Henry Paulson says, Give me money or risk doom!
From The Hill:
Senators described a very somber, serious meeting, with Paulson describing the risk of inaction and working hard to sell the plan to skeptical Democrats during the closed-door caucus meeting. Paulson said unemployment rates could approach 10 percent if the plan was not adopted, senators said, although he did indicate possible receptiveness to the idea of implementing it in stages. Such a plan, Paulson told senators, has worked in countries like Japan, where financial rescue plans were done in stages.
"He talked about the risks in the markets, the risk of the financial system locking up, the risk of companies not being able to borrow money, the risk of major firms failing, the risk of a substantial increase in unemployment," said (Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)).
Senators are hearing from Paulson about the terrible things which might happen if they vote against giving him billions.
Ideally, Congress would go slow and schedule testimony from people with different opinions. Some of those experts might warn about the risks of voting for the Bush bailout.
Some economic experts like David Cay Johnston don't believe there is a crisis.
According to a Rasmussen poll, a plurality of Americans are against the plan:
National Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters
September 22, 2008
Do you favor or oppose the proposal for the federal government to purchase up to $700 billion in assets from finance companies?
Favor 25%
Oppose 44%
Not Sure 31%
Rasmussen mentioned the price to the respondents. Other polling firms concluded that more Americans support the bailout, but didn't mention the price to the respondents.