166 Economists vs. The Bailout

Hundreds of Economists Urge Congress Not to Rush on Rescue Plan

More than 150 prominent U.S. economists, including three Nobel Prize winners, urged Congress to hold off on passing a $700 billion financial market rescue plan until it can be studied more closely.

Including this interesting opinion:

``I suspect that part of what we're seeing in the freezing up of lending markets is strategic behavior on the part of big financial players who stand to benefit from the bailout,'' said David K. Levine, an economist at Washington University in St. Louis, who studies liquidity constraints and game theory.

Mark Cuban vs. The Bailout

700Billion bailout ? Ebay it !

On the subject of executive compensation, if they need government bailout money, take away 100pct of exit pay and any bonuses. Let them quit if need be.

Ron Paul vs. The Bailout

Commentary: Bailouts will lead to rough economic ride

I am afraid that policymakers today have not learned the lesson that prices must adjust to economic reality. The bailout of Fannie and Freddie, the purchase of AIG, and the latest multi-hundred billion dollar Treasury scheme all have one thing in common: They seek to prevent the liquidation of bad debt and worthless assets at market prices, and instead try to prop up those markets and keep those assets trading at prices far in excess of what any buyer would be willing to pay.

Sen. Bunning vs. The Bailout

Bunning Declares The Free Market Dead

My great grandchildren will be saddled with the estimated $1 trillion debt left in the wake of this proposal.

Sen. Sanders vs. The Bailout

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Robert Scheer and Dean Baker on the Proposed $700 Billion Bailout of Wall Street, the Largest Government Bailout of Private Industry in US History. All are good. This quote from Sanders in particular:

For years now, they’ve told us that we can’t afford—that the government providing healthcare to all people is just unimaginable; it can’t be done. We don’t have the money to rebuild our infrastructure. We don’t have the money to wipe out poverty. We can’t do it. But all of a sudden, yeah, we do have $700 billion for a bailout of Wall Street.

Newt Gingrich vs. The Bailout

Before D.C. Gets Our Money, It Owes Us Some Answers

Congress was designed by the Founding Fathers to move slowly, precisely to avoid the sudden panic of a one-week solution that becomes a 20-year mess.

Mish vs. The Bailout

Open Letter To Congress On The $700 Billion Paulson Bailout Plan. This letter that sums up a lot of his writing over the past year. Some choice quotes:

If printing money was the solution to all problems, Zimbabwe would be the most prosperous country in the world.

...taxpayers who pay their mortgages on time should not be subsidizing those who don't!

It should not be the role of Congress to promote housing vs. renting. The very act of doing so creates an artificial demand for housing.

And, his prediction is coming true:

The government/quasi-government body most responsible for creating this mess (the Fed), will attempt a big power grab, purportedly to fix whatever problems it creates. The bigger the mess it creates, the more power it will attempt to grab.

But it's not just warnings and I-told-you-so, he presents alternative ideas.

Reduce the capital gains tax by 50% for any investor willing to cash out stocks and invest in 5 year bank CDs. Eliminate the difference between long term and short term capital gains. Eliminate taxable interest on savings accounts, CDs, and US treasuries.

It is no secret that infrastructure in the US is decaying and needs to be fixed. A collapsing bridge in Minnesota is one key example. And what out our aging energy grid? Instead of giving $700 billion to banks that deserve to go under, I would rather give half that for jobs programs.

Water Shrews

Collider webcams

Who knew the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator would be so boring.

J.D. Power and Associates Reports 2008

2008 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) and 2008 Initial Quality Study