making irresponsible decisions about a mortgage and ignoring the adage that is something seems too good to be true, it probably is. You don't get something for nothing and a mortgage with an initial interest rate of 1.9% was TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE and shame on those people who signed up for them without thinking long-term. And shame on those Pollyannas who urged loosening underwriting requirements for loans so that "everyone could realize the dream of owning a home", thus enabling people with inadequate cash-flow to get mortgages. The reality is that not everyone can afford a home. After the stock market decline on Monday, the talking heads started telling us that the foreign market would collapse on Tuesday. How did the foreign markets react? With a yawn. What does this mean? The so-called predictors of the economy are doing no better than medieval soothsayers using tea leaves and tarot cards. The bottom line is that this so-called problem needs a scalpel, not an elephant gun. Congress should start with some conservative measures to make sure the taxpayers (the innocent victims) are protected from losing their life-savings due to the fraud and greed caused by the Wall Street and government weasels. Actually, the vote on Monday should be cause for national celebration. It's the first time that Congress actually listened to their constituents and voted accordingly. Wow. What a concept.

Dear senator Today I listened to Representative Brad Sherman on how the Paulson proposal will purposely bail out foreign investors. Here is the shocking text as translated from CNBC in an exchange with Larry Kudlow. Rep. Brad Sherman, D California: Larry I am glad you have a few seconds to talk to someone who voted against this bill. I am not changing my mind. I want to thank my colleagues who stood up to the purveyors of panic and voted against a very bad bill and voted with 400 eminent economists including three Nobel laureates who wrote to us and said don't panic, don't act hastily, hold hearings, work carefully. The fact is Larry if you read this bill, even you would have voted against it. It provides hundreds of billions of dollars of bailouts to foreign investors. It provides no real control of Paulson's power. There is a critique board but not really a board that can step in and change what he does. It's a $700 billion program run by a part-time temporary employee and there is no limit on million dollar a month salaries. Larry Kudlow: Let me just ask you one question. I think you are referring to foreign banks headquartered in the United States. I do not see how foreign investors get bailed out. Rep. Brad Sherman: Larry you have to read the bill. It's very clear. The Bank of Shanghai can transfer all of its toxic assets to the Bank of Shanghai of Los Angeles which can then sell them the next day to the Treasury. I had a provision to say if it wasn't owned by an American entity even a subsidiary, but at least an entity in the US, the Treasury can't buy it. It was rejected. The bill is very clear. Assets now held in China and London can be sold to US entities on Monday and then sold to the Treasury on Tuesday. Paulson has made it clear he will recommend a veto of any bill that contained a clear provision that said if Americans did not own the asset on September 20th that it can't be sold to the Treasury. Hundreds of billions of dollars are going to bail out foreign investors. They know it, they demanded it and the bill has been carefully written to make sure that can happen. Senator, please scrap the Paulson proposal in entirety and try something that might work, that is constitutional, and does not put taxpayer money at risk. US citizens should not spending $700 Billion to bail out foreign investors. The actions of Treasury Secretary Paulson go far beyond disgusting, to outright betrayal of US citizens. I ask that you take a clear stand against this un-American bill by not only voting against it, but to Filibuster the bill until it is given up for dead. I cannot and will not vote for any legislator who votes for this bill, or even allows it to be brought up for vote. Senator, the United States of America is depending on you to block this bill for the good of the country.

If these polititions would do something to lower gasoline and desil prices to under $1.50 as soon as possible the taxpayers would all be bailed out immediatly. This would put two to four hundred dollars a month in every taxpayers pocket. Then all you would need to do is work on the credit problem. With more money to spend on everything else the preasure would be off the taxpayer.

Now they are calling it a Rescue Plan, and they are right! Its a Rescue for Big Business that made risky investments and the rescue is made by taxing Americans to Death. NO to the rescue bailout, it will make everything worse, the dollar will fail and we will be in depression for the next 10 years. Throw the bums out

End the Federal Reserve Let the markets find their own balance. Do not inflate the dollar by creating another 700 Billion dollars If you really MUST create 700 Billion dollars that the taxpayers are on the hook for, then give it to each taxpayer. The estimated $52,500.00 per taxpayer would clear up most credit problems in this country with plenty left over for purchasing durable goods, starting small businesses, and investing.

United States is becoming the Fourth Reich... Try to see past the spin, hype and disinformation poured out by the media conglomerates THIS IS NATIONAL SOCIALISM You can not mix Corporate Power with the Elected Leaders and our Military

Seldom has there been only one answer to a problem. The idea of adding PORK to get this heap of crap to pass is sad. Look around, in the next four years the faces in capital hill will change.

The Wall Street execs will continue to do what they have been doing - make more money. You want to help me? Reduce my federal and state tax rates 50%, Reduce property tax, send the the bail out money to refinance existing home loans to 5% 30 year fixed rates... bail me out! They say saving Wall Street will save jobs by allowing companies to continue to recieve financing, that's all good stuff, but that scenario does not create jobs, it keeps the job market flat... we need a growing job market. We need Reagan back! Please clone him.

The Federal Government: President Bush, Senator Schumer, Senator Clinton, Representative Hall, Senator McConnel, Rep. Boener . . . and anyone else who’ll listen to reason. Dear Sir/Ma’am: Now that the American public has stopped you from doing stupid you need to do smart. Any plan to repair the damage you caused must attain three goals - financial confidence in banks, force failed institutions to work on an individual basis to keep the good mortgages and discard the bad ones, and lastly eliminate the federal governments involvement in the mortgage market. To restore confidence in banks you must increase FDIC insurance to what the inflation adjusted rate that $100,000 is today from what it was at it’s inception and peg that guarantee to inflation. That would equal about $1,500,000 today. Next, you have to eliminate the guarantees on “money funds” that the treasury instituted a few weeks ago. Then you must very slowly begin the hard work of altering the debt level that is allowed to borrow to obtain margin, leverage or mortgages - whatever the objective - the borrower must have to put up more than their good will and future income to obtain copious amounts of credit. Lower the barriers to entry to open a bank but create standards to capitalization that cannot be violated so the banks always remain solvent in good times as well as bad - and remain vigilant to make certain all requirements are being met - don’t attack the regulator next time she shows up to tell you there is a problem. While I’m not a Ron Paul nut case - the son of a bitch is right - we have maintained low interest rates and encouraged dumb investment because we keep the cost too low for the money involved - thus when you divorce the risk of loss of capital from the cost of that capital you implicitly encourage a moron to gamble - I mean speculate. A bank must be permitted to charge a rate for capital that is commensurate with the risk it faces other wise it will not lend it; and people will not borrow wisely. Finally, you are going to have to fire the people responsible for this, those of you who are elected and voted for this crap we are coming for you via the ballot box - you should all be thankful for the ballot box. Every bank that holds a mortgage that is in various stages of failure must be encouraged to reevaluate that borrowers situation. Banks don’t want to go into the real estate business, and borrowers don’t want to end up on the street - but neither party is motivated to fix their situation if you keep promising to save one and bail out the other; instead communicate clearly that neither case is going to occur and tell both borrower and lender to work it out. If you think you are saving your seat by providing relief to one and punishing the other you’re delusional. The federal government caused this mess. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And boy can you people pave ‘em. I have no argument with your humanitarian goals - I share them. But the route you have taken in this case is idiotic. We don’t have an “affordable housing problem” we have a “government trying to justify and enrich its existence” problem. Thus you must excise this tumor of encouraging loans to people that have not met sound lending requirements. Eliminate GSE’s. If there is an idea worth doing you can bet your ass someone like yours truly will create a business and profit from it. If there is some objective that the federal government decides is necessary like a “repairable run flat tire” for every vehicle on the road today, thus saving millions of barrels of oil, sell a bond and offer a prize to the inventor. In the case of home loans - you want more people in houses - cut spending so states have more resources to attack the problems that they have. If I wanted to pick up a piece of lint on my carpet I wouldn’t use the Hubble Space Telescope and a robotic probe to recover it I’d kneel down and pick it up. Pulling desperately needed dollars out of state and local governments is the fiscal version of my dumb example - and the practice is just as stupid. Thats it. One final note, yesterday I went to Temple to celebrate the Jewish new year. On the temple grounds there is a monument that at its base lists out all the concentration camps of Nazi Germany - so we never forget what real evil is and always remember those who perished. But for the economic collapse of the 30’s all Hitler ever would have become is some crazy goose stepping lunatic - but economic disaster provided fertile ground for evil to plant it’s seed. I’m not saying we are any where close to this, but if you’ll permit me my paranoia - I’d rather not find out.

Our family is against the bailout for a number of reasons, and yes our diversified IRAs have lost about 20% thus far this year. There is: No requirement that Wall Street pay a dime for the damage caused or the clean-up; though a future President can request Congress do what it declines to do today. No meaningful limitation on outrageous executive pay; no shared sacrifice; only rewards for the greedy and burdens for the needy. No bar on American taxpayers having to bail out the the entire world (multinational corporations); No guarantee taxpayers will not be overcharged for buying debts that no one else wants; and No guarantee taxpayers really share in future profits of those bailed out. These concerns get only cosmetic mention in the bill. This 100 page bill-three pages of what Secretary Paulson would do; 97 pages of what he could do, plus excuses for approving the first three pages. Everyone should want to avoid further economic deterioration. This fix never seriously considered any alternative in these negotiations to just giving $700 billion to the same Bush Administration that has done so much to create this crisis. We do not oppose reasonable steps to intervene in the economy, the burden should not be placed on taxpayers. The Administration should exercise authority it already possesses to ensure that our financial markets continue to function properly. The FDIC should utilize its emergency powers to immediately raise the limits on federally insured accounts at all banks. The Securities and Exchange Commission should review and consider suspension of current accounting rules on the valuation of mortgage-backed securities, and the FDIC should consider relying on the net worth certificate approach that it utilized during the savings and loans debacle of the 1980s. These are the ideas of William Isaac, President Reagan's former Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. We should support those companies (e.g. banks) that were not involved in making this disaster but who need some help to survive as responsible businesses. Spending this $700 billion will not help taxpayers very much. Those who have lost 20% this year won't be making that back very soon. This bill will only help those Hot Shot Speculating GunSlingers who created this mess.

No bailout under any circumstance! Not in any way, shape or form. Let the market correct itself now, not later. Propping things up now will only make the crash that much worse in the long run. Because the crash is coming! Make no mistake about that. It's only a matter of time. We need to listen to Ron Paul.

Why so little discussion of alternatives to the outright "bailout" of Wall Street Welfare Queens? Where are the alternatives? Where is the "democratic" debate on this issue? I don't see much free and rational debate on this subject in the "mainstream" media or on Capitol Hill. If Congress passes the 'bipartisan' $700 Billion line of REVOLVING taxpayer credit to 'bailout' Wall Street Welfare Queens and it does not work as advertised and the economy falls further into recession, when do we start to question the judgment of our elected representatives (and unelected representatives, such as former Goldman Sachs CEO and Secretary of the Treasury, Hank Paulson) who no offer no alternative to debt and inflation courtesy of the 'Federal Reserve'? Part of the National Socialist 25 Point Program was the nationalization and division of profits of business and industry and unlimited authority to carry out this Program. That's exactly what this 'bailout' plan does, it nationalizes the economy from the top down and provides for the division of profits of business and industry through the unlimited authority of an unelected bureaucrat, former Goldman Sachs CEO and Secretary of the Treasury, Hank Paulson, to carry out the Program.

1.) End the Bailouts - The Federal Reserve's authority to use taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street must be revoked and the Fed must be held accountable. 2.) Cut Taxes and Curb Regulation - If we really want to stimulate businesses and revive the market, we need to cut corporate and capital gains taxes, spurring investors to come back to the market and making it easier to attract new workers and clients. It is also time to repeal failed legislation like Sarbanes-Oxley, which has crippled capital markets, diminished our competitiveness, and greatly harmed small businesses. 3.) Reduce Spending - We must freeze all non-entitlement spending by the federal government at current levels and eliminate wasteful spending both domestically and in our trillion-dollar overseas budget. Our debt has to come down, and it won't until we start living within our means. Reducing spending and cutting the debt will strengthen our dollar and reduce our cost of living. 4.) Reform the Monetary System - If we are to have long-term economic progress, we must end the system of printing money out of thin air. The current laws limiting the circulation of gold and silver-backed currency must be overturned.

The short sighted view is "we gotta fix it now." The problem is we're relying on the Congress with a 74% disapproval rating ahd the White House with a 70% disapproval rating to come up with a plan to fix it fast. Folks Capitalism is based on the free market, let it work!

I totally support Dave Ramsey's Plan. Don't put the same people who caused this problem in charge of dispensing this $700 billion to fix this problem. The resue plan being worked on by the Senate today is not the answer. GO DAVE RAMSEY!!!

If a bailout is happening, America's taxpayers should receive stock from the companies we bail out according to tax % we pay. We should not be able to sell for 5 years to allow recovery/reconstruction but after five years these companies truly belong to the American people rather than the government!