Bailout Bill’s Value to Economy in Long Term Worth the Expense?

Apparently, the first Wall Street Bailout wasn’t big enough for the House Republicans and Democrats who voted against it on Monday. Congressional leaders from both parties are now saying heading into Friday’s planned vote that they’ll have the support they need to saddle the federal government with $700 billion in junk investments and billions more in tax breaks. What doesn’t appear to be in the bill, as passed by the Senate, is even the beginning of rulemaking or regulation to see that the investment class in New York and Washington doesn’t do this to the rest of us ever again.

It still seems ironic that all of the “free market” politicians in Congress are lining up behind what appears to be a huge social program for yachtsmen and polo players. The question tonight is will the action in Congress do anything at all constructive for an American economy that seems to be leading the world only due to the sheer size of an inefficient health care system and more imagination than value in our investment markets.