Bail-Out Rejection by House: The Right Thing To Do

So today the House voted down the Bail-Out proposal.  Over 90 Democrats and over 90 Republicans voted against the bill.  It was shocking.  It was comforting.  It was the right thing to do.

 

 

 

 

It was shocking because everyone had just about assumed the vote would be a mere formality, sending it on to the Senate.  The bill could have been law as soon as Friday.  But now, it’s back to the drawing board.

 

It was comforting in that some hope still remains that the bill won’t completely amount to the nationalization of our financial industry (at least a big chunk of it), an idea that frankly should have us rioting in the streets.  Hope remains.  But just how much hope is still to be determined. 

 

It was the right thing to do because these things take time and they come in stages.  The first proposal by Paulson was an audacious power-grab, wherein the taxpayers would be on the line for some 700 billion dollars.  Thank God, that didn’t fly.  So stage two.  Modify things.  Protect the taxpayer more.  Give more thought to free-market solutions.  Give considerations to how Wall Street can cover its own butt, etc.  They did some of that, but clearly didn’t do enough of it.  So now we move on to stage three or four or five.  We keep going back to the drawing board until we have a bill that isn’t a knee-jerk reaction- that isn’t going to screw things up worse because we didn’t think it through.  These things can’t be rushed. 

 

We Americans will likely be better protected by whatever form the bill takes next.  Let’s be reminded of this the next time they vote.  If they improved upon the improvements- perhaps they can improve upon them again.  And again.  Let’s get this right, people.  This is our economy we’re talking about.  This is the future of our country and the status of our financial system. 

 

Let’s keep considering free-market ideas.  Let’s keep challenging the proposals brought forward by Democrats and weak-willed Republicans (who would have soberly voted into law the FIRST Bail-Out proposal) and hold our representatives accountable!   Write to your representatives and tell them to oppose the Bail-Out if it amounts to a nationalization of a large portion of our financial system.