Wednesday, October 01, 2008

To the Rescue

After the market meltdown on Monday centered their attention, on Tuesday government officials and legislators quickly put together the pieces of what they hope will be the rescue package for the financial system.

Some critics of the $700 billion bail-out proposal asked for two fairly simple changes they believe will help greatly. One is an accounting change that the SEC agreed to make. The other is a increase in the amount insured by Federal Deposit Insurance, which Barack Obama endorsed Tuesday morning, followed by John McCain and the Bush administration, and which will now be part of the new rescue package to be introduced and perhaps voted on in the Senate Wednesday.

The Senate bill includes some tax cuts and items on energy that legislators say will make the plan more acceptable to already chastened House Republicans. But no details of the plan were available as of Tuesday night.

(For those with long civics class memories, this little trick is possible because, even though the Constitution says that bills on fiscal matters have to originate in the House, this new bill is appended to legislation that the House has already passed.)

The hope is that the Senate will pass this, followed Thursday or Friday by the House. But, you know, stay tuned.

1 comment:

Connecticut Man1 said...

I honestly hope this toxic bill dies. That is just my opinion on it - which seems to be about as bipartisan an opinion as the other sides bipartisan conclusion that it needs to be passed.

I am really starting to feel that down the line people are going to look back at this time in history as the beginning of an open, no holds barred class war in the USA.

People are that pissed about it. And I can't say I blame them.