Federal Bailout Plan of Wall Street Leaves Much to Be Desired

With the announcement late last week by Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke to rescue Wall Street from collapse with an infusion of at least $700 Billion, most every media source has had a number of articles offering a diverse variety of analysis on the idea and its likely makeup and content. I have tried to read as many of these articles and analyses as I could, and in the end, I think my opinion is that the bailout probably must happen in spite of all the negatives and risks this action brings on, particularly to American taxpayers in the coming decade and beyond. I would hope thoughtful action from Congress (yes, it does happen on a rare occasion, and this is one time where it is essential) will make this bailout subject to some harsh conditions, as have been recommended by former Labor Secretary Reich in his blog. I also hope the warnings and perils being sounded by some including Paul Krugman are taken seriously into consideration. But in the end, I have to believe that the amount of money to be spent on this bailout will probably be in excess of $1.5 trillion and perhaps over $2 trillion. Some of that money will be recouped by the Feds as they are able to sell some of the worthless assets , primarily foreclosed homes and other buildings across the nation, to investors and buyers at prices probably considerably less than what the Feds will credit the various financial institutions with.
=
I believe Congress will rubberstamp this bailout proposal within the next two to three weeks, but I firmly doubt the legislation authorizing this expenditure will include the necessary regulations, restrictions and mandates that are so desperately needed to prevent the further and continuing regularity of greed, waste, fraud, and arrogance that has come to firmly symbolize the financial industry across the land in the last decade or so. Heaven help us all if this bailout does not do what Paulson, Bernanke, and others of their ilk are envisioning. Nevertheless, there still remains for a lot of bad financial news to continue in the coming months and next few years as the basic problems of the American worker and consumer remain completely unaddressed, and the standard of living for most is in decline which results in less consumption, particularly now with less credit available for wasteful use. I firmly wish that the alternative of not bailing out these financial fools was the option to be taken, but that would probably be not the best choice for all of us.
-
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/21/AR2008092102534.html
--
*****