I agree - it ain't right. And to listen to some in the House yesterday on CNN and CNBC, some of the yes votes are now back on the no side because of it.

Voting for new blood is about the only chance I see for change...in all offices.

"Act in haste, repent at leisure."

Many economists have come out against the original bill. A hundred respected economists signed a letter opposing it. There's been little media coverage of the overkill in both bills. I'm including the bill the Senate has passed; it's bad even before the pork amendments.

There's nothing here to 'persuade' (Do it or no bailout for your institution!) renegotiations by banks on mortgages.

Fox News Channel on Bailout

Watched a report on FNC about the reasons this bailout became necessary. Sub-prime Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages were packaged into financial vehicles called "mortgage backed securities" which then got packaged into financial vehicles called "Corporate ? Offerings" (I forgot the middle initial there). Many of our 401K/403B bought the mortgage-backed securities; many large financial institutions bought the corporate offerings.

Bottom-line  when Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae defaulted, the entire financial structure built on those mortgages defaulted, which has very wide-spread ramifications that trickle down to Joe Average. Hence, the bailout saves us all. One reporter stated that Americans generally feel the bailout serves to "save the fats cats".

Report said that this collapse was entirely predictable because this is the sixth time in our nations history that generous mortgage lending practices have failed in the same way. (My first thought was  Hmmm, who walked away richer?)

Report also said that prior to the collapse, the Republicans were fighting for new regulations on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in order to control lending, but the Democrats fought reform all the way.

Does anyone know if FNC is a Republican strong-hold?

FNC is owned by Rupert Murdoch, a well known Republican supporter.

This report is, in my opinion, very incomplete and slanted.

The causes of this debacle will be the subject of numerous PhD dissertations in Economics. Certainly the mismanagement in the Fannies of this world is implicated. But that mismanagement was compounded by the way(s) in which the subprime mortgages were bundled, sort of like a sausage that combined good meat with worthless filler, so that it was -- and still is -- virtually impossible to tell which is which. The rating agencies responsible for assessing these shaddy instruments are also responsible, because they often looked the other way and gave high ratings to instruments that are so opaque that they are impossible to rate.

Some observers say that the overarching cause was a culture in Wall Street that was disdainful of regulations of any kind, so that there was no or very little oversight -- no one willing to blow the whistle until the problem became so grave that it was impossible to ignore.

I do not think it takes much imagination to figure out who is responsible for the "anti-regulation culture" that has prevailed in recent decades. Of course, the issue is complicated by the possibility that certain rules and regulations instituted in the 1930s are inappropriate for current markets. That may be true, and impartial analysts have noted that they need to be updated to take into account the ways in which high speed computers have changed the way markets work. But the issue has been so politicized that it has been virtually impossible for reasonable lawmakers to sit down in good faith to craft new regulations.

The same is true for health care reform, Social Security reform, Medicare reform, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, women's rights, gays' right . . . . Shall I go on?

Hi turnage,

This "TARP" that you're referring to ...

... that's to cover the hole in the roof, thus keeping the householders dry on a rainy day??

During mere re-shingling ...

... or is the deterioration more structural?

ole joyful

Hi Joyfulguy, and a very early good morning to you.

Definitely not re-shingling.

Structural - probably not. Structural is usually expensive but pretty straightforward.

I'd have to go with major foundation repair. Very messy and very, very expensive.

Not a one from Congress should have signed this with any "PORK" attached. I would like to see a total list of all the extra pork and who asked for it...

Susie

Does anyone else think that we are in for deep SH*T? The fdic insures up to 250k. Someone I know that runs a bank said that they offer 40% on your money if you want it right away and then you recieve all of your money back in the coming months.

What if they hyperinflate the money and its not worth anything by the time you get it back?

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=jB9fuIvksLw

This is about martial law and the failing economy.