Here we go again

The Senate will vote on a sweetened bailout bill today.  I shudder when Congress adds honey to a bill so that you don't notice the part that tastes bad.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, suddenly finds himself in a close re-election fight and puts his pud on the line to support the bill.

MarketWatch says voting against the bailout still makes sense.

Carlos Slim says that the government should assume majority ownership of troubled financial institutions, giving them more capital for restructuring and recovery, rather than assuming their bad debts.  Of course, Slim recently bought a large stake in the New York Times so you can question his judgment.

More as it develops...

Since I have nothing better to do I'll live-blog the debate and vote.

Comments

[Allan]

An interesting proposal from Dave Ramsey:

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:

Common Sense Plan.

I. INSURANCE

A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.

2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don't do their jobs.

C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

II. MARK TO MARKET

A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.

B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX

A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it's not a time for politics. It's time for all of us, as Americans, to
stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

[Mike]

There are lots of smart people out there. It's too bad that Congress isn't listening to them.

[Sallie]

Bravo Mr. Ramsey!

[Vera]

I like the proposal. It helps the economy, taxpayers, and homeowners. I know that things need to be stabilized soon, but I don't want Congress just throwing money around without real thought.