Not how I thought this would play out...
I'm following the Congressional bailout plan. I had pretty much assumed that Paulson's attempt to scare Congress into passing it would work. When President Bush appealed directly to the American people to gather support for the plan, I knew there was trouble. Apparently the people were not convinced.
Ironically enough, the struggles with this plan appear to be coming from Republicans, and not Democrats. And in a really strange twist, it seems that we can partly thank John McCain for delaying this deal! His presence seems to have slowed things down, according to several Congressmen.
Though I can't say I know much about fiscal matters, I am against this bailout plan. My feeling is that there is no real reason to believe that Paulson understands how to prevent the impending financial crisis and that he is merely gambling taxpayer money in the hopes that he can pull a rabbit out of a hat. It does not help his case that he has made numerous statements in the past 6 months assuring US citizens of the soundness of the US banking system. I am also inclined to believe these economists when they say this plan is seriously flawed.
The Times describes today's events. The part that caught my eye was this seemingly innocuous passage: "Participants said Mr. Obama peppered Mr. Paulson with questions, while Mr. McCain said little." There may be many reasons for this, but I think it has much to do with Obama just being more intelligent than McCain. For the record, I suspect Obama does not fully understand this crisis either but he has a better chance of "getting it" than McCain does.
Another thing I didn't see coming--calling your senator apparently gets their attention. My faith in the system is briefly restored.
Ironically enough, the struggles with this plan appear to be coming from Republicans, and not Democrats. And in a really strange twist, it seems that we can partly thank John McCain for delaying this deal! His presence seems to have slowed things down, according to several Congressmen.
Though I can't say I know much about fiscal matters, I am against this bailout plan. My feeling is that there is no real reason to believe that Paulson understands how to prevent the impending financial crisis and that he is merely gambling taxpayer money in the hopes that he can pull a rabbit out of a hat. It does not help his case that he has made numerous statements in the past 6 months assuring US citizens of the soundness of the US banking system. I am also inclined to believe these economists when they say this plan is seriously flawed.
The Times describes today's events. The part that caught my eye was this seemingly innocuous passage: "Participants said Mr. Obama peppered Mr. Paulson with questions, while Mr. McCain said little." There may be many reasons for this, but I think it has much to do with Obama just being more intelligent than McCain. For the record, I suspect Obama does not fully understand this crisis either but he has a better chance of "getting it" than McCain does.
Another thing I didn't see coming--calling your senator apparently gets their attention. My faith in the system is briefly restored.
