The Bailout
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
HE SIGNED YOUR $20'S, NOW HE OWNS EVERYTHING The Hank Paulson $20 (Photo: Dealbreaker) There are a thousand things to read today about the massive proposed Treasury bailout of the U.S. markets. We've prepared for you below the highlights. The proposal will enter committee now, and likely will be voted on by the House and the Senate on Thursday and Friday.
What about the free market? "I'm sure there are some of my friends out there saying 'I thought this guy was a market guy, what happened to him?"—President George Bush.
The proposal itself: "The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States."
What are people saying? "With truly extraordinary speed, opinion has swung behind the radical idea that the government should commit hundreds of billions in taxpayer money to purchasing dud loans from banks that aren't actually insolvent. As recently as a week ago, no public official had even mentioned this option."
"Basically, after having spent a year and a half telling everyone that things were under control, the Bush administration says that the sky is falling, and that to save the world we have to do exactly what it says now now now."
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