The bailout bill, today

by: Jay Stevens

Mon Sep 29, 2008 at 10:34:29 AM MST

For homeowners, the deal is not so sweet. Yes, the government will purchase some troubled mortgages, effectively lessening pressure to foreclose; yes, the plan includes a program to assist troubled homeowners; but the bill did not give bankruptcy judges the power to "modify a troubled borrower's primary mortgage," which means it will still be difficult for homeowners to restructure their mortgages.

In short, between the price tag and unprecedented powers given to the administration and the failure of Congress to discuss alternatives, there's something in this bill that everybody dislikes. The bill's fate   in the House is unsure, despite leadership from both parties signing on to the deal.

Michael Moore:

This bailout's mission is to protect the obscene amount of wealth that has been accumulated in the last eight years. It's to protect the top shareholders who own and control corporate America. It's to make sure their yachts and mansions and "way of life" go uninterrupted while the rest of America suffers and struggles to pay the bills. Let the rich suffer for once. Let them pay for the bailout. We are spending 400 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq. Let them end the war immediately and save us all another half-trillion dollars!

Hilzoy:

I don't think our Congress has faced a more important decision than whether or not to pass the bailout bill in decades, perhaps longer. (Summary here; CBO analysis here.) To state what is beyond obvious: it is incredibly important to set aside our preconceptions, whatever they may be, and really think hard about whether to support this bill or not. If you're easily alarmed by predictions of disaster, think long and hard about how long it will take to pay this off. If you're inclined to think that experts telling you that you need to fork over large sums of money are necessarily wrong, go back and listen to the audio clips near the end of my last post. Look at the graphs and the pictures. Think hard.

The costs of being wrong, in either direction, are staggering. This is not a time to leap to conclusions....

For my part, I support it. There are a lot of people who I respect who are genuinely worried that we might be on the brink of a serious depression, and who think this would help avert or mitigate it. But I hate this.

The House is debating the bill now.