It is now official. With a lot of pork and some tax cuts, the Wall Street Bailout/Rescue passed the House of Representatives, 263-171. The legislation gained 58 new votes compared to the vote this past Monday in which it failed, 205-228.
As fast as lightning, President Bush signed this very flawed legislation which if supposed to restore liquidity in the credit market which has been tighter than a Janitor-In-A-Drum lately.
This is one of those times where I think that there is a lot of blame to go around. One, like it or not, is the fact that people who could not afford home loans were given cheap credit. Another is the corruption between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, there is so much that would nail people on both sides, that is a whole other post. And, I will get to it.
The aspect that is troubling is the fact that the Treasury Secretary, in this case Henry Paulson, is given a great deal of power. Too much in my estimation. And the bottom line. Will this up to $700,000,000 bailout/rescue be enough? That is the fundamental question.
FTR, my congressman, Democrat Adam Schiff, originally voted against this legislation on Monday. Today, Mr. Schiff voted for the legislation.
I guess we will have to wait and see whether or not this legislation will be a step in the right direction or an unmitigated disaster. Or, maybe something in between.
2 comments:
To most people's surprise, the market seems to be moving on it's own. News of the signing did not make it rise 500 points. There is always some excuse for the market to behave the way it does. The budget is so far out of sight now it will never be balanced in my lifetime. A short plug for American Carol; go see it. Finally a Republican movie.
If the DJI drops over 20% like it did back in '87, then, maybe, I'd worry. But then again, I don't remember any great financial hardships in '87. In fact, I bought a new truck that year.
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