Newt Gingrich called the bail out plan, "the worst economic plan I've seen in all my years in public life" and "socialism at its worst" . He added that if credit worthy banks need to borrow cash from the treasury, that's fine, but for the government to buy their bad paper at make believe prices is nuts.
Many in the public at large have expressed the same sentiment I've expressed here that if preserving the integrity of the system means that banks will fail and we'll face hard economic times, so be it. The vast majority of the fear out there is among the $4,000 suit crowd. The public is uneasy. The elite are petrified. We know the consequences of not bailing out Wall Street. We're just not as scared of it as they are.
Hopefully, Gingrich will supply some support to lawmakers who want to oppose this deal. McCain may have bolstered the opposition as well, inadvertantly. Obama's camp can't afford for McCain's decision to suspend his campaign and go to Washinton to result in a bi-partisan deal that provides even temporary stability to the markets. Therefore, Democrats are likely to oppose anything that has McCain's name on it. In this case, gridlock is what's called for.
The absolute panic I've seen in the faces and voices of Benenke, Paulson, Congress and President Bush may be an indication that they need to forestall the inevitable for a few more months, so that the new guys can take the blame. The truth is, calamity in the financial sector isn't a future possibility. It's already here. It just hasn't come out from behind the curtain yet.
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