All weekend we have heard the necessity of getting this $700 billion bailout bill passed in order to not send America into a second Great Depression. Going into Monday, all was pretty confident that the bill would pass.
Unfortunately, with Congress nothing is ever guaranteed. Americans are now forced to watch as stocks continue to tumble down. Why? The House did not like the bill. Therefore, despite several arm-twisting maneuvers by all those involved, votes for the bill could not be bought.
FoxNews reports that many lawmakers continued to oppose the plan for a variety of reasons, including the massive price tag that would expand the national debt, and GOP members said constituents were calling 10-1 in opposition to the bill, which had been described as too much government intervention. Of 235 Democrats, 141 supported the legislation. Of 199 Republicans, 132 opposed it.
Here is the bad news. The plan probably would have been detrimental in the long run to the United States. Borrowing money is never a good sign and businesses should not be dependent on the government. I agree there was way too much government intervention.
However, the bill would have bought some time. Just recently, I experienced some economic hardship. Our car had a belt break at a time when we didn't have the money to get it repaired. My husband and a friend worked in the driveway and did the repair for $25 including parts.
Fast-forward a month, the belt breaks again and we know it is time to get it fixed professionally. $200 and three parts later the car was fixed. The difference was we had the money at that point.
Congress needs to do whatever necessary to keep us out of trouble now and then try to repair. It was essential to have a good day at Wall street today after a low week last week.
Since the news broke about the bailout bill failure, stocks are tumbling. The dow has already fallen over 650 points and the day isn't over.
I agree that the bailout plan was not the best solution, but it was the best option at the moment. People do not realize that this isn't just affecting Wall Street. Americans will see this not just in their retirement funds, etc. It will be evident in how they do their banking right now.
Businesses and individuals will no longer be given credit. Banks will continue to fold. Just this morning, CitiGroup bought out Wachovia. I think I am most disappointed at how divisive our country has become. Our government legislatures worked all weekend and for what? Nothing was passed and financial issues were not even put on hold or solved.
As a citizen, I am disappointed. I am disappointed that it even came to this point with the financial issues. I am disappointed that despite being bright, none of the Americans can seem to put away petty differences to solve this issue.
Like every other American, we continue to wait to see the full effect of this fallout and wonder what will be tried next. Is there any hope?
