Much like Obama and conception, Wall Street has been escaping me. I have spent the last week trying to wrap my brain around the current financial crisis and the subsequent bailout talks. No matter how much I read, watch, or listen, I still come up short. Far short. In fact, I'll admit now that I have a minimal understanding of what's going on.
The thing is, I know I am not the only one who feels this way. I'll even go further and say that it's simply not "lay people" like me who are confused, but most (if not all) people who aren't executives or economic theorists/scholars truly grasp the situation. This larger group includes most of our politicians and pundits. Yet, our employees in Washington seemed to act otherwise during today's hearings. Why? Because that's what happens...
Yes, I will admit that their anger was (and still is) justified, and they even had good intentions. Yet, the fact remains that most of us just don't understand what's going on. And that is where it gets tricky. What I do know is that if this issue does not get addressed now, things will get much worse. Fast. As "King Henry" (Paulson) has been saying since Sunday, the risk of following through with the bailout pales in comparison to do nothing at all. I'll buy that.
Yes, there must be oversight (a first for Bush's presidency - better late than never, I suppose). "Main Street" must be taken into account. Executives mustn't be allowed to reap the rewards. Regulation is a must. (Chris Matthews put it nicely the other day, saying that Friday was the first day of the regulatory era.) I definitely agree with these points. But, the Democrat leadership in Congress better not hold this up for too long just to make a point. Because, as it's been shown over the last few days, they're not as well-versed on the matter as they'd like to appear. It's unfortunate that so few have a thorough knowledge, but now may not be a time for amateurs. And, as for Obama and McCain, they need to be Senators right now. Their "plans" are irrelevant, as one of them will be elected long after this gets put into place. (Obama, by the way, better NOT vote "present.")
What is fishy is the capability of the government to come up with $700 billion in the blink of an eye when for years it has been unable to address health care, education, and infrastructure. Hm. And, of course, there is the now-unfolding FBI investigation of the firms in question. Earlier this evening, John Fund (conservative, yes, but often worth listening to) informed Anderson Cooper of Fannie and Freddie's suspect business practices, as well as his certainty of eventual prison terms. Nice.
Hopefully next time I can write on something more familiar. Or at least not so dire.
