Congress bail out!
 

How is it going to bust our business! Freight dawgs that is! The freight still gotta move right? Hope so! Just wondering what all think?

It will certainly have a negative effect. The question is, will it be a long term one, or short term. At least one Congressman knows what the problem is, but nobody listens to him.....yet.

Freight dawgs can only haul cargo when businesses have money to pay for their shipments. In the next few weeks/months we'll know if the credit crunch has truly frozen businesses' lines of credit - if so no one will be safe.

We'll all survive of course but many layoffs/bankruptcies will follow...

Which one would that be?

It doesn't matter which one that would be, because it'll take a majority of both houses to get this done. As well, there's virtually no one in these United States, and possibly the world, who will not be affected by the outcome of this event. It's already happening, and regardless of if measures are passed or not, it will be a long haul to dig out of this mess. Many companies, both large and small will suffer tremendously, with a large number of them not surviving.

He would be a 10 term Congressman from TX. And, for those of you who might laugh.....well, go ahead. As far as it taking a majority, true I suppose. But, it was shot down by ordinary people calling and emailing their Reps and saying no friggin way. Kinda like we should have had happen with the LOA! I would say that it will be a hard fall. The question is, will it be fairly short one, or long and drawn out. Just my opinion of course.

The "credit crunch" is a direct result of the proposed bailout. Banks are waiting to see what the govt will provide instead of lending money. You can trace the credit freeze to the day that the bailout was first proposed. Just another example of unintended consequences.

First, I think uncertainty is playing more havoc than anything else. And that uncertainty is simply waiting on an answer from Congress. Whether it is a yea or a nay, the market will have a better idea of the kind of playing field it is on. When that is established then we'll some more stability on Wall Street and thus in the markets.

Second, freight still has to move. The current state of the financial climate has not and will not shut down commerce and free trade. In fact, while some businesses will be affected more than others, many will continue to operate as business as usual - and that includes sending and receiving merchandise/goods/documents, etc.

Third, when the economy slows down people and businesses tend to do more buying and selling over the internet. Plus, businesses tend not to keep large inventories of goods, but rather ship as needed using a just-in-time model. That coupled with the internet tells me that the impact of this crisis will not be felt as severe in the cargo/logistics industries as it may be in other types of industries.

I agree, that Texan in the House of Representatives is very smart when it comes to the economy. It is a scary day when our economy relies on a bunch of politicians that are good at campaigning but know nothing about economics. I wonder how many of the Senators or members of The House have any business experience or any formal education in economics.

I just wonder where they came up with $770 billion??? Why can't it be $250 billion for now and then take more time to make a solid plan for the next year. Everyone is being pressured to act fast rather than make a solid plan. Not to mention, where is the accountability for the lenders that gave all of these bad loans out? And the CEOs that cooked the books to get $25 million bonuses when they were running in the red.

I think it is going to pass 68% - 32%. Once everyone has a chance to change their vote.

I wonder if any of them know how to balance a checkbook?

Are they changing their vote because they think it is in the best interest of US economy or because they were pressured and know it is a band aid that will not work. Many have stated that this is just a rush to fix something that can't be fixed that easily. I agree the government should do something but this was too vague and held no one accountable. They spent more time on interrogating baseball players using steriods than they did finding out what is the best solution for the economy.

Everyone wants to blame the other party but shouldn't the blame be on the banks that need to be bailed out??? My credit union is so strict on their lending guidelines that I doubt they had very many foreclosures in the last year.

Not true - it started well over a month ago. Banks are piling up cash trying to stave off a bankruptcy. My friend who has a small printing business is truly struggling with getting ANY loans approved - he has a stellar credit rating, his business has been around for over 15 years and he told me he's never had any trouble getting loans approved, especially small, short term loans. Now, he says it’s almost as if the bank wants to ask him for a loan not the other way around. He's approached several financial institutions and they all seem to be in a panic mode.

The credit crunch IS real and the bailout package would've helped some. They'll have to come up with something new or most of us will find ourselves unemployed very soon...

They will come up with a bill by the end of the week. Banks are holding on to their money until they know how much Uncle Sam(you and I) will give them. Don't look to get too many credit cards approved though, that crisis is right around the corner. I have a friend paying their mortgage with a credit card. How bout them interest rates?

Most of us? Wow bummer dude. Sounds like we have got do something is way more important than doing the right thing.

Either way, "the right thing to do" for our country in your view might not be "the right thing to do" in my view - and vice versa. My point is they need to settle on a compromise - doing nothing is the worst scenario in my view.

From Hank Paulson.

His net worth is north of $700 million himself, so 700 B is not a huge number to him......

Marginal Revolution: Is a Potential Bailout Making Things Worse?

Here's a crazy idea!!!
 

My calculator shows that when I divide 85 billion (9 zeros in 85,000,000,000) dollars into 200 million (8 zeros in 200,000,000) I get $425 per person, not $425,000.

Am I screwing up my math or does my calculator need a bailout too? :eek:

I let my 8 year old son debunk that one.

Do the math!!!

Could someone please bailout the STL Rams???

Interesting, maybe he's right? I don't know...

Micro,

That was fun! I was all ready to get out and celebrate, until I realized that your math sucks, and all I'd get, was a check for a couple of hundred bucks. Perhaps we should let the Fed Chairman and his financial wiz-kids come up with more suitable numbers and a better plan.

Micro, forgive me because when I reread your post, I saw that it wasn't your math that stank, but that of a good friend of yours, who, according to you, has some great ideas. I've a good idea you might pass along to him..... learn to use a calculator.

Jeez, I'm glad I checked the math before I sent it on to my Senators and Representative! I was all ready to tell them how stupid they were, haha!

Well, you can still do that! :D

Micro's math was correct. He just forgot to say the government would borrow the remaining $424,575 per 18+ yr old. ;)

Maybe it's not too late for you to edit that post Micro.

Alternatively, you have a bright political future ahead of you with those mad math skills...... :p

Actually, it all started in 1913. And, your friend should just start printing $$, just like the Fed. Then he would be just fine.

No Bailout! Here is why:
 

Smart guy with the right answer. Call your reps and say no to socialism and Big government.

Check out this Link:

Commentary: Bankruptcy, not bailout, is the right answer - CNN.com

I liked this quote from Tom Friedman:
I’ve always believed that America’s government was a unique political system — one designed by geniuses so that it could be run by idiots.

Here's a link to the whole column:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/op...iedman.html?hp

Now thats one heck of a good point!:p

As JJ said it wasn't my math but even if a few people believed what was stated I would have a great political future as I too could join the pack of liars on the hill:D

I think it's time to pay homage to the "tried and true" rule of: less govn't regulation, more letting the market decide what's right. Good for the customer, good for business... until it isn't. THEN it's "hey, we're too big to fail, give us $700B...quick... and don't ask questions!" None of these bankers were kicking in an extra "thank you" premium to the govn't with their taxes when they were making a bazillion dollars 3 yrs ago on these bad loans (unless you count campaign donations to the folks who pushed the deregulation thru). But boy they sure show up with their hand out when the music stops.

All born of the same geniuses who got us all this cheap oil for going into Iraq.

YouTube - Jim Rogers: `Welfare for the Rich'

Jim Rogers has some good points "welfare for the rich" and "putting a band-aid on a cancer patient"

Yea, I knew that thing was going around. My sister sent it to me. Bet the guy that started it has a full inbox. :)