This is going to be a little bit of everywhere...

700 Billion Dollar Bailout. Where does the 700 billion dollar number come from, is this like Colin Powell's "overwhelming force" method, pick a number that no person outside the government can fathom and go with it? Were there any numbers run? I don't know, but I'm guessing not, my theory is that someone in the room said let's just make it a really big number and we might not use all of it, but then we'll at least have it... I do the same thing when I go shopping at the outlet malls.
I am inclined to accept this bail out as a necessary evil. Though I must admit I am a little excited to see the Republicans show a some backbone and vote the bill down in the house today, I love gridlock.
For those of you who have been hiding under a rock for the past week, let me provide a brief explanation of the crisis, the credit market is currently frozen. Let's say I have a house (an obvious hypothetical, but I like to pretend sometimes) and I stop making payments, the banks will sieze the property, multipy this by a couple hundred houses, and perhaps the bank can't sell the properties. What happens to this bank? Well, maybe nothing, but it's possible that this bank could fail or that doesn't have enough liquid assets to continue lending money. Let's suppose our hypothetical bank is not able to loan out any more money, and you have a small business who generally take out loans to run your business, the bank doesn't have money to lend so you try the one down the street... this bank is having a similar problem with illiquid assets so there is no one to lend you money. Your business fails, you lose your house, as do your employees... the banks don't really want the property, you can see where I am going with this. Its simplified, but that's where we are banks have illiquid assets and are not lending, freezing the credit markets, which is ultimately bad for small business owners, and small business owners make the world go round. This is what the government is trying to fix... on a larger more complicated scale.
What is an illiquid asset? Simply put, an illiquid asset is something that cannot be sold, and generally they are illiquid for a reason. A 700 billion government buyout of illiquid asset should raise at least one eyebrow. That is not to say that the illiquid asset is a worthless asset the $5,000,000 house sitting vacant on the east bench may not be sold easily but it is certainly not worthless.
While I would rather see the private sector step up and get the ball rolling again, it could be argued that effects of the current credit debacle are so far reaching that the financial sector cannot function. Or that the strain on the financial sector would ultimately put a devastating strain on the average american. I'm pretty sure the government recently seized (that's right seized) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac just a few weeks ago for that very reason. It was either government take over or both companies would fail.
So we the tax payers of this great nation are already it largest mortgage lenders. I am not sure where the public outcry was, but I will take a bailout versus the takeover of the banking industry. I, like Thomas Jefferson, draw the line at national bank. With banks failing left and right it is difficult to say with any degree of confidence that the private sector can shoulder the credit situation as it now stands. I would say that the opposite is true. It is clear that the private sector can't handle it, when companies like Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual cease to exist, it's at least cause to pause. Lets just hope we're not setting an awful precidence. Wide spread bank failure is bad for everyone.
While I have to agree with the ultimate need for the bailout, and I agree that it needs to be free from golden parachutes (except those literal ones, jumping from a plane at 30,000 feet), taxpayers need to be protected, the fact that there were so many nay votes on both sides of the aisle gives me reason to be concerned. Party leaders can point fingers at each other all they want I don't think Republicans are so petty that they would vote against something because Pelosi is tactless... and Democrats aren't going to withhold their vote because their presidential candidate didn't suspend his campaign to fly back to Washington... I'm sure there are legitimate concerns about a bill that basically throws another zero on the end of the national debt, that was hammered out at 3:00 in the morning the night before. I realize everyone is in a hurry to get home to campaign but I feel like my government is working for me rather than failing me but giving this bill the attention it deserves. 700 billion dollars is not something that you throw around the office for a weekend, and then send it on its way. Give a couple days... I'll say until Thursday, the Whips just need to resolve some concerns, right?