Also Not Good.

"Breaking News: At the final bell, the Dow drops below 8,000 for the first time since 2003"

So, can we get that economic stimulus package sometime soon?

Anyone...Anyone....

Bruiser does not have a lot of his assets tied up in the market, but ye olde 401K looks worse every time I stupidly forget and open a statement. That's that screaming sound you hear once a month, followed by substantial weeping.

Peeps who are ready to retire and were planning on those funds for substantial income--I just don't see how they could make that money back. Even if the market is cyclical, at some point, you have to pull out, right? (That's what she said).

I'm not at that point yet...but it's been scary out there for some time...and I imagine there's going to be a lot of sad lookin' xmas's this season, here, in the leader of the free world.

Is the bailout actually Iraq War 2??

While leaders of both political parties chase their collective tails around Washington, Steve Chapman in today's Trib. makes an interesting argument for why this bailout may actually not even be necessary. That argument raises another question: Is this another example of the Bush Administration, running to Congress, pressuring Congress to make an immediate decision about incurring massive debt and asking Congress to write a blank check, and using the cloud of fear passing over the Country as a means to receive this blank check? In using taxpayer money to purchase bad debt at a higher price than the banks in question could get on the open market, who really benefits? I don't know enough about economics to say, but I've read enough news over the last seven years to be suspicious any time Bush, Jr. goes on the air to beg the Country for support. Is this bailout Iraq2? Is it just another massive debt, another massive error we will be suffering for for decades to come? Is anyone in Congress, Repubs and Dems alike, even asking this question?

Read The Case Against A Federal Bailout.

I haven't made up my mind yet if this is the right thing to do...and it may already be too late.

Recommended Reading

Robert B. Reich, Professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, at Politico.com

"Never before in the history of American capitalism has so much been asked of so many for (at least in the first instance) so few.....if you are a member of Congress, you just might be in a position to demand from Wall Street certain conditions in return for the blank check....

The public doesn’t like a blank check. They think this whole bailout idea is nuts. They see fat cats on Wall Street who have raked in zillions for years, now extorting in effect $2,000 to $5,000 from every American family to make up for their own nonfeasance, malfeasance, greed, and just plain stupidity....

My five nominees:

1. The government (i.e. taxpayers) gets an equity stake in every Wall Street financial company proportional to the amount of bad debt that company shoves onto the public. So when and if Wall Street shares rise, taxpayers are rewarded for accepting so much risk.

2. Wall Street executives and directors of Wall Street firms relinquish their current stock options and this year’s other forms of compensation, and agree to future compensation linked to a rolling five-year average of firm profitability. Why should taxpayers feather their already amply-feathered nests?

3. All Wall Street executives immediately cease making campaign contributions to any candidate for public office in this election cycle or next, all Wall Street PACs be closed, and Wall Street lobbyists curtail their activities unless specifically asked for information by policymakers. Why should taxpayers finance Wall Street’s outsized political power – especially when that power is being exercised to get favorable terms from taxpayers?

4. Wall Street firms agree to comply with new regulations over disclosure, capital requirements, conflicts of interest, and market manipulation. The regulations will emerge in ninety days from a bi-partisan working group, to be convened immediately. After all, inadequate regulation and lack of oversight got us into this mess.

5. Wall Street agrees to give bankruptcy judges the authority to modify the terms of primary mortgages, so homeowners have a fighting chance to keep their homes. Why should distressed homeowners lose their homes when Wall Streeters receive taxpayer money that helps them keep their fancy ones?"

Read the Whole Story Right Here.

Anyone got an extra $700 billion lying around??

Good old "W" is quoted today in regard to the current economic crisis. In his infinite wisdom, he said, "The risk of doing nothing far outweighs the risk of the [bail out] package."

Ohhhhh, you mean like the nothing you did for months while the housing market collapsed? This is a COMPLETE failure of leadership on your part, Mr. Pres. Why don't you go back to the Ranch early, give us all a break.




Read the whole report.

Hey Guys, What Happened To My Surplus..Guys....Um Hey...

"The U.S. budget deficit will grow $246 billion to $407 billion, according to an updated estimate by the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday.
Last year, the budget deficit was $161 billion. The government’s budget year ends September 30.

"The CBO said it expected the deficit to exceed $400 billion — or 3 percent of gross domestic product — for each of the next two years if current policies remain in place. It also forecast several more months of “very slow” economic growth."

--CNN MONEY September 8, 2008