Consumer Law

Bush Administration Seeks Bailout of U.S. Financial Markets

By Brian Wolfman

by Brian Wolfman

The Washington Post strikes again, with more than a dozen articles today on the U.S. financial crisis and the Bush Administration's non-laissez faire approach to fixing it. To give you a flavor, the lead article, entitled "Historic Market Bailout Set in Motion," begins as follows:

"The Bush administration yesterday proposed a historic $500 billion bailout of financial firms that would let the government rather than the cold judgment of the marketplace decide the winners and losers from the crisis that has shaken the U.S. economy for the past year."

I wonder if President Bush now thinks he should have lost confidence in "the cold judgment of the marketplace" a little sooner than he did. I'm not being facetious; I truly wonder whether, given an opportunity to turn back the clock, he would have pushed for banking and other controls far sooner than he did, or whether his overall faith in the market remains the same.

Here are links to today's other Washington Post pieces:

Five Days That Transformed Wall Street (a chart taking the reader through this tumultuous week event by event)

Transcript: Bush Remarks on Financial Crisis

Bush Press Conference (video of Pres. Bush explaining why massive government intervention was required)

Congress Members Seek Details

Bailout Is As Big As Budget for the Pentagon  (Wow!)

Convincing Congress -- A Joint Decision to Act: It Must Be Big and Fast

Tossing Aside History, Convention, and a Few Cliches

U.S. Stock Markets Soar on Financial Rescue Plan

What the Candidates Can Do

Bush Urges Congress to Enact Rescue Plan

On Alert in Asia -- Japan, China Locked In by Investments

Mortgage Finance -- 4 Fannie Executives Quit; Pay Revamped
 

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on September 20, 2008 (boomark / email).