I've had graduate studies in economics and this is still mind boogling.  To have something like this come out of nowhere for us citizen's when Washington knew there were signs of problems well in advance is just not acceptable.  To have to scramble like this with $700 Billion (with a B) at the 11th hour scares the pants off me (I might not be able to afford any soon).  I believe in the free market and that economic forces will normally self-correct, unless something like this comes up where executives are lining their pockets at our expense.

Given the huge degree of complexity, all the finger pointing, everyone in Washington saying to do what is best for us, but not able to agree what this means, it is just so difficult to get a complete grasp of it all.  If O'Rielly is scared, then so am I.

No replies necessary unless you have an urge to speakout, I'm just venting.

Phil,

I am disgusted by this entire situation.  In addition to Wall Street, even before this entire mess, NY's new Gov advised NYers of what horrible financial straits NY is in... NO DUH!!  As a homeowner and tax payer, and the average, middle class person who's going to have to pay for this debacle, I am sickened and disgusted and it only makes me hate politicians and politics more than before..........

It's scaring us all S*%tless.  I heard many were withdrawing  funds out of money market accounts already.  I've thought about doing that myself!  But I don't want to add fuel to the fire by doing so.  I heard the bail-out package may include something like FDIC insurance for money market accounts, too, but I've only heard that utterred one time this week, so really not sure. 

My husband's life insurance policy is with AIG, so we're certainly not feeling real good about any of this.  I think until the Feds quit bailing out businesses from their bad business practices, this just ain't gonna stop, folks.  I almost wanted to cheer when Pat Buchanon said that on some economics show on TV late last night.  And then the CEO's quickly retire with multi-million dollar retirement funds to further rape the business, the taxpayers and flaunt it in the face of the judicial system?  Sorry, but the Ken Lay's of the world need to be stopped and stopped right now!!!  You can't tell me they got to the top being stupid!  They know exactly what has been going on in their companies, whether they condone it or not!  These poor business practices spell disaster for the nation's economy everytime it happens. 

But it's kinda like raising kids and dogs, really.  If you keep letting things go on as they have with no "punishment" or legal consequences.  the behaviors (practices)  will not be eliminated.  If you keep giving Johnny more allowance when he has spent all of his unwisely, he will NEVER learn to budget and make it last until next month!!!  Businesses, through lack of consequences, have learned the FEDS will bail them out every time!   If we let these crooks keep calling all the shots, then who is the dumb one in this picture?

It is very scary,  and frustrating.  The government should never have forced banks to lend money to people who wouldn't be able to pay it back, under the guise of making home ownership available to everyone, and then calling them predatory lenders when the bill can't be paid.  They may have had good intentions, but it's not the governments job to tell banks how to do their business.  I have no problem with CEO salaries,  if the stockholders let the board of directors get away with that bs,  then they deserve their fate.  What I do have a big problem with is the government bailing out financial institutions that took big risks, and got burned.  As Peggy said,  if there are no consequences,  then they will never have to be responsible (and they won't be),  and the taxpayers will get screwed again.

Hello, Melo...

Hello mphillips....

Well, all I can say is the "balloon" was bound to pop one day.  Ever since the Great Depression, and the advent of "CREDIT", America has been enjoying a sort of "false prosperity".  With the support of the feds, people have been told EVERYONE should be able to buy a house, a car, a college education, whatever...............by borrowing.  CREDIT, CREDIT, CREDIT.  Well not everyone can afford to do this...........but do it anyway!  Credit is a very fragile teeter-totter and it doesn't take much of a tip to tumble everything to the ground:  higher gas, higher food, poor business earnings, or loss of a job. 

The S & L fiasco in the 80's, Enron's crooked dealings in the 90's and now the current banking incompetence is just frosting on a cake that has been baking for half a century!   I feel even if Congress "patches" this mess out (assuming legislators can be set politics aside long enough to address the needs of the nation and not a political party, which clearly Nancy Pelosi isn't willing to do), it will just keep happening.  I can't believe the "pork barrels " they were trying to attach to this failed crisis bill!  They were trying to earmark 20% of the total to go to some organization (sorry I forgot the name they gave this morning) that basically funds a lot of Democratic Party needs.  I don't think the House or Nancy Pelosi wanted the public to find out 20% of their $700 mil was going to THAT!!!  If the majority party can't draft a bill that can't get  passed, all I can say is they AIN'T TRYING VERY HARD!!!!!  Yet if the fed doesn't bail, the outlook is basically another great depression that could last for YEARS!!  

Did we learn NOTHING from the S & L fiasco or from Enron?  Clearly not!  Yet if the fed doesn't bail this time, the outlook is basically another great depression!  And it could last for YEARS folks!!  

Looks pretty bleak to me.  Glen Beck on his financial show yesterday said basically all people can do right now is to try to pay off all their debt and start living frugally like their parents did, working hard and SAVING to buy things, not buy them on credit!  And he suggested not eating out so much and considering mowing your OWN grass.  That all made sense to me.  Geez, we spend a lot eating out.  No telling how much I could save a year just cutting out doing that except for special occasions.