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[Mongrel]

[Thad]

NYT has some good quotes from the floor today.

Asserting that the plan would allow Mr. Paulson to act with “absolute impunity,” Senator Dodd said, “After reading this proposal, I can only conclude that it is not only our economy that is at risk, Mr. Secretary, but our Constitution, as well.”

[...]

Senator Dodd called the crisis “entirely foreseeable and preventable, not an act of God,” and said that it angered him to think about “the authors of this calamity” walking away with the usual golden parachutes while taxpayers pick up the bill.

I love Dodd.

Asserting that the plan would allow Mr. Paulson to act with “absolute impunity,” Senator Dodd said, “After reading this proposal, I can only conclude that it is not only our economy that is at risk, Mr. Secretary, but our Constitution, as well.”

Strange bedfellows.

[Burrito Al Pastor]

Dan Carlin makes an interesting argument that the economic meltdown (and political meltdown, too) was driven by corporate structures which encourage short-term gain at all costs; that is, whatever happens fifteen years from now doesn't matter if we aren't up fifteen points next quarter, or whatever. An interesting idea, but how credible is it?

[Thad]

I think that's pretty much dead-on.  People are seeking to line their own pockets immediately, with little or no regard to anyone else or the long term.

I've seen a quote attributed to Churchill to the effect of "Diplomacy means thinking of 100 years from now; politics means thinking of a week from Friday" -- that's from memory while as drunk as Churchill on a quote that may or may not have any basis in reality, but I think that's essentially what all our problems in economics and politics boil down to: people who are focusing on immediate, personal gains instead of long-term gains for everybody.

[Arc]

Short-term strategy is all Wall Street has been about for two straight years now. A broker couldn't blow his nose without looking at the quarterly profit reports on Nose Blowers Inc. first (Index: NBI).

quote attributed to Churchill

Day in, day out, I'm convinced that forming quotes is all Churchill did with his life.

[Classic]

Get crackin' Arc, you're way behind.

[Brentai]

Well, consider that the proposed solution to the problem is a quick fix that'll get us through to next Tuesday before screwing us over for the next 10 years.

[Arc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1X6RQLZtoA

[Romosome]

I really don't know what thread to put this in anymore as the election and the debates and the end of the motherfucking world all seem to be completely interrelated at this point, but I just took a look at CNN and they're summarizing today as MEASURE DENIED, STOCKS FALL, EVERYONE DIES

on another note, news agencies shouldn't be allowed to use that many ominously pulsing red areas in their graphic design.  It's like they're reporting on a zombie outbreak.

[Kayma]

on another note, news agencies shouldn't be allowed to use that many ominously pulsing red areas in their graphic design.  It's like they're reporting on a zombie outbreak.

Makes me excited for when they actually report the zombie outbreak.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT
Your grandmother eating your face?

It's more likely than you think!

[Arc]

[A²]

So wait, what happened with the $700b bailout thing? I thought it was a sure deal.

(Finance is not my strong suit)

[Arc]

McCain happens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wk3yUmVw-Y

[Air]

I've heard that it was a good thing as now it will force us to fix the root problem and not band-aid it But I don't like the idea of a stock-market crash. Will this affect me getting a job in any way?

[Brentai]

No, but it'll definitely affect me trying to get a car financed today. 

It's true though.  The bill was horribly fucking flawed.  Much better to have your stocks in the crapper for a few days... A FEW DAYS, YOU PANSY-ASS MOTHERFUCKERS... and actually get shit properly fixed than to go ahead and keep doing exactly what plunged everything into the toilet in the first place.

Bush's last few months in office seem to be horribly catastrophic.  Can he possibly be responsible for this parting fuck-you?

[Spikey]

So wait, what happened with the $700b bailout thing? I thought it was a sure deal.

(Finance is not my strong suit)

A lot of congresmen wanted it to pass but didn't want to be on record as voting in favor of it because the bill is unpopular with the general public.

[Arc]

A FEW DAYS, YOU PANSY-ASS MOTHERFUCKERS

I'M RUINED.
A few Democrats will give in, dump their provisions, toss in all the parachutes the Republicans wanted and then pass the damned bill.

[Thad]

Politico:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his top aides took credit for building a winning bailout coalition – hours before the vote failed and stocks tanked.

Shortly before the vote, McCain had bragged about his involvement and mocked Sen. Barack Obama for staying on the sidelines.

Bush's last few months in office seem to be horribly catastrophic.  Can he possibly be responsible for this parting fuck-you?

Certainly he gave Congress a bill with his usual "the other two branches of government shall exercise no oversight over the all-powerful executive" nonsense, but, at least publicly, he backed off pretty quickly and -- again, at least publicly -- has been willing to accept compromise.  Best guess is that, with the election looming and this mess ALREADY doing significant damage to McCain, he doesn't want to do any MORE to remind the public of why it hates him and, by extension, his party so much.

I don't think it's possible to have a good bill at this point -- any way you slice it, our choice is to bail out businesses that don't deserve it or to let them die and watch the economy get dramatically worse than it already is.  There are plenty of things that can be added to the bill to cushion the blow, but it's a fucking mess no matter what we do.

[Royal☭]

See, I'd be more in favor of the bailout if there were more taxes levied toward the rich and super rich.

[Thad]

CSM has a pretty good rundown of why it collapsed.  Unsurprisingly, on the Republican side it boils down mostly to free-market ideals.  The Democrats, as usual, don't have as simple or as unified an explanation.