I've been TRd by commenters and belittled by FrontPagers for saying that we need to call Wallstreet's bluff. Could be I deserved that. Because if anyone thinks this Paulson plan, or any other plan requires no action, they're wrong. Congress will have to act upon this and eventually, the amount injected into the financial system may exceed $700 (plus what's already been spent on the AIG, Fannie and Freddie).
But that's not what I mean when I say call Walltreet's bluff. Bush, Paulson and Wallstreet (and some Kossacks) are telling us that immediate action is essential if we are to avoid severe and irreparable harm to our economy. This is the bluff.
I've been accused of wanting to sacrifice our nation's economy toward political ends.
Here's Kos's thoughts on the matter.
So there's a political reason to wait five weeks until after the election for a response, which will hopefully be more persuasive to some than the obvious "good policy" reasons.
I want to point out that this is not the result of a Democratic political strategy. Bush and Paulson, in their exaggerated claim that immediate action is essential, are implementing an obvious Republican political strategy.
Here's what I propose:
Quit trying to dress up Paulson's proposal with stipulations and addons. Wad it up and throw it away. By Friday, legislate an emergency allocation of $130 billion and order Paulson to put it to use where it is most needed. No, it won't solve the crisis (and the crisis is real and dire, I've never said it wasn't). It WILL allow Congress to completely remove politics from their decision. You want to remove politics from Congress's consideration of this bailout? Vote on a stopgap measure and adjourn. Friday.
After the election, there will be plenty of time to give this the careful consideration it deserves.
UPDATE: Considering the lopsided poll results here, I guess we should all call our Congresspeople. Surely though, they've thought of a stopgap measure. Make the republicans say: "This is no time for stopgap measures!" Make THEM say that! Then make them explain why.