I'm not a financial expert, an economic expert, or a political expert, for that matter, so I really don't know what I want to see in a bailout package from the Congress. I think that a lot of people are like me in this respect. We figure something needs to be done in the short-term, and we don't know what it is. We figure that regulation and reforms are needed for the long term, but we know that the battle for reform will have to start in January, because regardless of who wins, the new president will set the tone on this one.
The short term and the 700 gigadollars on the table mystifies me. I have no idea where to stand on it. I've seen a lot of folks against it, some for reasons that they've spelled out, others out of a justified paranoia. I just really don't know, and I don't think that I'm the one who really needs convincing on the issue. So, here's what I want to see.
Deliberation
We need Congress to deliberate on this issue. It needs to be a public conversation, as much as something as arcane as this bill is can be talked about sensibly. Congress needs to have its traditional hearings, and they need to take sufficient time to consider what will be done. Sometimes, backroom deals are necessary, but in this case, the public has played too small a role in determining what is happening.
We need Congressional hearings with experts of all stripes. We need to see Congress receiving, and reacting to, opinions from economists and financial experts from multiple perspectives and schools of thought. The hearings involving Paulson and Bernanke were inadequate, as too many questions were left unanswered, and the public was underserved by the lack of diverse opinion.
We need the media in all its forms to consider what is said. Economists and other experts need to appear on television, in print, on the blogs, and everywhere else discussing what they think of the hearings and the bill. So far, everything has been political bluster. The politics of this bill are important, but I think that, given the shear size of this package, the policy is far, far more important than the politics. In fact, what we learn about the potential ramifications of this bill will shape the politics to a degree.
Congress and the White House needs to slow the hell down. This process needs to follow the normal Constitution prescribed schedule. Evidence that Paulson and the Treasury Department have been working on this bill for months indicates that there is time to consider it. Maybe it will pass, and maybe it won't after due consideration, but I'll be much more comfortable with the outcome, if I'm more assured that all parties did their due diligence in analyzing what the bill will likely do.