Bailout Plan is Going to Fail to Pass

[afleitch]

Silly McCain and his claim that he wouldn't debate until there was a bailout deal.

And J. J. to boot.

J.J. wouldn't debate until their was a bailout deal?

He kept spinning about how once this passed despite how toxic it was in polls the public would hail McCain as a savior and completely forgive him for that idiotic campaign suspension stunt.

If it would have passed he would have no repercussions for suspending his campaign

He already had repercussions from his decision as the past few days polling have showed. A deal today would have stopped the rot.

[MODU]

this is bad news.  not sure why so many of you are pleased.

The bill is too large, trying to do too much at once.  The gov't should focus on the "toxic" mortgages first.  If you lift those burdens off of the hands of the families and companies facing financial problems, you are going to improve the financial situation facing the market (as I addressed with the $150B "stimulus" program earlier this year).  From there, you can work on changing the different government powers, bail out essential corporations while letting others be taken over by more stable organizations, and let the market do what it does best.

[minionofmidas]

NY: 25-4. Only Serrano, Gillibrand, Hinchey and Kuhl opposing. Not surprised that the first 19 go 18-1 (well. might have been 19-0), but what's with the upstate Democrats?
NJ: 8-5. If it wasn't for Steven Rothman voting against, this would be Democrats and Retiring Republicans vs Nonretiring Republicans.
PA: 9-10. As in NJ, pretty much along partisan lines. Altmire, Carney, Holden against, Peterson (Retiring - Safe Seat) for. Kanjorski trying to lose?

[Torie]

My Congressman voted for the bill of course.

[cinyc]

NY: 25-4. Only Serrano, Gillibrand, Hinchey and Kuhl opposing. Not surprised that the first 19 go 18-1 (well. might have been 19-0), but what's with the upstate Democrats?
NJ: 8-5. If it wasn't for Steven Rothman voting against, this would be Democrats and Retiring Republicans vs Nonretiring Republicans.
PA: 9-10. As in NJ, pretty much along partisan lines. Altmire, Carney, Holden against, Peterson (Retiring - Safe Seat) for. Kanjorski trying to lose?

Kanjorski was involved in the negotiations, from what I understand.

[minionofmidas]

OH: 7-10. Boehner, 3-member Republican Retirement Brigade for. Three Northern Ohio Dems (Kaptur, Sutton, Kucinich) against. (Wouldn't one have expected the southern ones to be just as populist?) One vacancy o/c.
IN: 3-6. Voting in support: Donnelly, Ellsworth, Souder. Pattern?
IL: 8-10. Dems against: Rush, Jackson, Lipinski, Costello. Rep in favor: LaHood (retiring). Not voting: Weller (retiring).
MI: 6-9. In favor: Dems Kildee, Levin, Dingell; Reps Ehlers, Camp, Upton.
WI: 5-3. Only Dem against: Kagen (worried about reelection). Ryan (R) for.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Oh my God. I'm going to be poor.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Oh my God. I'm going to be poor.

This is probably the best reason to oppose this bill I can think of.

[angus]

I think my incumbent, Bruce Braley (D-IA) may have just won my vote.  He's still a bastard, but good for him for holding the line against this legislation.  I'd been undecided.  I don't particularly like Braley, but I really don't like the challenger, David Hartsuch.  The state's two Republicans voted against it as well.  The other two democrats from Iowa voted in favor.  

[minionofmidas]

MN: 4-4. Peterson, Walz opposed. Ramstad (retiring) for.
IA: 2-3. Braley (Communist-IA someone called him in his sig a while ago) and Reps against.
MO: 4-5. Dem delegation splitting along the color line. Emerson, Blunt for.
ND: 1-0.
SD: 0-1.
NE: 0-3.
KS: 1-3. Moore voting for, Boyda worrying about reelection.

[opebo]

Incredibly stupid.   To fix this later on will require enormously greater government action (to those of you who have unrealistic views about what is 'government action').

[Sam Spade]

Oh my God. I'm going to be poor.

Really?  What are you invested in?

[Eraserhead]

lol at Pelosi & Hoyer.

[opebo]

Oh my God. I'm going to be poor.

Really?  What are you invested in?

I'm sure he is being facetious.  But working class people will be made much poorer by the doldrums this invites. 

[Lief 🗽]

lol at Pelosi & Hoyer.

Those losers need to be primaried come 2010.

[Sam Spade]

Oh my God. I'm going to be poor.

Really?  What are you invested in?

I'm sure he is being facetious.  But working class people will be made much poorer by the doldrums this invites. 

Fair enough.  Maybe you're right.  Amusingly, I'm not really affected very much, so it's just curiosity for me.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Oh my God. I'm going to be poor.

Really?  What are you invested in?

I really don't know about my family and my trust fund, actually. We have a broker who is supposed to be maintaining it.

I'm just looking at the portfolio I run and I'm down 15% today. Apple is down 16% and I was invested in Wachovia, which is now $1.65 a share. I have a few more which are going down with the market. AT&T is at nearly a 52 week low, Atheros is down to a low, and my Chinese stock has been bad for a while.

[Torie]

Oh my God. I'm going to be poor.

Really?  What are you invested in?

Wachovia I think. I told him the bank would fail this week. I was wrong. It ceased to exist as a bank on Sunday night.

[Wiz in Wis]

I think were gonna have some leadership repercussions here... My Guess is Hoyer, Boehner and Blunt are the most likely to go.

[Sam Spade]

Oh my God. I'm going to be poor.

Really?  What are you invested in?

I really don't know about my family and my trust fund, actually. We have a broker who is supposed to be maintaining it.

I'm just looking at the portfolio I run and I'm down 15% today. Apple is down 16% and I was invested in Wachovia, which is now $1.65 a share. I have a few more which are going down with the market. AT&T is at nearly a 52 week low, Atheros is down to a low, and my Chinese stock has been bad for a while.

Wachovia?  Why?

Your portfolio isn't great and won't be great for a while (Apple is ok, maybe).  I'm hoping it gets bad enough around here and around the world so there will be some pickings for the little guys with some money left.  Kinda like Houston in the 80s.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Apple already took a hit thanks to that joke that is MobileMe (the single most hated thing at my job hands down.)

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

IMO, based on the events in the market this morning, before the House even voted, I doubt the passage of this bill would have done much to help things.  The government was been stepping in for the past year and has only made matters worse.  At this point, it might be better to let the panic run its course.

[JSojourner]

For once, the House does something somewhat correct (and bipartisan).

Funny, eh?  Saw Boehner, Blunt and Putnam on the tube about an hour or so ago.  They were blaming the failure on liberal partisanship and the partisan speech of Speaker Pelosi.

Based on what I heard from them, I expected more of a party line split.  

[TomC]

Oh my God. I'm going to be poor.

Really?  What are you invested in?

I really don't know about my family and my trust fund, actually. We have a broker who is supposed to be maintaining it.

I'm just looking at the portfolio I run and I'm down 15% today. Apple is down 16% and I was invested in Wachovia, which is now $1.65 a share. I have a few more which are going down with the market. AT&T is at nearly a 52 week low, Atheros is down to a low, and my Chinese stock has been bad for a while.

Wachovia?  Why?

 I'm hoping it gets bad enough around here and around the world so there will be some pickings for the little guys with some money left.  Kinda like Houston in the 80s.

Definitely. A true long term investor sees this as a great opportunity and has held some cash or bonds back to reallocate. This is a sale, not just a crisis.

[angus]

I was down about ten percent overall, but have mostly recovered.  Well, that's my little stock market fun money.  I'm a small player on the open market, though.

I dread to look at my retirement account.  I have lost about three thousand dollars per quarter over the past several quarters, and that even counts the 1500 I put into it each month.  So basically I'm at a net loss for at least six months now.  But I have purposefully invested more aggressively.  My wife invests much, much more conservatively in her 403B plan, by mutual agreement.  

I have no idea what happened to mine today, because I didn't look, but I'd rather lose every single penny I have in it and have to start all over than see even one taxpayer dollar go to the banks in this manner.  And I expressed it in exactly those words in an email to Bruce Braley.  Apparently I wasn't the only one in my district who did so, thankfully.  Every vote counts.  Stay on your elected officials about this, because the house and senate might not let it go at one defeat.  They love to spend your money.

And as jmfcst said, it's really best not to panic.  Let this recession run its course.  We have ups and downs.  And, really, you still have your health and your smarts.  Money is a fleeting thing, after all, and it grows on trees anyway, so it's probably best not to give yourself a heart attack worrying about the stock market.