Senate passes bailout bill
The Senate on Wednesday did what the House of Representatives failed to do on Monday--pass a bailout bill.
Nearly three-fourths of Senators passed the bill late Wednesday. The House is scheduled to take up the bill later this week, though it is expected to be a tougher fight there.
Meanwhile, the total cost of the bill went up significantly in that two-day period. That's because the bill passed by the Senate includes a variety of other measures, including billions in tax cuts, along with authorization for the Treasury department to take $700 billion off the books of financial institutions.
Among the other notable inclusions is a mental health parity bill that calls on companies that offer health insurance to cover mental health issues as they would other types of medical conditions.
A number of businesses, including Microsoft, have been calling on the House to reconsider its actions. CNET readers, not so much. According to our very unscientific poll, nearly two-thirds of readers thought the house was right to vote down the bill.
Once again, I put a lot of the blame for the unpopularity of the bailout on the way it has been described. I still think the consequences are not being talked about in ways that people can relate to.
I talked to a friend of mine who is in school. His student loans have been tied up for weeks. He thought it was a bureaucratic issue, but more and more it's looking like the lender isn't processing the loans for him or his classmates. We're seeing this reflected in other ways, such as car dealers who can't replenish their inventories (a new study says one in five may fail) and small businesses and start-ups that find themselves unable to get the capital they need.
We can and should debate whether we as a society take on too much debt and rely too heavily on credit. But I don't think we can afford to just turn off the spigot after running the tap at full blast for decades.
The New York Times also has a great piece showing how the credit crisis is harder to see--and giving the backstory on what's been happening behind closed doors.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
Alex Alexzander
But I just hope you guys don't crumble. As much as your economic sense sucks and you've messed up in a few places, you guys truly are the best hope for the rest of the world. Every other power I know sucks big time.
God bless you guys... hope you guys come out of this.
God bless you guys... hope you guys come out of this". Of course we are going to be coming out of the - We are Financial, Economic and Technical (NAVY SEALS TEAMS) and we are taking America's and the rest of the world's economy home.
It's time Party like it is Rocking "New Year's" Eve 1998!
Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin.. I don't like either of you much.. but I'm voting for one of you now.. by hell will I have my name on those other guys ticket. I want to be able to tell my grandchildren I had no part of it.
Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin.. I don't like either of you much.. but I'm voting for one of you now.. by hell will I have my name on those other guys ticket. I want to be able to tell my grandchildren I had no part of it." Were not for the brave men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States of America and other Allied Nations around the world (and, going back to WW2 and up to the recent attacks on 9/11) one wonders what your grand-children's children would ask of you when they found out that they have to fight a war (be it military or economic [food...]) in their own backyards.
If we had any faith in the way our government worked before this bill, citizens must now acknowledge that our elected representatives aren?t capable of addressing our country?s business needs quickly, sufficiently, or without taking care of their own wants first. At this point, I don?t trust the legislative or executive branches of our government to handle any of our nation?s concerns. They have proven their complete ineptitude in formulating this bill.
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/files/marsh-1260x1681.jpg
Bill Marsh is wrong however on the page.. if any of the assets were actually worth anything someone would have already bought them.. the very reason that the government must buy them means they are not profitable.
It gives you a clear picture of what we are dealing with.. Remember David Walker out last year attempting to warn people about the inability to pay SSI and Medicare? Well thats all been blown to hell now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS2fI2p9iVs
>>and rely too heavily on credit
That's a fact behind most of the developed nations economy. Peope were given more purchasing power and inflation was kept down - all based on low interest credits.
I don't see that as a proper economy growth as it's tied heavily to credits and we're seeing the effect now what happens if that stops.
I agree you can't just turn off credits but it should made based on a person's capability to repay. Stop 100% or even 90% mortgages and cap credit card limits and cap max number of credit card a person can hold.
That's because there is a huge portion of the population, and record foreclosures occurring. If this was a real bailout, it would prevent impending onslaught of people who are in dire straights now.
I was riding back home this morning, and heard a commercial that went " ... 350 dollars a month for your mortgage? ...", then a response "Yea, that's right, I can afford a home now!" Talk about a spin job. What about the people who lost that home and never had the opportunity to have such a "deal".
The real problem is that credit has been tightening over the last year and has been incredibly rough over the last few months --if you're not highly rated. Some say that's the way it should be; others want EZ-Credit for everyone. The real solution is somewhere between the two endpoints because you can't buy anything --from businesses buying supplies to consumers buying a car-- without available credit.
So while we are, in a sense, bailing out banks, we're also, at the same time, jamming a huge, hairy crowbar into the orifice of our national credit machine to loosen things up. But, as it is Congress that's doing it, it's not being done correctly.
Actually, you can. It's called cash. Stop buying crap you don't need and put some money into savings.
Using percentage numbers to make light of this (spinning) is a crime in itself when you look at the reality of it all. Those in that bracket would love those who believe this spin to go to Hades in a hand-basket. Because right now, they are going there and they don't even have that.
They really stuck it to the citizens of this country big time. Our only hope now is the representation of the people, that is the House of Representatives can still stand up for the tax payers and citizens and do the right thing kill it and have the senate pull the pork.
However it has one section that needs to be fixed. It includes $2,500 for plug-in "electric drive motor vehicles" (plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles) with at least a 4 kWh battery, plus $417 for each kWh up to $7,500 for cars and more for larger vehicles. This needs to be amended to a minimum of $5,000 for at least an 8 kWh battery. Why? Because the only real benefit of a plug-in is if it has a range of at least your average commute. A Prius uses 0.26 kWh/mile, and the EV1 used 0.168 kWh/mile, so a 4 kWh battery is only going to be good for a range of about 15 to 20 miles, or about half of the average commute. While this will double your mileage, it will only save about 150 gallons per year, the same as going from 20 mpg to 25 mpg, based on driving 15,000 miles/year. Think about it, what effect does having 250,000 vehicles getting 25 mpg instead of 20 mpg out of a fleet of 100 million vehicles have on our dependence on oil? Nada - nothing. That's only a quarter percent of our fleet. Now on the other hand if you could take a quarter percent of our vehicles off gasoline completely, now that is worth it. In 50 years there will be no oil left, only ethanol and biodiesel, and only enough of those for 10% of our fleet, meaning that the remaining 90% will need to be electric.
A 4 kWh battery is a useless teaser. An 8 kWh battery is actually useful, so I hope you will all call your Reps today and ask that the bill (HR1424) be amended to substitute $5,000 and 8 kWh instead of $2,500 and 4 kWh.
- by jbmartin6 October 3, 2008 8:28 AM PDT
- I am still waiting to see any evidence that these huge banks are in any way necessary for the *********** of credit markets. That's the whole argument: "yes bailing out billionaires (how many CEOS have been fired so far?) is bad, but it is necessary to maintain credit markets". Ok, prove it. Difficult because these huge banks aren't necessary. My dad and some friend opened a bank some years ago. They give mortgages, student loans, etc. They aren't on the bailout radar. Do we need to know anything more about this 'emergency' proposal?
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