A credit market freeze, Paul, which is now occurring, will hurt workers and homeowners the most, as unemployment will rise dramatically if money cannot flow through out our economy. This is an Economic Stabilization Bill which passed the Senate and it is NOT a misnomer. It will help stabilize the current downward spiral of credit freeze.

It buys America and her economy some time. I don't think you realize that the foreign markets are absolutely hanging on to whether we pass this or not. If it doesn't pass, their recessions will deepen and that means LOST JOBS for Americans who work in the industries which export products and services, one of the few sectors of our economy still rather healthy. This bill fails, that sector weakens. And America's economy cannot afford to have another economic fundamental erode from under it.

Paul, I agree 100%.

A series of bail-outs will probably crash the U.S. Dollar, which has already plummeted a long way for several years, which will make a bad situation worse.

Sure, credit is getting scarce.
That's unfortunate, but more debt is not the solution.
Americans need to learn to get along with less borrowing.

The belief that the U.S. Dollar can't crash is why it will probably happen.
It will probably happen because the government is addicted to debt, and it can't stop growing the massive debt, borrowing, money-printing, spending, pork-barrel and waste.

Before the U.S. Dollar crashes, it will then be time (if not already) to buy gold, land, foreign currencies, and anything that will retain some value, since the U.S. Dollar will become completely worthless due to rampant bail-outs, borrowing, money-printing, spending, pork-barrel, and waste. It will be like what happened in Argentina, in which within a few months, you could only buy a newspaper for the number of pesos that previously would have bought a villa (i.e. a house).

That's not empty doom-and-gloom.
That's a mathematical certainty.
Keep up these bail-outs, borrowing, growing the debt, spending, money-printing, pork-barrel, and waste, and the U.S. Dollar will crash.

For anyone who doesn't believe it, then simply answer this one simple question:

• Where will the money come from to pay only the interest on the $10.03 Trillion National and the $53 Trillion-to-$66 Trillion nation-wide-debt, much less the money to reduce the principal, when that money does not yet exist? Especially when 80% of the U.S. Population owns ONLY 16%-to-17% of all wealth?

Is it mere fear-mongering and dooms-dayish to ask that question?

• Total nation-wide debt of $53.87 Trillion has never been larger, both in size and as a percentage of the $13.86 Trillion GDP:
  • Private domestic financial sector debt=$15.8 Trillion;
  • Household debt= $13.88 Trillion;
  • Business debt=$10.16 Trillion;
  • Federal government National Debt = $10.03 Trillion
  • State and local government debt = $2.2 Trillion;
  • Other private sector foreign debt = $1.8 Trillion;
  • _______________________________________________________
  • Total nation-wide debt = $53.87 Trillion (and that does not even include the $12.8 Trillion borrowed and spent from Social Security, leaving it pay-as-you-go, with a 77 million baby boomer bubble approaching);
  • If the $12.8 Trillion borrowed and spent from Social Security is included:
  • Total nation-wide debt = $66.67 Trillion = $53.87 Trillion + $12.8 Trillion = 4.81 times the nation's $13.86 Trillion GDP (year 2007) !
  • Total federal debt is = $22.83 Trillion = $10.03 Trillion + $12.8 Trillion = 1.65 times the nation's $13.86 Trillion GDP (year 2007) !

The interest alone on the nation-wide debt of $53.87 Trillion to $66.67 Trillion (at only 4.0% interest) is:

• $5.82 Billion to $7.24 Billion per day!


• That is $19.08 -to- $23.74 per day for every man, woman, and child (for only the interest alone).


• For an average household size of 2.61 persons, that is $49.80 -to- $61.96 per household, per day for interest alone!


• That is $1513.88 -to- $1883.58 per household per month for interest alone!


• That is $17,812.00 -to- $22,615.4 per household per year for interest alone!

Just think of what hyperinflation could mean, when oil is mostly traded using U.S. Dollars today?
If we crash the U.S. Currency with hyperinflation, the current pain and misery can be magnified many times over.
Why create more money out of thin air when we can NOT even pay the interest alone on the nation-wide debt?

The path we are on is not sustainable.
That's a fact.
So why grow the problem bigger with more debt, borrowing, money-printing, spending, pork-barrel, and waste?

Here are just a few of many reasons why this bail-out BILL H.R. 1424 is bad for America:

• (01) NO CHECKS and BALANCES: There are insufficient checks-and-balances. This bail-out would mask imbalances in credit markets and in the U.S. economic public policy. The plan props up irresponsible, crooked, and reckless, failed banks by buying "troubled assets" instead of focusing on real solutions and principles. It would fail to go after government-sponsored culprits such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and perpetuate unsustainable policies that caused the problem in the first place.


• (02) FOX IN THE HEN HOUSE: It is a blatant, greedy power grab. The bail-out raises Constitutional concerns by dramatically expanding the power of the current and future Treasury Secretaries, giving the government agency power to directly purchase assets from for-profit financial and non-financial firms. A huge problem in this country is too many people trying to make money by playing with money, instead of creating real value. It's not working. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the architect of this bail-out plan, was formerly the head of Goldman Sachs, one of the firms responsible for the mess and a direct beneficiary of the bailout. Also, the people managing the bailout will be Wall Street firms and will likely receive billions of tax dollars in fees. Cha Ching!


• (03) THE DEBT IS ALREADY TOO BIG: The $700 billion bailout figure is as much money as the combined annual budgets of the Departments of Defense, Education and Health and Human Services. It amounts to $2,295 for every man, woman, and child in America. For the average household of 2.61 persons, that's $8793 per household. Of course, the people that got us into this problem and didn't see it coming are also the ones telling you it won't cost you much, and you may even make a profit. And I've got some beach-front property for sale in Arizona. Yeah, right. Also, if Congress is going to borrow all of that $700 Billion, how will that free up credit markets? And if the Federal Reserve is going to print most (or all) of that money, how will we pay the interest on the debt when we can't even pay the current level of interest on the National Debt? That is, the government has been borrowing and printing new money to merely pay the interest on the National Debt for years. The National Debt and nation-wide debt is already too large.


• (04) IT WILL BAILOUT FOREIGNERS: The plan includes taxpayer purchases of distressed assets from foreign banks. Americans are losing their homes by the millions, and the federal government is going to take your tax dollars and purchse distressed assets from foreign banks. Cha Ching! If voters fall for this, then the voters really do deserve the government that they elect, and re-elect, and re-elect, and re-elect.


• (05) IT PUNISHES RESPONSIBLE AMERICANS: The plan punishes responsible Americans and banks by keeping reckless, insolvent investment banks in business. There are still many good banks and responsible Americans who have little to no debt, and this bail-out is primarily a bailout of poorly run financial institutions. Badly-run competitors should fail. Funny how the free-market zealots are suddenly looking for a bail-out. What a bunch of hypocrits.
  
• (06) BY WALL STREET, FOR WALL STREET: The idea that taxpayers will make money on the bailout is not credible. There are other buyers for the troubled assets. Merrill Lynch sold its entire portfolio of mortgage backed securities in July. If a profit is truly possible, then allow private speculators to buy these troubled assets.


• (08) $700 Billion isn't enough to accomplish the goal. Look at this list of 186 banks (bankimplode.com/list/troubledbanks.htm) with negative or small net assets. Now consider the 6 million foreclosures since 2005. Foreclosures are not going to instantly stop now. There will most likely be millions of more foreclosures. If there are 6 million more foreclosures, 6 Million x $159,000 median home price = $954 Billion , which is already 254 Billion more than the $700 Billion , and there are already 18.6 Million vacant housing units on the market now.


• (09) WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM?: Where will the money come from to merely continue to pay the interest on the current National Debt and the nation-wide debt, much less the money to reduce the principal debt and keep the principal from growing ever larger, when that money does not exist yet, and 80% of all Americans owns only 16%-to-17% of all wealth in the U.S.?


• (10) MORALLY OFFENSIVE: The bail-out violates basic, long-held, and widely accepted principles of American capitalism and honest governance by creating a system of "private profits and socialized losses", which transfers money from taxpayers directly to the banks. Free market capitalism only functions if individuals and corporations are held accountable and are allowed to both succeed and profit, and also to sustain losses and even fail. Also, the people managing the bailout will be Wall Street firms and will likely receive billions of tax dollars in fees. Cha Ching! Most polls show most Americans are against a bail-out, or whatever imaginative name someone wants to give to this plan to funnel billions to the people that created the problem. Everyone and their dog will be lining up for a bail-out, including auto-makers and airlines.


• (11) TOO RISKY: Growing the National Debt and nation-wide debt any bigger is risky, because even if the federal government was able to borrow all of the money (instead of printing new money), it would raise the National Debt and the interest on the National Debt, which the federal government is already unable to pay ($429 Billion in year 2007, which the federal government borrowed and printed out of thin air to pay). Growing the debt and the money-supply risks crashing the U.S. Dollar, which has already been falling significantly for over 5 years, and consistently every consecutive year since year 1956 (One-Simple-Idea.com/InflationRates1780-2007.jpg).

And if this bail-out BILL H.R. 1424 passes, it will get more painful a few months from now, because the debt problem will simply be bigger than it is now.
And if another bail-out BILL passes, the debt problem will simply be bigger than it was, and so on, and so on, and so on.
Sort of like a rate in a cage with a cocaine dispenser.
It can't stop because it is addicted like Americans are addicted to credit, borrowing, money-printing, spending, pork-barrel, and waste.

At any rate, the voters have the government that they elect, and re-elect, and re-elect, and re-elect, until that finally becomes too painful.