All the Ds have to do is put it to a vote with floor debate.

If the Rs are on board – fine. If not well why not?

The plan is by far the best out there. If I’m correct, as explained by Rep. John Campbell on Hugh Hewitt, the plan is that Mortgage Backed Securities holders would be required to obtain insurance for those securities that would be insured by the Federal Government, ( at least a certain percentage of securities). That way the government would be paid to insure the securities, and then those holders could then sell the insured securities at close to face value in the open market.

This plan has several advantages. There is no direct bailout. The Federal Government is only on the hook for the insured securities that go bad. The government is paid. There is less likelihood of some huge government bureaucracy to control the economy and dispense political favors. It clean up the big investment banks’ books. And best of all, it would provide liquidity and credit to the markets again.

Now I hope McCain backs the Pubs version. The Democrats can pass the Bailout without Republican help. The political dynamic though is that the Democrats need a good number of Republicans to support their version of bailout because the Dems don’t want to be seen as the only ones who are bailing out the super rich on Wall Street.

How very bete noir.

I will issue a warning when I meet anybody that fits the description.

“Linda, we both know that credit is the lifeblood of the American economy. But today millions of Americans like myself are saddled with enormous adjustable rate mortgage debt which we can no longer pay, through no fault of our own. We were suckered in by deceptive easy-money advertising come-ons, confusing refinance deals, and free igloo coolers. And now, with a slowdown in the blog economy, some of us can barely make the payments on our quad-runners, let alone a crushing $1.2 million debt on a house that our appraiser says is worth $40,000 in scrap lumber, tops. America’s economic future depends on us having the peace of mind to know our homes and 56″ 1080 HD big screens won’t be yanked from under us…”

See: Iowahawk Debates: the Credit Bailout
http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2008/09/iowahawk-debate.html

Are you angry? Look in the mirror. You can’t handle the truth!

I’ve been listening to a host of alternative *plans*:

Such as using the commodities indices as a way of valuing the bundled mortgage securities rather than this “reverse auction”;

Or injecting capital directly (and incrementally) into banks as a more targeted (and accountable) approach to allow each bank to better deal with its own accounts.

Recall the big Economic Summit held by Obama after the Olympics? Why not here and now? Now Sen Shelby and five pages of economists are disputing the plan, which reverberates in the markets, not good for Sen. Shelby or anybody with an interest in stabilizing whatever needs stabilizing. Like sending a fragile teenager out into the world of adults.

Too late now.

But something to consider in six months when the current allocation is …

gone.

As much as the “imaginary trench” between the two streets.

We are One Street, One World, in One Pickle.

Much has been made of the SEC’s failure to spot trouble brewing at the investment banks that fell under its purview. An SEC rule change in 2004 — which didn’t generate a lot of attention at the time and passed before Cox came along — let the five largest investment banks significantly raise the amount of money they could borrow. In retrospect, the new ratio — $40 dollars borrowed for each dollar of capital to back it up — was precariously high, considering smaller broker-dealers were capped at a ratio of $12 borrowed for each dollar of capital.

Which means much of the up-ramping was not illegal – just irresponsible.

And I’m done now.

I am not convinced, but The Fix is in. The Official Narrative is being engraved in concrete with well-modulated voices engaged in soothing tut-tut mode. This too shall pass.

But not for long.

At which time we’ll be out of office.

And I will be retired and off-grid as they say.

Maybe we should give them a cool trillion? Penance payment.