Whatever happens after that, there will be bankruptcies. It makes a lot more sense to recapitalise the FDIC than even the Dodd bailout. The National Investment Bank idea is a good one, but I don't know how likely that is. Nothing much is likely to happen until Obama and the next Senate take office in January. Obama may pull a Roosevelt on the banking system.
On March 5, 1933, the day after Roosevelt's inauguration, he called a special session of Congress which instituted a mandatory four-day bank holiday. This act provided for the reopening of banks after federal inspectors had declared them to be financially secure.
Nothing much is likely to happen until Obama and the next Senate take office in January. Obama may pull a Roosevelt on the banking system.
So is it good that the crisis has really not come to a head till so late in the Bush presidency, so that him and his cronies havent really had to deal with it? this being as I understand it the last reporting period before the election, if it had happened six weeks further on then it could be sold as response to the election of Obama, if six weeks forward then Bush might have tried for real to fix it, and who knows where that would have lead. Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
So, you're right, politically for Bush 2008Q3 is the worst time for things to come to a head. Year-end could have been blamed on Obama being president elect spooking the markets, and Feb/March 2009 would have marred his first 100 days. A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
Obama may pull a Roosevelt on the banking system.
Meaning?
I hope Obama's intelligent enough to realize he's going to have to pull a Roosevelt on a lot more than just the banking system if he's elected.
The good news is that this has hit on Bush's watch, so it won't be blamed on Obama (even though the Reps will undoubtedly try to blame Dems, it's a losing argument).
Congress is not going to get anything done this late in an election year, especially not with a debate up tonight and McCain acting like he's been taking acid or something. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
Perhaps this can be the start of 'Monetize America' to follow 'Energize America' ;-) You can't be me, I'm taken
Doing nothing would be too damaging to the real economy in the short and medium run.
Rescuing the whole system (what any currently official plans are about) is too expensive for the gov't, and would not lead to the necessary shrinking of the oversized financial sector. Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den MenschenVolker Pispers
