Why has there not been any push to raise the FDIC coverage from the level set in 1930s at $100K to something that makes more sense for the size that our economy has grown to at this time? Maybe raise it to $1Million so that companies will keep their corporate checking account balances higher. This would provide the liquidity that the banks need to be able to lend out and correct itself in the short term. Regulations need to be set so that this does not happen again also.

Consider this; Senator McCain flew to Washington to ensure that the bailout bill was passed, and even with that attempt at persuasion his subsequent inability to rally Republican support demonstrates how little that even members of his own party respect his leadership.

As if avoiding accountability wasn’t enough, Senator McCain injects politics by blaming Senator Obama for the demise of the bailout bill, and insults our intelligence by thinking we are moronic enough to believe his antics.

Shame on our ELECTED officials, regardless of their party affiliation, for not showing the courage to vote for the only hope that mainstreet America has to make a living and keep their nest egg alive.

McCain has succeeded in turning this independent voter into an avid Obama supporter. I am LIVID!!!

I think part of the problem is that really no one has a grasp on this thing and what will really happen , so no one wants to take blame... I think if they knew the "rescue" would work there would be no debate here. I completely agree Brad to raising the FDIC... it seems there are alot of things that could have been done before this happened if anyone would just stand up and say something. I think We The People can handle whatever comes our way, but knowing about it upfront would help.

This bill, in it's present form, will never pass if these people in Washington listen to the voters/taxpayers. We actually do understand the severity of the situation and, we also know who is responsible. We want our pound of flesh from the Wall Street/Corporate Fat Cats and DC lackeys. When a proper bill come forth that gives us that, it may have a slim chance to pass. Don't you get it–We're pissed–enough !

I'm glad the bailout failed. I was raised that you punish those that make bad decisions and reward those that made good ones. For Pelosi and Franks to make the comments they did was absurd. It may not have made the republicans voting on this bill mad but it sure made me mad. The capitalist market we have will do just what I said. reward those that made good decisions and punish those that made bad ones. Times are hard and have been before the crisis but we will survive like always.

I think that the house republicans are more concerned about their political future.... the bailout became unpopular and they wanted to make sure that they did not favor a controversial bill come election time. I believe the market plunge spoke to what our economy needs; popular or not, a bailout is in order.

Just a question from one of your neighbours up north. If you took all the people in the US that had one million or more in their bank account out of the equation. Then took all the rest of the people and paid off their personal debt would it equal or be less that $700 billion.
Even if you paid off their mortgage or if they didnt have a mortgage their credit card debt would it be more than $700 billion. My guess is that it would be very close if not less. This way the people would benefit directly from this proposed bill instead of the few at the top. Perhaps this should be researched more closely. Or mabey the few at the top would prefer us not to raise questions regarding their bailout.

Sincerly
Ben R

I am glad that this bailout was not passed today. I cannot wrap my head around this obscene proposal by the Fed. Now there is a chance to come up with something better. Why people who have been working hard their whole lives and saving every penny and playing by the rules should bail out the bankers and corporate fat cats is beyond my comprehension.

I just heard on "60 Minutes" last night that somebody discovered e-mails of these wall street crooks which they sent to each other 2 years ago, saying something like, "I just hope we'll be wealthy and retired when this all blows up." Personally, I think that these people and others who are behind this foreseeable fiasco thanks to their insatiable greed should all be convicted of treason and terrorism and spend the rest of their miserable lives rotting in prison. And the government should seize all of their assets, like they do with drug dealers, and return the proceeds to the honest taxpayers and those people they ripped off. This is the only bill I would vote for and welcome.

By the way, the people who should have seen this coming but did nothing about it until now (like the Fed) should be put away for good as well. They are just as guilty.

I'm glad that Congress didn't fall for the scare tactics this time like they did when they approved the Iraq war. THANK GOD!

1st) Typically the average house has lost 60% of it's value, even though the sum of the parts are now worth more than the whole. 2nd)The average homeowner who bought investment property,rather than putting his/hers money into a,Mutual Fund, 401k ,etc.,not trusting "Wall Street" from the get go, now see their life savings(alternative investment) literally going down the sewer with foreclosure proceeding, because," guess what",you couldn't even refinance "Two Years Ago"! This is not a subjected/personal opinon ,because I don't give a dam if wall street fails, congress( and these lifetime politician's) had sold this country down the river along time ago!!! In a sad revelation we all reaping our own complacency, "Five Fold"! P.S. No Bailout, Please, listen up,no bailout !

The real story is that our politicians are more concerned about trying to sway the results of the 2008 election than they are about the future of our country or the people they represent.

I think it was a poor job of the Republican house members to inform the people of their district that if this bailout doesn't happen, then they may not have a job or be able to get loans from a bank. They didn't hold up their end of the bargin as Congressmen and women to tell their people the truth.

America needs a financial diet! Quit overspending, everyone! Forget Wall Street or Congress...they can't save us, and wouldn't if they could. Forget whomever caused this mess...let's take personal responsibility for fixing it. Live within your means, even if it means giving up some luxuries. If it means giving up "essentials" (food, water, shelter), then hopefully friends, family, neighbors, community groups can help. We've been through worse but we made it because we worked together. This 50/50 thing can't last if we want to last. Let all Americans toss both the Republican and Democratic parties out the window...they only exist to serve themselves. They've brainwashed us into thinking we have to join one "team" or the other. From now on, there can be only one team and they aren't on it...We are America.

This may sound crazy, but I'm still not convinced this bailout is even needed. The basis for it is the "credit crunch" which will supposedly bring the economy to a screeching halt. Where is this crunch? Who is affected? Within the last week, my brother just got an equity loan on his property in Colorado (they were eager to lend) and a friend just financed a new car. Am I missing something?

Yes, I understand the banks are imploding, but they are being taken over by healthy banks. This is the market in action, with a little grease from the FDIC.

Who is impacted by this "credit crunch"? I've been following this like a hawk and have seen no specific examples of the impact. Companies? People? Obviously subprime borrowers are unable to borrow bailout or no, but who else is affected?

To me this is the American public once again being manipulated and scared into supporting something that is unnecessary.

I think this is somewhat like taking a swim through a murky pond filled with piranhas. There is no way to get to the other side without losing a little flesh. Since the presidential election is at stake as well as numerous other re-elections in the house and senate, this moment in time for many involved is quite precarious. The public, the left, the right, as well as the press essentially equate to being the piranhas. The left, the right as well as the presidential candidates equate to those crossing the murky pond. All involved must cross but the goal is to push the opposition back into the murky waters. If done correctly and with impeccable timing the greater loss falls upon the other side and become the main course for the feeding piranhas.

First Im strongly considering voting as a Ind this election. It's clear we have nothing more than self serving politicians than politicians wanting to serve the greater good for the solvency of the economy. This mess is so very complicated and big in severity. I have no desire for my tax dollars to be used to bailout homeowners who lied about their income on a loan application. You cant have something for nothing. If a business engaged in fraud they shouldnt be bailed out. I guess Im having mixed feelings. Plus the idea of my tax dollars being used for something that I dont approve of I dont like. I want laws written banning subprime mortgages and I want all people who put them through to go to prison and not be rewarded by me. We are looking at rewarding fraud in all sectors of our financial institutions. The ultimate results of the FBI investigation will come to late and after the fact. Everyone needs to be punished not rewarded. And Acorn who pushed these subprime mortgages needs to be investigated by the FBI for fraud. This entire thing is shameful. I do not blame Bush. I blame Acorn and the creation of the subprime mortgage followed by deregulation with Pres Clinton and a Rep congress in 1999 followed by Fannie and Freddie and 9/11 which led to a preemptive over corrective measure by Greenspan lowering interest rates to a record low and record houses being built and housing prices hitting the sky and people using them to get heloc's for everything from plastic surgery to remodeling their home to paying off cc debt and people having multiple homes. All betting on a house and even wall street. Its a mess that most dont really understand the complexity and severity of all of this. The worst is that it has crossed the wires to other countries and their markets. Its all shameful. We stand for life libery and the pursuit of happiness now this. Im not a economist but I do know that the old saying if something seems to good to be true it probably is. Well betting on your homes value is not good. Nothing beats at the end of the day hard work. Maybe we all in a way are responsible for this mess.

What we are seeing here can not be blamed on Wall-Street or legislation passed by any political party. It is the fault of two concepts that are more important than any other issue we face – globalization and carrying capacity. 1.Globalization: Our relative worth as skilled people is declining in comparison to other countries where people skilled in the sciences, economics and business will do more for less. 2. Carrying Capacity: There are more people competing for less and less resources. The current predicament was caused by these two concepts and denial (we made money too cheap), but this market adjustment would have come along in one way or another.
Short Term Solution: Get the market moving with the bail-out.
Long term solution: Increase our relative worth by investing in education, and know that an economy based on renewable resources will be the most valuable asset.

These politicians love the coverage you are giving them. Why don't you spend the next few days covering acts of kindness around the world – or something other then the bailout and the political scene.

I'll bet all involved would come to the table pretty quick if they knew there would be no coverage of them until they reached an agreement and crossed party lines to do so. Sort of like telling a child no TV or computer til he/she tells the truth.

I'm not an expert on economic issues but it seems to me that everybody is missing the big picture. This narrow focus on this bailout by the media is taking the discussion away from what it should be. Our economy has reached a point where we can no longer ignore the fact that it isn't working. More and more people have been losing their jobs to companies downsizing and taking jobs over seas. We ignored it. We let our politicians protect the wealthy while talking of helping the poor. We ignored it. We over extended our military and strained our economy. We ignored it. Let our education system fall apart and We ignored it. We have ignored most of the problems in our society because they don't seem real until they happen to you and then its to late. Now its to late. People are isolated from each other in competition and fear and we are not actively involved in the running of our country. Bailout or no bailout people need to wake up and get involved everyday. STOP LETTING OTHER PEOPLE THINK FOR YOU.

While I'm pretty P-Oed at paying for other people's mistakes (Wall Street, Republicans and greedy consumers who had to have "more house" to keep up with the Jones but couldn't pay their bills) by rejecting the bailout, I'll be paying an even higher price. I had long kissed the idea of ever receiving Social Security goodbye (even though I continue to pay for it) but the idea that my dilligent investing and saving bottom line is reduced now to practically zilch makes me furious. What am I supposed to do now? Who can I trust with my very hard-earned dollars? I am beginning to believe that my great granny was onto something: just stick it under your mattress. But hey... by all means. Take your time coming to a decision until everyone has a warm glow and looks good on Election Day. It's only my money. I can make more dollars ... or can I? And what will that dollar be worth?

Naughty, Naughty on Nancy Pelosi.

As a stay at home mom, even I know to not even take a vote about selling wrapping paper at a fundraiser until I know I have the votes in the affirmative.

Tell us why this won't work?

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.*

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in
a *We Deserve It Dividend*.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000
bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman
and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a
*We Deserve It Dividend*.

Of course, it would *NOT* be tax free.
So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

*What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?*
*Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.*
*Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads*
*Put away money for college – it'll be there*
*Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.*
*Buy a new car – create jobs*
*Invest in the market – capital drives growth*
*Pay for your parent's medical insurance – health care improves*
*Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else*

*Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ **including the folks*
who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company
that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of
trickling out
a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed by
one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, *let's bail out every adult U S
Citizen 18+!*

*

Why hasn’t anyone proposed this bailout option or a hybrid of it?

Why don’t they just slash what people own on their mortgages (acquired from 2003-2008) across the boards by 30% thus decreasing mortgage payments for many (and taxes), which in turn would put more money back in the economy (less foreclosures) as people would have disposable income again and money to pay their mortgages. This is what I would call a “trickle up” approach and would assist those who are in dire need now.
And then the banks could absorb the 30% hit to them on the mortgages that they should not have extended credit to in the first place. This would allow for the decrease in home prices to be more tolerable and fair and close the gap between what people paid for homes and what they are worth. It would also help the banks to the extent that they could have fewer future forclosures possibly.

Wealth doesn't just disappear – it gets transferred. So to everyone who lost their investment today: Just follow the money trail and you'll find out who has your money.

Let's make it simple. what got us into this mess is the difference between "NEED AND WANT".

Mcsame and his republican games players are doing another one of their numbers on us. Lets just play the game. and when we kick them out on November 4th, we will show them who playing who.

Forget the bailout Fat cats will come up with something. They can't get rich without little people pushing funds their way. They are just cutting up. We are the ones who provide the slave labor that makes them rich. We live on not much all the time so just sit back and chill it will be alright. AMERICA
From the Give us the BILLIONS Campaign

In order to stimulate the credit markets and get people spending, how about paying off consumer’s credit card debts?

I think Congress should have passed the bailout but it doesn't surprise me that the GOP voted against it – unless they see a benefit to the rich fat cats that support them they are never for anything that will benefit even indirectly the average citizen. The ones that voted against the bailout today were completely irresponsible. Now that they have voted against it, if we fall into Depression do they have a plan for how to get us out? I thought not.

Annie Kate
Birmingham AL

How about this. Instead of giving our money to the companies, give it back to us. If the government were to give back the 700 billion dollars evenly to every american over the age of 18, we would all recieve roughly $460,000. No lie. This would allow people to pay off their credit card debt, mortgages, buy new products, afford college, BUY houses, buy new cars. It would save these companies who did a poor job, and make americans richer and happier. But we all know that neither party will do it because who ever heard of giving the power back to the people. They are affraid.

It's common sense time. Having Washington politicians anoint themselves as the best group to draft an emergency economic plan is like having the foxes manage the hen house. If we need medical attention, we call a doctor. If the dog is sick, we call a vet. When the economy is in turmoil, we call the politicians? Really? When are they going to consult the economic experts? We should take the most brilliant economic professors and have THEM come up with a plan that will truly make sense in the short-term and long-term. If they say, "No bailout. Let the institutions suffer the consequences and let the market find it's equilibrium, " that's what we should do. In this global economy, European economists should be a part of the think tank we need. Here's the rub that makes us feel we need a bailout: American workers have been influenced to get the mental buy-in for 401(k) plan mutual funds. Now, if the failing institutions go down, many of us go down. However, we seriously need to consider how the entire nation will be tied at the neck with a cinder block and tossed in the sea with a multi-billion dollar bail out. We call upon the American public to push for a team of economic experts on this issue. One more thing, since our economic ship is sinking, we (my husband & I) think the Captain (Pres. Bush) should go down with the ship and resign. After all, squandering a $6 trillion dollar surplus is every bit as scurrilous as getting serviced in the oval office.

Janet & Amnon

the consumer credit rating field needs to be leveled. that way decent interest rates equals decent house payments which equals stimulation of the economy. if these banks were not allowed to set these outlandish interest rates there would not be as many foreclosures

Pay attention, people. The American people have told Washington that there are no bail outs for Wall Street fat cats. The average person has little to NOTHING invested in the gambling and gamblers of the stock market. We will not save them unless there is a good faith effort to save us. Credit companies must zero out their demands for interest rates, mortgages must be forgiven to the point that homeowners can catch up and pay only on the principal, and not another penny will be borrowed from foreign countries. You know, we regular people try to live within our means and do without basic needs just to get by. Pull the strings off of the "golden parachutes" and turn that money back into our pockets. My answer to this market crisis is "LET THEM DIE!!!"

In 1933 deposits were ensured to $10,000.

In the 80's it went up to $100,000 and $250,000 for IRA's

It isn't hopeless, I just don't know what we can do to help.

What if the governement gives each tax payer $20,000. Those being foreclosed will have enough money to bail themselves out. Those not in trouble will spend, save, and invest. The money will reach the banks and stock markets after we get a chance to spend it first. That is the Free Market way. If you’re going to inject money into the economy, inject it where the pain began. Nobody threatened a government takeover while people were losing their homes, it was only after banks and stocks fell. It started at the bottom, with the people. If we have to pay for it, we should get the chance to spend it first. The banks can refinance those bad mortgages to keep people in them, especially if those people have $20,000. Those of us who didn’t get into the mess are rewarded, and we in turn grow the economy. Republicans save face for using the FREE MARKETS to cure the problem. Some banks will fail, some will prosper. Its the way it is supposed to be. For Republicans to sign a bill that nationalizes our markets, increases government and spending, and increases taxes, it goes against the entire party philosophy. For Democrats, voting to put money in the pockets of the people helps them. For the Republicans, the rich get richer. Its a win win!

I also do not buy the notion that Nancy Pelosi is responsible for the failure of getting the Republicans to pass the bill. Her comments were totally unnecessary and partisan at a time when we needed unity. But that is not the reason why this bill did not go through.
It didn't go through because of the irresposible attitude of 228 congress members who were thinking only about number one: themselves and their re-election.
These people have our blood, sweat, and tears on their hands, and they should be held accountable on election day, regardless of what happens in the coming days.
Sal
New Orleans

Leave it to those republicrooks to gum up the works .... they say the reason two thirds of the republicrook congress voted against the bail out is because Nancy Pelosi hurt their feelings......
Well , I guess the crooked republicrook leadership actually wanted the bailout to fail , to put the blame on the democrats . But the public wont buy that.... We all know who controlled the white house and both houses of congress for six of the last eight years. Not to mention the republicrooks prior to the last two years , controlled both the white house and both houses of congress for the past twelve years !!!!!....
Before the vote was taken . John McBush held a news conference , proclaiming victory , and taking credit for the bail outs passage .....
Well there goes John McBush`s " temperment , and judgement " again... Then had the nerve to charge Obama with standing on the sidelines and doing virtually nothing to help the process along...
seems to me John Mc Bush should have done what he accused Obama of doing....

I cant understand why they even wanna pump the money back into the companies that are part (just one part of course) of the cause for all this mess..why dont they put the money in the hands of the American people and let us decide our fate..instead of our crooked greedy politicians. And then the whole blame game thing just cracks me up they are ridiculous..then they are gona take off a few days and meet again on Thurs...so they will all be vacationing in Marthas Vineyard while the country falls apart.

1. The rejected bailout was so full of loopholes that neither executive pay nor taxpayer equity in the participating companies would have been a reality. Industry specialists gamed the bill and thank goodness a few experts mon the inside saw thru it.

2. the underlying economic fundamentals are severely deteriorating so regardless of the bill or today's market action, it is clear that the market was heading lower on its own merits. Thanks, Mario.

Boy am I ever glad that John McCain bet his reputation on fixing this economic crisis!

Let's look at how McCain's fix is going:

1. cancels his campaign to swoop down on Washington and save the day.

2. will fix the economic crisis because country first, debates second.

3. meets with the president and all sides in this crisis – says next to NOTHING

4. republicans say McCain is vital to saving the plan

5. McCain leaves Washington to debate Obama, oh yeah, no plan done

6. returns to Washington after winning debate to fix the plan

7. leaves Washington to go to Arizona and fix the plan via strategic telephone meetings

8. this morning, takes credit for the plan before it passes – republicans telling the media that McCain has solved the economic crisis single handedly.

9. bailout plan fails – dems bring 140 votes, gop brings 65 votes – oops 2 – 1 GOP against the plan, majority of democrats support the bailout plan? Are you kidding me – the democrats put country first and supported President Bush and the Republicans let the bill FAIL.

10. Republican congressional representatives betray their leader and betray their country – shame on you GOP, you should support President Bush and PUT YOUR COUNTRY FIRST.

So now it's Obama's fault or the plan was not good for the country, or whatever silly excuse talking points seem to be ok for today. Oh by the way the $700 billion dollar bill FAILURE resulted in $1.2 trillion of lost wealth in the stock market TODAY (and $4.3 trillion since this summer).

Great Job John McCain! This Conservative feels sick.

So much for "Country First".

Where has leadership gone in our country?

After the failure of the Bailout Bill we all watched our leaders in the House of Representatives act more like children than leaders of our country. I had a flashback to when I was a kid and a bunch of us got in trouble – all I saw were people pointing fingers at who was to blame. I have an answer for all of the, Republican and Democrats. Look in the mirror.

In addition to my general frustration on the lack of leadership, I have another question – When Israel was attached during the Yom Kippur War, did Israel soldiers refuse to fight because it was a holiday?? Why is it that politicians can take time off during such a serious problem for a religous holiday. What has happened to the seperation of Church and State?? I am a Catholic but if I were part of a business that had a serious event happen on Christmas Eve, I would certainly work through that time to come up with a resolution.

Can there be a better reason for term limits than the actions of these people today?

I am not fan of this bailout...but if it's true, that without this bailout the economy will plummet...please tell me that the Republicans did not oppose this bill simply because of a speech made by Pelosi? God help us all!!!!

Everyone is talking about how much we lost on the market today – we only lost if we sold today!!!!!! I have my life savings in the market and I have faith that the market will rebound. Everyone TRULY in the market should be in for the long term

Excuse me, but since when have we ever paid the debts of gamblers that got too greedy in Atlantic City or Vegas? The bosses there don't point a finger of blame. They BREAK those fingers of gamblers who welsh on their bets. It's a good analogy and the American people are the ones who deserve the well-earned credit of putting our feet down and refusing to "enable" Wall Street. Spare me this hand-wringing. Time to face OUR music.

Wall Street's CEO's, board members and hedge fund managers should be the ones to pay for the ballout. Can the legislature pass bills that would make them pay back the taxpayers out of their huge salaries, bonuses and gold parachusetts?

The Republicans have put politics before country. I'm not sure if the rescue plan will save us or not but at least it's a plan we can start with and go from there. Frankly, I think every single representative in congress should have voted for the plan and then went home and told the American people the hard truth: we are in debt up to our eyeballs and we are going to all have to sacrifice in order to make things right again.

Banks refinance personal loans without credit checks; can banks do the same for mortgages? Can mortgages be renegotiated ? Can mortgage companies without appraisal and credit scores take existing mortgages and extend the terms, lower the interest rates, or do anything else to lessen the payments. Many Americans just need a lower payment. The money is already owed so why won't banks renegotiate with homeowners?

This is not just about the fallout in the US. What about the suffering other countries must endure due to the gross indulgence of the US. We have watched for years the gross consumption in the US and have positioned ourselves to ride out the storm. Why did the US not see what we see in Canada, or do politics mean more than main street citizens.

I hope WallStreet can fix this mess themselves and leave the government out of it. However, I am concerned that the outcome would not be pleasant for main street America. I am very concerned because I am apart of main street America, can't afford to buy gas, or gorceries.

Why is everyone so focused on getting a bailout plan through so that the credit lenders will loosen the purse strings and begin lending again? The answer is right in front of your face! If the credit lenders won’t lend without the 700 billion bailout…GREAT!! Cut out the middle man NOW!! Let the government use the 700 billion to lend directly to those that need it and get rid of the private banks that tack on a few points for their hard work (ha hA HA). If the government starts lending DIRECTLY to those companies that require the funds, they can do so under one condition…NO ONE GETS LAID OFF!!!!!!!!!! and you do NOT need to dish out the 700 billion all in one shot and get rid of the Feds once and for all.

ok, 700 billion divided by 250 million, thats 2800 each. Instead of trickling the money down, give it to us, and let them suck it up.

i agree w/pelosi. bush failed again. pack your bags and go home pres. bush.

Since no one can get along for this very important issue . We as americans can easily boot them out of office. Since they can not get this done. I rent an apartment. I don't own a home. All the fat cats should have their salaries and assets frozen and give them a cape cod and a chevy to live with for the rest of their lives. Let them live like the rest of the working class poor. this deal is only for the upper class to save their hides. All of them forgot us little people who live paycheck to paycheck.

How about putting this solution out to the public and see the response?

I think that the members of Congress who voted against the bailout today may have saved the country. At least some of those who work on Capitol Hill have a spine.

Since Secretary Paulson doesn't even try to defend the $700 Billion price tag (they were just looking for a really, really big number?), then I don't see how anyone voted for the bill.
As the Bush Administration has already devalued the currency, forced down wages and opened the gates for illegal immegration, I figure that this

I was just discussing co-dependence with my ex. And it struck me how similar this situation was – just cast Wall Street as the dependent and Congress as the Enabler.
I think today was probably a good thing. Wall Street has to learn they can't take Congress for granted.
Now offer them 10 cents on the dollar......
Make sure the rescue really hurts – so they won't even THINK of doing this again!

there does not seem to be a real reason for the total slide in the stock market. nothing has changed since fri. except congress did not give them 700 billion dollors to bail thier asses out. could this really be no more than a slap in the face of the gullible american public. "that will teach them a lesson" i truly wish we could let it all fail and i would open windows on the 25th floor for some of the big money swingers
ed

Unbelievable, the nation's and the world's financial systems are in a freefall and all congress can do is to take two days off for the Jewish holiday. No disrespect to the Jewish nation but I think this is more important. Even Ben Stein had the same sentiments. No wonder Washington has to be cleaned up.

Alot of people say they are not worried because they don't have credit cards or 401ks. People understand your employer uses credit to pay you. No credit. No paycheck. Tell your congressmen to vote yes. Don't wait for your employer to close the doors where you work. Then what are you going to do?

So, let me get this straight.....a few Republicans get their feelings hurt by a speech so they're going home? Seriously? Is this the 3rd grade? I cannot believe that this is happening while the country continues to go to hell.

Unbelievable..........unbelievable.

I think the best way to take care of the situation we are in now is by wisely spending the 700b as follows:

It is safe to assume that homeowners facing foreclosure can actually take care of their mortgage if some of the 700b is used to buy down their newly reset mortgage interest rates back to the original rate. In exchange for that the homeowners should be required to pay higher sales tax when they sale their home for profit. This will restart the economy since homeowners will be paying for their mortgages.

While I might agree something must be done, I think the bill as it was presented was way too much of a sweetheart deal for Wall Street. I'm not against regulation per se, but that bill was pretty horrific for the average American.

I guess I'm not heartbroken that it didn't pass. Then again, I don't really have anything to lose. No stocks, bonds, credit cards, etc.

What are the priorities for Republican Party? Was it Ms. Pelosi's remarks or US economy or threat of economic rescission?

Everyone is talking about the anger on Main St. It is an anger grown out of the frustration that we who were not a part of the culture of greed that brought us to this point are going to suffer no matter what happens. In other words we on Main St. are "damned if we do; damned it we don't." The arrogance of Secretary Paulson who in effect has told the American people that we have to do this; we have to do that in order to rescue a bunch of big-time economic plunderers raises the ire of a people too long subjected to the caprices and whimes of the power brokers in Washington.

People choose to be literal when they want. Barney says the Republicans voted the bailout down because their feelings got hurt by Pelosi. Gee how gullable can you be, have some common sense. Several Democrats voted it down too. Facts are what counts, not unproductive rhetoric. I'm not sure this bailout is right, or a solution to our problems. Several top economists say it would be bad to go this route and at most a temporary bandaid. With people pulling their investments out in a panic makes us look really bad. I am choosing to hold steady, I'm diversified and will take a hit. I will survive, if nothing else I'm resilient and an american. Hang on to your panties, we are in for a ride.

My take on the failure of the bill sent to congress today is simply that it was Marketed improperly to the American citizen. Using the terminology "Bailout" sends a very skewed message and ultimately makes it apppear as a huge financial bandaid to those who are in the 5% Income bracket of wealthy investors that may have been unscrupulous. If the plan had been labeled as an Economic Stimulus
in contrast to the rebate plan earlier this year, which should have been denoted as just that. The Bush administrations thought process that this influx of cash to the consumer would jump start the economy was a major flaw.

The House DID THE RIGHT THING! Stop trying to push this bailout that the citizens of this country don't want! We don't want this!

We know it's going to hurt. The people of this nation know that it will hurt no matter what, but we don't believe that this will improve unemployment, improve our lives.

All the tilt seems to go against the majority in the house composed of both parties that voted this trash bill down.

McCain and Obama are wrong.

Fix your dog. For every dollar of bailout, nationalize two dollars worth of the yachts, cars and real estate the lying thieves who engineered the bad loans made doing these bad deals. The loans that any responsible American shunned like the plague.

For 230 years people have bled for this country now it comes to this? WE need to fork out $700 billion to these people or go broke?

Let's try broke, clean the slate and start over.

BAILOUT??? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN BAILOUT.

When did conspiracy, fraud, and racketeering cease being crimes? People, not companies, made conscious decisions to bundle what they knew at the time to be worthless mortgages into securities which they then sold as bona fide investments.

Before we throw tax money at crooks, the Fat Cats need to trade their Golden Parachutes for Silver Bracelets.

to suggest that desires and knowledge of average american citizens of the intricacies involved with the decision of the bail out of wall street is ridiculous. If the average american had the ability to make such decisions then I fail to see why we need congress, the senate or the so called experts who strongly advised we needed such a bill. I an average american citizen would like to see all those who caused this fiasco and orchestrated the do nothing position to join me out here on main street and live with the results of their positions.

The Republicans decided that they could ignore what we learned in the Great Depression and pass the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999. It allowed our banks with our checking accounts and saving accounts merge into investment and securities firms and insurance companies. This means that our savings account and checking accounts have ended up the stock market just like it did in 1929 as corporation assets. Sure FDIC will pay us if they the corporation goes belly up, but the taxpayer pays FDIC. If this thing blow up how can we survive? The more FDIC pays off the more FDIC has to come back to the very people the just gave the money to pay others. Where is the safety net?. It sounds like we are in free fall???

What is wrong with channeling the 700 billion through the masses?

Peple then could pay heir mortgage, raise house values, and bail out the banks.

Because of the multiplier effect of channeling through the masses ... 700 Billion could have the effect of 7000 billion or more.

We could have .immedite and massive grants and loans for samll business to create jobs, public works for infrastructure, ztudent loans and loan foregivness etc

Giving it to the banks will not help the home owner,etc.

All parts of this branch of or government needs to grow up ! The American and world markets need action. Not name calling. The credit freeze is now real, and our immediate future is dim. Wake up America, do your home work. We lost over a TRILLION $ today, 700 billion is nothing in comparison for the long term. The lose of jobs are real.

Why should all the peoples of the world lose a lot of their personal money because American companies did improper things to allow Americans to get mortgages when they should not have qualified? Has the shoe been on the other foot recently and I am not aware? I did nothing wrong. I didn't vote into office those that did this and yet I am sure paying for it.

Cheers,
Dean

This is a controversial bill and Democrats pass it by themselves. If the bill does not work, Democrat will be blame for this in the long run. This bill must be passed both parties.

It is not time to babysit those who are irresponsible. For those who live within their means things will be okay. Accept this as a challenge and a lesson. EARN what you need and want – Pay as you go. People should help people. So why does the government need to bail out the big guys? It is true that the Democratic Party has been the majority. Right?

Where are our leaders? So, you want to be President? Step up history is waiting. True leaders are the ones with the right stuff at the right time. The U.S. Of A, and the world are waiting. Enough talk, show us your stuff. This is it. Who is going to rise above and lead? No blame, we need solutions NOW.

Paulson just wanted to give a huge sum of money to his friends on Wallstreet and he would have become a very, very powerful figure who would never have been adequately supervised and he would be long gone before the verdict is in about whether his plan had any positive effect, in fact, on the credit markets. I think the suborning of panic in the markets by the President, Bernanke, Paulson, Congressmen, and the Media has been the most shameful behavior I've seen from public officials and reporters. Isn't it illegal for a trader to start promulgating panic in the markets or starting a rumor that a company is failing. These people were all starting rumors that the markets would all fail. And Paulson and Bernanke, Bush and many Congressmen and reporters were all acting like we just didn't have time to even read Paulson's two page law that basically said"just give me a trillion and never ask what I did with it" That was just the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. You don't just sign over a trillion dollars to someone with no oversight. The trillion that was lost today might come back tomorrow or next week but the trillion that we would have signed over to Paulson would have just gone into the balance books of Wallstreet firms and we still wouldn't have had any real assurances that the credit markets would be better.

Americans get it. Congress does not. Americans do not trust Congress. 15% approval ratings reflected a sentiment, but without definition. NOW, there is definition, and Barney Frank and Chris Dodd abdicated their responsibilities. Americans want someone in Congress to "feel their pain" and pay with their job. Pick 2 Dems and 2 Repubs and tell them to act in the country's interest and resign for their admitted failures. THEN the people will accept a "bailout."

If McCain or Obama want to win overwhelmingly, here is what they should commit to at the next debate.

They will pass the $700B bill within 30 days after entering office. They will pull out of Iraq within 30 days, yes 30 days, after that in order to help save $10B per month to offset the $700B and the earlier $85B bailouts. The only way we would stay in Iraq is if Iraq pays us every month in advance. They will review every other foreign entity that we are supporting with the goal of possibly stopping financial aid within 30 days. America must first be able to feed itself and take care of itself before it takes care of the rest of the world. It really is as simple as that.

The world will understand. Whomever is brave enough to make this commitment and follow through will be the next President of the United States of America. And a great President at that.

BLUF! Both Democrats and Republicans in the house were elected to represent the people....and in time of need, are expected to work as long as it takes to save our Country. Heck Thats What they get paid to do!! And they want to take a holiday break? They put themselves first instead of the Country. We know now who not to vote for when it is time for their relection.

I can't believe what has happened. Do the house republicians not understand that we are on the brink of another Depression if nothing is done? And the fact all now all of gone home, for what to allow our economy to completely fail? I am very concerned that there are nations out there that may take advantage of this crisis and attack america. How will we defend ourselves if we get attacked again in our weaken state? Do these House republicians not have a clue?

Every citizen poll I've seen today/tonight has resulted in an overwhelming vote supporting the House action defeating the bailout. I agree with this sentiment. Why is it that our citizens are saying no to the bailout, but the politicians and pundits and experts say it should be passed? Aren't the experts listening to what the people desire? And if not, why not? And, I am sick and tired of watching each party member bash the other. Isn't it about time that our "LEADERS" start working together to get something positive done? At present I don't think it makes one bit of difference who is elected President. This may be the first time in 31 years that I do not vote for a presidential candidate because it isn't going to make one bit of difference who wins.

Well this has been an up and down day in most every cornner of the world. Can't say that it is a surprize though. Haven't really got a handle on the whole mess but every action has a responsibility that needs to be fessed up to and banks and Walstreet are not immune too those responsibilities. For all of the greed that banks and mortgage companies have been reapping over the last decade they are paying the price now and taking American and world ecconomies with them for the ride down.

It should be a ripple effect through most of the countries industries and basically it will through Obama in the White House with a majority in both the house and Senate. But I really don't see either Obama or McCain stopping this train from hitting the station. The vote today has fussed the break on the runaway train and it will hit the station at full speed. Even if by the train is derailed the damage that will occure with the train coming to a stop will be felt for months if not years.

In the next few weeks you will see banks go under or get bought up by those that haven't had quit the exposure but not all will be blessed to be the one's bought. Even that money will have a stopping point. I would expect that the government will come up with some sort of a plan that "might work" but I think the best thing is to let the dog shack off the water from the pond and start to rebuild after the fact. Probably the best "paln" that congress could do is to start drafting the policy so that this doesn't occure again through banks and Walstreet greed.

Let's begin a petition drive in all states to place congress persons and persons in the administration on Social Security and reduce their pensions by 50%. That's about what we retired persons have lost in our portfolios.

It was blind ideological deregulation that allowed investment and insurance executives to take as personal bonuses money that should have been held in reserve against changes in the market.
The people that run Wall St companies acknowledge they are greedy. They described the derivates they sold as “pure profit” to their boards of directors. Calling them “pure profit” meant far bigger personal bonuses. Why did the counterparties to these derivatives spend money on them if there was no risk.

You have to restrain the arsonist and put out the fire before you rebuild the kitchen.

Bailing out Wall St before restraining the greedy executives who looted their firms is a total waste of taxpayer money. It won’t end the chain of disasters.

Restraining the greedy executives will hardly take any time at all. So do it, and then do the bailout.

how soon we forget. I`ve been a mover for 15 years, I have never seen it this dead. and It is going to get worse because some in congress had to prove a point

The House of the U.S. Congress should be ashamed of their actions today. The second Great Depression has begun and all the King's men will not be able to stop it. Following a decade of unemployment rate of 25%, WW III will ensue as many as 2 Billion people will die before it ends. Those in Congress who voted today to save their jobs will face the 200 million souls who died because of WW II and they will say, "GO TO HELL! You learned nothing from our sacrifice." Maybe those religous Republicans should act to save their souls. Jerrold Peterson Professor of Economics Emeritus University of Minnesota, Duluth. Oh by the way this is one Republican elephant voting for Obama

I don't understand why there aren't built-in FDIC type protections for 401k's as there are for banks holding our money, especially when you could lose everything in an instant, since it's all virtual monies. It's a total disgrace, but our government created this 401k theory and sold it to us way back saying it's a great way to invest our money for retirement. It's only good for young folks just starting out who (if they lost everything) would have to depend on time to have it regrow, but even they would still have lost money. So, what's so great about 401k's?

Bailout—Credit freeze-Economy coming to a standstill or worse!
Why is not the discussion about our apparent total dependence on credit?
If our economy is totally dependent on credit there is no hope for us. It’s just a matter of time

If you are worried about your 401K and any stock holding loosing value just wait awhile.
When we raise taxes on corporation do you think that extra cost won’t be passed back onto us?
The cost will be in the form of reduced returns on our investment or higher cost for the products
and services of corporations. Either way, it’s just a sneaky way to increase our individual taxes.

Isn't this the perfect ground work for the introduction of the Amero?

It seems that all the major issues with the original bill were met in some way to protect the American tax payer, put a reasonable limit on golden parachutes, and the formation of two independent oversights. We all need this help immediately. We lost over a trillion $ in one day, credits are frozen, more job losses are on the way. 700 billion, for the long term, meeting the basic concerns is worth the risk. Taking no immediate action is not a risk, but immediate loss for main-street. Both sides of the house need to grow up.

I do not think either of our esteemed Senators running for President ever dreamed that we would see how "broke" Washington is. Politics as usual and taking the Holiday? There have been Special Sessions for less. Who is willing to put aside petty politics and save the day? Hello? Anyone?

Which financial entities are benefiting from this "crisis"? That $1.2 Trillion was absorbed somewhere. I have always been under the impression that these situations are scientifically manufactured. Another question. Doesn't flooding the economy with $700 billion create a bubble? If it does, isn't that like putting a band-aid on severed limb?

Thanks for your time.

do congress members own a 401k and do they invest or own stock in the stock market since most Americans have such in the Country's lost of $1.2 trillion.

I am completely annoyed by the lack of leadership upon our elected officials in the House and Senate. I can't beleive our elected officials are concerned more about being reelected instead of what is best for the American people and economy. The President did a poor job of explaining how dire this econonic crisis is and the absolute need for this bill to pass. The intent of the plan is being labeled as a bailout, and I believe this is completely false. There is plenty of capital out in the market, but many of the financial institutions do not want to lend it out becuase the fear of losing it is to great of risk. The purpose of the financial plan is to buy up the bad debt that is clogging up the credit market so that the banks and financial institutions will begin lending to each other. I beleive if the President and our elected officials would frame the need for the plan this way, the necessary votes needed to pass the bill will come.

I want the politician who are responsible for creating the crisis, Reagan Republicans and neo-cons, charge with treason. Their policy of dismantling President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, proved that they don't place the United States of America first, their allegiance is to special interest groups and big business. What they have achieved is to destabilize this nation's economy, which threatens the national security of the USA.

Furthermore, I challenge anyone to show me where in Constitution of United States of America does it give anyone permission to bankrupt the nation by taking revenue that is necessary to operate the nation by cutting taxes.

If there is a bailout, every tax cuts that has been passed by Congress, must be recsinded. That money is need to fund the bailout, also Katrina/Rita/Gustav/Ike recovery, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Simple. A house divided will fall. It fell today with the market. God help us all.

the reason why this bill didnt pass is that the people of the country that they represent dont want this bill to pass.....its called we the people that elect these congressmen and women......they had enough democrats to get this bill through, but even the a great deal of the democrats want to be elected again.....nancy p is just a way left wing nut that will probably be removed as speaker of the house not long from now.....the democrats as well as the republicans share a ton of blame for this mess......for her to blame the republican party is outragious........bush wanted to put stricter regulations on fannie mae and freddie mac back in 2000..good old barney frank said that they were just fine and not in trouble when in fact guess what they were......i say write a bill that leaves us we the people out of it and leave out the pork, no extras for their lobbies that they have to answer to........for once congress represent us we the people and not yourselves

I actually was brave enough to check my 401k today. I'll continue to contribute, but I'll reduce my contributions and change future allocations to invest in money market funds only. Luckily, I have many years to go before retirement. I feel sorry for those folks who depend on this money now.

I am sick of hearing the blame game on all these shows. Frankly, I think We (the people) have won one here. How about doing some investigative reporting and look for some other options? Use this "ah ha" moment to figure it out. "We" are pissed off; "We" don't believe or trust you. "We" have paided enough!

If our elected members of Congress forgot the knowledge of the past let me give them a taste of what might happen in the near future.

The Great Depression of 1929-33 was the most severe economic crisis of modern times. It began with a catastrophic collapse of stock-market prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929. This resulted in the lost of market value and the collapse of many financial institutions, banks, and not to mention the lost of millions of jobs in the United States and around the world.

It looks to me that the members of Congress “Do not get it”. They better do something quickly to resolve this economic crisis or on November 4th they are going to “get it” – a vote right up their butt and out the door.

I am most worried about the older Americans like my folks who turn 71 in January and will be forced to start drawing from their retirement accounts while they are at their lowest point. Why doesn't anyone make an effort to protect this at risk group? Simply suspending the tax requirement to draw from their account will keep them from having to lose everything they worked their whole lives for. It would give them a chance to try and wait this stock crisis out. It would also help the market if they left their money in.

Boy. If you look at the history of Fannie and Freddie... go to 2004 and all of the hearings are available. The Dems blocked legislation and lamblasted republicans for trying to get additional regulations. Now Pelosi and the top Dem thugs point fingers when they could have voted it in themselves. Everyone out there is to blame. So, as usual they will enjoy thier salaries, vote themselves raises, let us take the hit, and try to make us swallow that they are working for us. I am just sick.

Why doesn't the Sec of the Treasury contact the third world reknown economists featured on Lou Dobbs and get some ideas on how to attack the problem, re-write the bill and get on with it!

get some advice from people who know what they're talking about and quit expecting the politians to agree (they won't and we're going to suffer regardless)

get moving

I am retired and have my investments in Vanguard. The hard truth is that my investments increased in value by $1,000 today and I'm ready to jump back into the stock market when it turns around, and it will. The key is to have some clue as to how to handle your investments and, if you don't, find help.

The 1.2 trillion lost in the market today is paper which will come back. The 700 billion that our Government wants to spend are real dollars that, once committed, will increase an already staggering level of debt on this country that will be borne by our children and grandchildren.

I firmly believe that "Main Street" can get through this without the bailout and the country will be stronger for it. What would really help is the media not trying to scare the hell out of everyone to sell papers and draw eyeballs.

I can't believe they get to go home for the Jewish holidays. I'm a newly-graduated physician. After years of studying, hundreds of thousands in student loan debt and long (sometimes thankless) hours in hospital call-rooms, I wonder if I can just say "Too bad, Sick Patient, you may be dying, but I have the right to go home for the holidays!". The average citizen is not guaranteed time off to practice their faith - why should congress?

Congress needs to get back to work in the morning like the majority of their constituants.

My husband and I are home owners, and we just put our house on the market 10 days ago. The only reason we are selling our home is because we will be relocating to another state in less than a month with plans to purchase a house over there and do not want the burden of having two mortgages. My question is should we pull our house out of the market and just have our home rented out. I am 29 years old with a bachelor’s degree and my husband is 28 years old and an E-7 in the U.S. Army. Our credit score is well above 700. Is it a wise choice to sale our home at this time in regards to the recent Bailout failure?
Maria

It was a sad day in America, what the terrorists could not do on 9-11, Congress did with a handful of votes; bring the country to its knees. Wow. Shame on the Oval office for not taking the lead and communicating the issues and the fix clearly to the American people. Shame on Congress for not putting the country first, instead of their elections.
By the way, shame on the media as well for calling it a “$700B Bailout” for its shock value. It should not cost anything close to $700B, nor is it a bailout. You know better.
Instead, today alone it has cost $1.2T. Wait until tomorrow.
It’s time for all of us to be America first, and everything else second.

People are seeming to look past the 95 Democrats that also voted against the bailout plan. It was 60% Republicans and 40% Democrats so why is this being blamed on the Republicans? Who knows right.

I also see the blame on the Republican party for the past 8 years in the White House. But this economic problem started within the past 2 years. So who controlled Washington for the past 2 years?? Democrats have. This shouldn't be blamed solely on Republicans.

How do you stop a runaway train? You can't! Personally I think this was all inevitable. Looking deeply at the issue- it is a problem of human nature (Greed, Excess) it’s in us all and unfortunately our country has become blind to it. Politicians, Wall Street, and the People, we are all to blame. With freedom comes responsibility. I agree we have irresponsible leaders and the government has grown so much it is difficult to hold anyone accountable b/c of a lack of transparency. This is going to hurt and I’m prepared for it. We need stiff consequences. We need to wake up United States of America! What signal does a bailout send to everyone? First it sends a signal to the irresponsible that it is ok to live out of our means b/c good all Uncle Sam will bail us out. Second, to the responsible it says why be responsible- I did the right thing and now I’m paying for others mistakes. If it crashes it crashes- stiff consequences create GENUINE CHANGE- I may not have faith in politicians but I do have faith in the principles we founded our country upon, the resiliency of capitalism, and most importantly the resiliency of the American people. Let’s stand up- we are supposed to have a balance of power in this country between the people, gov., and business- it is obvious where the power has shifted. We have to take the power back!

I can't belive McCain gave the Mission Accomplished to the bail out just before it went down in flames. He does not have the support of his party yet. He should have had Palin come forward and endorse the plan. She obviously has more pull amonst the failthful.

This is just insane. Imagine growing up in a country that's supposed to be wealthy and prosperous, and here I am sitting at the TV wondering about our bank's stability with my parents. The main thing is, that nobody really knows what's going on. I mean, yes, I'll spit the facts back to you, we're losing 3 million a minute on wall street. We're trillions in debt right now, we're owning money to places like China and Saudi Arabia. But I honestly have no idea what any of it means. Stop giving us the numbers, stop blaming each other. It's time Obama, McCain and George W. Bush, give us the facts. It's only fair, since it's OUR money.

@Keith S. – Well stated. At what point in time did Las Vegas come to the average American family and tell us that we needed to bail out habitual gamblers? They never did because it is ludicrous to presume that anyone other than the gambler with the problem bears responsibility. Let's take back all those bonuses, cars, homes and other assets the fat cats still have and liquidate them to finance any allegedly necessary bail out.

As an Independent voter, I am happy the bailout failed in the House. My 401K tanked by $2000 over the course of a week. If the Bailout does not directly help those consumers who are in need of an interest rate break or a restructuring of the loan to save their homes, then my loss is well worth the cause. I'm not due to retire for another 25 years so, I have time to regain my losses.

I want to ask Suze Ormon about debt consolidation companies, which to trust, and questions to ask.

Thanks, a lot. A lost soul, Irma

Suze,
I am a 55 year old registered nurse with a 401k approximately $200,000 investment in one of my retirement accounts.

With investments going down the tube, would it be better to cash-in my investments -before I lose it all, and be willing to pay the penalities.

Should I take the money out before I lose it all?

ALL the Congress Members that voted NO should not be re-elected, and HALF of the PAY taken. For not getting there act together. They don't even understand Country and Team. On this day then going home, PLEASE what do I elect them for what do I the taxpayer pay them for!!!!!!!!!

None of my savings is in the stock market. I learned a painful lesson after the dotcom bubble – the little guy can't win in stocks. Let the market correct. The US Constitution doesn't list credit as an inalienable right. If you can't pay cash for it, you can't afford it. I could go to the bank tomorrow and they would loan me money because I have the means to pay it back and colateral. I am against any bailout because it raises government debt, decreasing the chance I will ever recover my social security dollars. I am also against it because I'm willing to go through 6 months of depression to avoid a prolonged recession. Responsible Americans are ready to hunker down and let the crooks fall.
NO BAILOUT BY TAXPAYERS – period

What if the government (us the people) gave a set amount to all americans to apply to their own mortgage. This could possibly pay off some mortgages and reduce others. You could also give a set amount to individual who are renting towards the purchase of a new or used home, this would help stimulate the housing market with new purchases and also help off set the individuals who pay off or pay down their current mortgages. This will also allow people to spend their mortgage monies back into the ecomony making purchases with monies that used to be paid to their mtg lender. Face it... if we give this as bailout money, it will find away to be misused for large bonuses, etc..... This is just a thought from concerned citizen. Thank you

Deb in AZ. I see McCain was unable to persuade you. His lack of Leadership is obvious. By the way we are a representative Republic not a democracy. We elect capable people to do the right thing for the country. Maybe all the people who lost money deserved it but I don't think so.

I keep hearing guests on 360 saying that people don't understand the bailout/'rescue plan' bill, and saying that is why it was rejected. That, however, simply isn't true- we understand enough. We understand that $700,000,000,000.00 is a LOT of money, and that a part of the bailout/'rescue plan' bill entailed giving Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson the ability to use this money without letting anyone – including the courts – review what he would do with it.

It's quite simple, really – no oversight means it's a no-go.

i just wanted to know. me and my fiance are getting married in may but we also want to buy a house. together we have about 6 thousand dollars of debt. we are both under the age of 26. our planned wedding will cost us around four thousand dollars. should we use that money for a house, to pay of debt or keep with the wedding plan?? please help.

I have continued to barrage my Congressional representatives, regardless of party affiliation, with my opinion and directives for any suggested bail out. I really don't care who they want to blame – I already know that the fault lies with greed and excess. Ali Velshi likes to pontificate that this is about "credit". Well, American's have been overburdened by predatory credit companies, and those predators have been allowed to feed freely upon us without regulation. Sorry fellas, the dining room is now closed...permanently!

Bailout??? And they leave? I love all Christians, Jews and Muslims, but what happened to separation of church and state??? Is this NOT important enough? I don't get it!
What happened here??
Markus
Pacific Palisades, CA

Deb why didn't the President act on Fannie Ma and Freddie Mac when he had the house and Senate? Sorry you cannot have it both ways. You need to act if you have the votes from the Congress if you truly felt that this was a problem.

I want to know if if the lobbist are doing what lobbist do regarding the bail-out bill. Are they involoved in the way to bill is being written.

-ac- W. hasn't even thought of putting safety and guard/ aka riot
protection in place ?

I think we should see right through the blame game – it's just political posturing. I also think we should be skeptical when the media decries the House's vote as "irresponsible". The media appears to assume the bailout is in the country's best interest, while the people calling in to their HR representatives think it's a very bad deal!

I'm retired from the Phone Company..lost my stocks in 2000-registered Independent.
anyhow I don't understand why, if the present "Bailout" proposal isn't a good one, it isn't rewritten to make it workable.
Why stick to what everyone is saying isn't a good policy and leave more of a mess for the next president and congress to have to deal with.

I read the perfect solution to the baleoutproblem. today in the editoral.
This person suggested that they take the $700 billion and give back to the people . Any one over 18 years old. That would be approximately 200 million people, divided by 700 billion, that would give each person aprox. 3.5 Million dollars each. We all could pay off our mortgages and credit card debt and pay taxes back to the government and still have plenty left to retire on. It would also boost our economy through the roof. Each person should have enough to reitire on, therefore the government could eliminate social securty. What a concept!

I am watching AC360 and have yet to hear mention that 93 Democrats voted against the "bailout". If Nancy thought this was so important she wouldn't have given permission to her committee chairs to vote no. My last illusions that government could serve me have gone up in smoke.

Why not turn this BAILOUT into a longterm STIMULUS package for Main Street and Wall Street.. Where are the big ideas?? Why not have the treasury buy 60 month (or so) term share certificates in the various financial institutions in equal amount and under the name of each and every American taxpayer amounting to the 700 billion... Giving the institutions the short term capital they need and at the end of the term the Treasury can recover the original funds and the taxpayers will receive the long-term dividend in the form of a stimulus payment and as thanks for doing their part in (hopefully) righting the ship....??

paulson came forward saying things were broken and he had a way to fix it, and if we didn't the sky would fall, then bush made his speach that the sky was falling and this bill was going to hold up the whole sky.. what if paulson, hadn't come forward with this plan, the markets wouldn't be looking for the savior, and things would have kept going, yell things would be turbulant, more banks would fail, but someone is always there to pick up the pieces at a bargain. couldn't paulson and the president just come forward with a so so plan, saying, things aren't good, but we can make it a little better. We the usa can't save the world,

The ill gotten mortgages are still worth something just not as much as they were before and not at the ridiculus interest rates or balloon payment packages they were purchased under. Why don't the mortgage companies allow those not able to pay the exorberant payment, let the owners return the deed in lieu of foreclosure and reasonably rent the homes to the former purchasers if they can afford it at the reasonable market rent rate per area. I am sure people would stay in the homes rather than hitting the streets looking for a new palce to rent. Ths does two things it keeps money flowing and gves the market time to readjust. Right now people are just letting the companies foreclose and getting a total free ride for months because no one is in charge. Plus some former owners are just as unscrupulus as the lenders by stripping the homes, because of bad or uneducated financial decisions.

Hey Anderson, Ali Velshi and you should stop promoting the bailout. We,the public are against making the fat cats any fatter! Perhaps,the 700 billion can be divided with the American ctizens,with the condition that they can only buy anything that is made in America! Watch the Banks and Wall St Spiral upwards then.Infuse 700 billion into the people not the greedy CEO'S on Wall St.
Mickey.CA.

Why are the republicans being blamed? Why are the democrates being blamed? The whole reason why this failed is because the American people are finally fed up with the way this country is being ran. The American people are standing up for themselves. That bill was a quick fix. I and many other Americans feel like we/they can do better.

Why is the governement even buying these assets in the first place? Why don't they just insure these subprime loans? Or even just change some the accounting rule to a more conservative measure, like historical cost, instead of mark to market?

The point is the government should not be this involved in our economy! There is no need for more regulation on the market. The only additional regulation needed is over the FED. Did you know we can't even audit the FED's books but yet they have so much control over our economy. One of the most powerful men in the world, Ben Bernanke isn't even elected by the people. What a joke!!! We are being told time and time again just let them take care of it, they know better. We have been doing this for too long!!!! The new question is "Do they really know better?"

I have to comment about Sarah Palin's whining about "gotcha journalism". If she can't distinguish between a voter and a journalist then she is far too under-qualified to serve as Vice President...ever.

We moved to Costa Rica a year ago and we thought it was a good move then, do think it was agood move and how bad do you think this bad economy will affect Central America?

Can we post the names of the bug-eyed zealots and gutless wonders who voted against this measure and cost us $1.2 trillion (and counting). The right wing zealots who played russian roulette with your life savings, and mine, should be punished at the ballot box. Left and right wing zealots got us in this mess – but it is clearly the right wing variety that just cost us all $1.2 trillion based on either partisan politics or ideology. In either case I'd like to wring their necks – but at least I can toss them out on their ear. (Cancel the debates – McCain just lost my vote and my guess is he'll get about 218 right wing nut votes out of Congress.)

Why can't the American Gov. just loan the financial industry the money instead of giving it to them? Banks are unforgiving so why should the money be free without recourse. Loan them the money as needed but suspend all bonuses to CEOs and all dividends until the loans are repaid. That should inspire them to get back on track. I am sure the American People (me included) would not mind that as much as just giving them the money. It's no wonder we have lost our faith in our governments ability to watch out for all of it's people. Too often, businesses are first and foremost. People are sick of all the same old stories from both parties and the current bailout is just more of the same.

I'm just wondering what will happen if no bail out is adopted and the markets dip much further, what will happen to social security? Will it remain seperate or will it be devoured to pay for the war as Americas debt abounds toward 20 trillion in the next 5 years?

I am not Republican nor Democrat and looking from a neutral position cannot understand all the finger pointing. 228 Representatives voted against the bailout. 95 Democrats and 133 Republicans. Those 228 have decided to put our Country's economic strength at risk of complete colapse. When all types of companys start filing bankrupcy and the average American worker who does not have money invested in Wall Street lose the jobs, we can all sit back and be Monday morning quarterbacks. By then it will be to late.

It's not Republican or Democrat, it's 228 people determing the fate of the Nation and a total of 434 people that would rather take a holiday than save our Country. If your family needed you to work on any holiday to save your life savings, make your house payment, pay medical needs to name a few, I know what you would do.

It.s at the point of utter embarassment that we have Representatives that are so concerned with re-election and partisanship that they would let our great Country and its great citizens to the brink of financial destruction. 95 Democrats and 133 Republicans (not Pelosi or 12 Republicans)

What good does restraining the arsonist do if you're burned alive in the house? Any regulation to fix "greedy executives" is all well and good, but if the economy fails to function, no one will have to worry about it because the executives along with the thousands of people they employ won't have jobs.

I am a democrat. After today I am sorry that I am. If it is not too late I will change to an independent for this election.I thought both democrats & republicans were trying to work together in a bipartisan way!!! Before the vote Nancy Pelosi makes those comments. If you ask me she is definitely playing poltics with my money. Please Nancy shut up!!!

Barney Frank should be the last one to point fingers at the Republicans. Not only did ninety-five of Democrats vote against this bailout, but even though Frank is the chairman of the House Banking Committee, members of his own committee voted against it!

The House was right to vote against this bailout. The failure had nothing to do with Pelosi’s stupid remarks it failed because the constituents called their senators and congresspeople and told them to vote against it because the executives responsible were going to walk away with their “golden parachutes” unpunished.

I think the members of Congress, like Chris Dodd who received $133, 900, John Kerry who received $111, 000, and Barack Obama who received $105, 849 from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are trying to protect their friends in these organizations and not the American people.

It was Chris Dodd who put a stop to "The Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005" (S.190) co-sponsored by John McCain that would have put tighter regulations on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Jo Ann
North Royalton, Ohio

Give the people yhe money to pay all of their bills, say 100 thousand each. And the economy could fix itself. People can go on with their daily activities, pay bills,invest , which will bring our economy up.Trust the people for a change.
epgee

FDIC says that they will guarantee deposits up to $100,000. There is not enough money in the world to secure our deposits. Tell the people the truth, that the banks will all close for a while and withdrawals will be limited with no ATM use. We won't be able to get our money.
Tom
Bensalem,PA

Hi,
I was told by my financial advisor that fixed annuities at Midland Nat'l ins are protected not by fdic but because they are regulated by the government and have to set aside a doller for each one you have invested with them, making your annuity safe. Is this true according to what is happening today?

Nothing was established to deal with regulating Fannie and Freddie. No regulatory commission additional oversight, nothing to stop the main contributor to this fiscal crisis. In 2003 and 2004 congressional hearings heard testimony from Mr. Star About the problems with Fannie and Freddie and sub prime loans. My own party members, Democrats, wave their hands saying nothing was wrong. Well there was and is something wrong. Why did you not listen? Now you want to put the same people who got us in this mess on a commission to oversee this. With all due respect, there were wrong then and not addressing it now,
During the savings and loan debacle, the RTC regulated the process, why not the same for Fannie and Freddie. I will not support any legislation that does not put tighter regulations on the two quasi-public entities. Why should we trust Paulson, Bernanke and Cox when they closed their eyes to this problem for so many years? Franklin D. Rains should be in jail!!!! Not be giving economic advice to a campaign.

How come you don't focus on Freddie and Fannie?

Greetings,

Perhaps it would be educational if we clearly explained (in specific details and with examples) of what are the possible outcomes if the bailout passes or fails ... we need more than conjuctures of what could happen and statements like it will be the end of the world if it fails ....

Why are we not inviting academics in economy & social studies to have a debate on your program about this ... why are we not requesting the unbiased subject matter experts to publically brainstorm, to debate, and to come up with several options ... and explain them in words we can understand?

Best Regards
J.

People, the money from the market loses are not gone in a black hole. They belong to entities that will use this opportunity to invest this money in angel funding for startups in industries that we need to improve our lives. Maybe it will be harder for a small business to get credit from a bank, but the people sitting on the sidelines with all these money will have to invest them in something profitable. So, please, don't complain that the guys from Wall Street didn't get their bailout money, the world economy works in ways you never imagined ...
And consider that top economists in this country, including Nobel prize winners agree that the bailout is not the right solution.
I am happy we have a Congress that works!

I think the notion of bailing wall street and kicking aside main street is absurd. Both sectors are hurting right now and an immediate legistration to ensure such acts like this don't happen again in future is overdue.

Bail out the people at the bottom not the people at the top. The people at the top dont need a bailout. They should be taking all of the golden parachutes and start paying some of this 700B.

Dear CNN and viewers
My husband said 700 billion $ divided into our USA tax payers say 180 million of us, = $388,888,888.00 we each can get to stimulate the economy. Pay off our mortgages, save in our banks, etc. and purchase stocks and bonds. Wow!

So today the republicans in congress got their panties in a knot and picked up their marbles and went home. What really happened is leadership took a holiday and it cost Americans 1.2 trillion dollars. The republican leadership of Pres. Bush and John McCain could not even pull together enough votes from their own party to support a bail-out that started behind closed republican doors. I would like to see Senator Obama call on those democrates that voted against today's bill to do what is best for America. I know its not popular but somebody has to rescue ordinary people. I think it would demonstrate once and for all that Barack Obama is a leader who can make tough choices.

It was 95 Dems that voted Nay versus 133 Reps that voted Nay.

I have been doing some reading and have found that this unscrupulus lending escalated/started in the early 90's with the government eager to loan money to people who really couldn't afford to buy a home otherwise. Key here was "couldn't afford to", clearly under any circumstances. Sounds like over eager politcians trying to make the world fair beyond common sense. My mom told me when I was 12 (1970) and our father died unexpectedly, the world is not fair and never will be, but we have each other. She then said, cry now and when we get to the funeral home I don't want any outbursts – I want a stiff upper lip. All us kids kept a stiff upper lip. We knew we had each other. This world is very small all we have is each other, hopefuly we can put aside our differences and find common ground so the next president can make a difference.

Does this 700 billion bailout include the several billion dollar assets from bad adjustable rate mortgages coming due in 2009 (3 month) from people that are already or will be upsidedown on their mortgage and will go into foreclosure?
Have they discussed extending the FHA Secured Mortgage that expires 12/31/2008? This was the quick fix for people that currently have ARM'S and put them on a fixed rate but have to have 3% equity.
How is all this quick decision billion bailout going to change the real issues and our future......lack of accountability, greed and corruption in Washington AND on "Main St. What is being done to change laws and make these CEO'S and others accountable for getting us in this mess and what's to be done after the bailout thats going to change how we got here to begin with. Who was accountable for lessening the lending standards that got the mortgage industry into this mess and what kind of legal action will take place?
An alternative to bailout= divide the 700 billion per american household and give back to "Main Street". Those with low credit scores, debt, and bad spending habits will spend the money. The rest of us will invest it. It's a win win for our economy!

When the proposed bailout includes real help fot he American people, like we get a rebate of what additional taxes we pay as a result of the bailout, or the companies being bailed out must set aside a predetermined amount of the monies they receive to create new jobs for the very people bailing them out (and I don’t mean Pelosi!), or even set up a fund or quota for the people whose home loans are now in foreclusure status or have been recently forclosed on to help them or stop the forclosure, reduce the penalties associated with the non-payment or late payment or credit card and other debts Americans have recently endured as a result of the market situations created by those who are supposed to be the experts, then I can support it. Furthermore, as much as people want to say consumers are responsible for getting into the preditory loan situations, the average American is not supposed to be the expert in this situation. Most people trusted the lenders and realtors who told them this is a “good thing” to borrow a phrase from Martha Stewart. The bailout doesn’t have to be a bad thing for America, but as it stands right now…we are getting overlooked (or whatever other unpleasant adverb you can think of!).

I cannot believe what Nancy Pelosi said today! When the heck will she learn how to shut up and solve a problem!

I am currently an independent, but after recent events am leaning towards the McCain Palin ticket.
I wish CNN would show the videos that were supposedly on u-tube showing a 2004 senate debate between Republicans and Democrats where the republicans were warning of the problems with Freddie and Fannie. The Republicans were warning while the Democrats were defending Freddie and Fannie and accusing the Regulators of falsly attacking Freddie ad Fannie. I heard the sound bites from this on Rush Limbaugh's show today and cannot find the videos on u-tube.

It would be a miracle to see CNN find this video and actually show it in prime time. I would love to see Anderson's panel comment on this video as well. It would help all of the liberals who are in denial come to reality.

I would watch alot more of CNN if I would see this take place.

Thanks!

Richard and Chris above also have some great ideas. Lilsten to your constituents politiicians. All of you will be up for re-election at one point or another.

Those people who continue to circulate that fantasy about 700 billion divided by 200 million would make us all rich must have flunked grade school. Do the math. The answer is not "millions" or even "350 thousand" but a mere
3 thousand 500 hundred dollars. Enough to buy a ten year old clunker used car and live in it for the next few years....while they "celebrate" the failure of the bailout....

Give $700 billion to the american people instead of individual companies. Americans can pay all their bills not have to borrow new money. The companies will receive their monthly payments for the mortgages they oversold. Giving money to the people seems like a lot better solution than bailing out large business that were not running so well in the first place.

The politicans and corporate greeds blame us for buying houses – but take no blame for outsourcing our jobs, so we can keep making payments on our homes. We're making agreements and don't have the full picture. How much of this collapse is due to corporate greed? How can we believe anything anyone says anymore? The financial institutions are not putting out their books for the public to see. They acknowledge their failure, but hide the rest from us! These corporate criminals should liquidate all their assets and pay the American's back & then go to prison!

Real christians are democrats, not publicans.

I feel that the reporting on the bailout vote is skewed. If everyone is so upset with the Republicans that vote against the plan why are they not upset with the Democrats that vote against the bailout???? I guess this is just spin by all the media?!?

What a stupid stupid thing Pelosi did today but after thinking about it, I realized it was just her "normal" tactics! She and Franks and Dobbs need to be fired!!! Run out of Washington. How disgusting!

Copper, what happens to the small busineses & people whos credit have been impacted by the current crises we are havibg. I have a small business for 22 years and over the laste year i have used all my resources to keep things going to try not to lay employees off and at the end of all this all i have done is ruin my credit and ended up having to let go 90% of my workers. What do I do now and what about my credit???

Just an observation, but the "great bailout" is brought to us by the same team that told us there were "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq, and the solution was to dismantle the government, military and police of Iraq, and "there are too many illegal aliens in the U.S." and the solution is to make them legal.

I moved my 401k funds to a money market account about four years ago (preserve the capital; the increase is the matching funds, not the interest–Suzy Ormund). So, I'm sitting on the sideline, watching the greedy little bastards get their come-upance. Let the market correct itself–it will not crater the nation, just the financial markets. Japan came out of its crash, and survived. Our mistakes are not worse than Japan's.

Yes, Virginia, I do have a couple of degrees in economics. I'm an Independent, now, but I voted for Hillary. Oh, for the Clinton days, again.

Best show on CNN!

ANYway -

What happens if nothing is done, vs. what happens in the future if we bail them out?

I'm solidly of the belief that they'll just do it again, because "who cares about the investor and regular people? The feds will just buy up our screwups!"

In the midst of the bailout plan A failing I do not believe that Congress should be taking a three day break... not only has this current administration failed us, but now so has Congress. I do not know whether or not I would have voted for or against the bailout plan A, however I do know the members of Congress should be holding this crisis priority over everything and should not break until there is a resolution.

I guess people will get it when they go to use their credit cards to buy gas etc. and it's returned no funds available. This is a bill no one wants but what do we do let the country hell!!!! Those who did not vote for this bill is more than likely up for relection. Congress is a joke. They are sent there to do what's best for this country not to see if they can get elected again. What this bill would cost we are already loosing. The market fell we lost over a trillon dollars. Just think what it will be tomorrow. Just think if you don't get your pay checks or pensions. This country could come to a stand still.

They should be investigating Wall Street and send some of them to jail. Letting the country fall apart is very sad. When banks approve loans they know people can't afford at very high interest rates they are playing with a with fire and your going to get burn.

We need a change!!!!!

"I read the perfect solution to the baleoutproblem. today in the editoral.
This person suggested that they take the $700 billion and give back to the people . Any one over 18 years old. That would be approximately 200 million people, divided by 700 billion, that would give each person aprox. 3.5 Million dollars each."

Eh? Do the math: $700 billion / $200 million = $3.5 thousand

The House did the right thing. Giving the people who caused this mess in the first place $700 billion is like handing your house keys to a thief. Wanna hear my personal theory on all this? Accountability. Make the firms and their freedealing executives who made the mess clean in up, or else face life in prison. And why not! Making a buck while selling America out is to me, treason And next time, Uncle Sam needs to regulate the housing industry a LOT better. But society as a whole has to share in the blame a little, too. The war was just an excuse for all our attention spans to go out the door, while the economy twisted up in pretty knots. Didn't we learn anything from the Clinton blue dress scandal? Tsk, tsk, no, sirs and ma'ams, we did not.

So George is going to speak to the country again Tuesday morning. I'm sure, as he always does, he'll have some infinite wisdom to share with everyone as to how he and his buddies are going to fix everything, if we'll just "trust them"!!!
After seeing his address to the nation last week I tripled my anti=depression dose! I don't think I can listen to that moron again without stronger medication!
George, please go away. Take your crayons and your building blocks, and go play and try and not make things any worse with your doomsday scenario.
Good on the citizenry for collectively standing up to these self-serving politicians and blocking this ridiculous "bailout" plan.
Get rid of all the incumbent cretins in Washington on Nov. 4th, and start with some new blood that just might have the average joe's best interests at heart!
IT'S A PRETTY SIMPLE THING REALLY, ONE THAT HAS BEEN THE MANTRA OF ECONOMICS FOREVER. "DON'T THROW GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD" Especially when you haven't got any to throw in the first place!!!

Anderson, how dare you side with the fatcats in saying that The House did not make a decision in the best interests of The People?

I strongly disagree. We the voters do not want this bailout IN ANY FORM. As with the post-911 bailouts, this kind of corporate welfare helps the big players and does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for small businesses like mine.

I say "let it burn". I don't care if I lost money on my 401k today! I don't want the government to mortgage my future because I have no confidence in them to do anything other than make a meaningless short term fix and waste my tax dollars. You cannot push water uphill. Let capitalism run its course and, even if it takes 10 years to recover, do it by itself and not under the central control of an incompetent but supposedly benevolent dictatorship.

Why do they keep calling this a bailout? This is why I think the average american is not getting this. This is not about Wall Street . This is about me the small business person who wants to open a new business and hire people. Who also at the same time wants to but a house. I was waiting for prices to go down,.. Then Reps cut off my dreams and those of so many of us. Hurting in my heart and in my dreams!
Wendy in Hawaii

Anderson fact checks are good but, both should get credit i have a list1/Who was 1st. to call the coruption on wall st. and washington.
Mccain or Obama 2/ who got more money from morgage co. (earmarks) Dem. or Rep.? 3/ who first asked for regulation on freddy and fanny Obama or Mccain? 4/ Who is playing more dirty politics & using this CRISIS for political gains look at speaker Pelosi and Barnie Franks, I actually was a die heart Dem. until this election even Chris Rock was nasty about the Clintons if any other Rep. was running I probably wouldn"t vote but despite the garbage dems. are trying to dish out I;ll vote Rep. for the 1st. time in 40 yrs.
Lorraine
New jersey

Anderson & Suze,
Should the FDIC and Congress investigate the accountability and make them more transparent, the actions of Barklay's Capital, Goldman Sach's nd the relationship of Paulsen Jr. & Sr. Copensations are questionable and probably culpable.

I feel, all the politicians need to be reminded on what their jobs are. President Bush needs to make the correct address here and force the people to see the reality of this huge catastrophe. If the general public does not understand this bailout plan, then it is a failure to begin with. Politicians need to look at history and see that Franklin Roosevelt changed a lot about this country because he could see that it takes extreme measures to help balance out extreme times. We, as a country, need this plan to pass and be enforced immediately.

Anderson, a new organization needs to be created with staff to track and report to the taxpayers via a website how the money will be spent. This site should have line item details and updated twice a month. This new organization should be charged with overall accountability, governance, and have authority to ensure that all goals/deliverables are met. Finally this team needs to work at all three levels: local, state, and federal.

Why is the bailout focused on giving away money. Why not offer the money as loans and let the banks figure out how to ride the storm and correct the situation? Although the final cost may be the same, at least I find it palatable.

What happened to that favorite slogan " United We Stand, Divided We Fall" Our Country first before their congressional egos!

For the meantime, the country's swimming on mud while they're all gone on vacation!

We need more good paying jobs. Not a bailout. Thanks to NAFTA.

Do we forget how dynamic markets are? While it's obviously a huge loss today...the bigger question is where will we be in a day, a week, a month or 2 years?

Why is American obsessed with government "solving" everything? It makes me nauseous. What ever happened to empowering individuals to take responsibility for their lives.

If government hadn't mandated financial institutions to give loans to unqualified people, we wouldn't be in this mess. Now we've got to allow the markets to correct. It'll take time...but, in the end, we'll be a stronger country for it.

Mr. Anderson why are you pushing this bail out? I moved my 401k investments out of stocks back in November of 2007. Why, well that's when the housing market problem started to appear in the headlines. Guess what my loss so far has been minimal. I have kept a small amount in short term investments but mostly no stocks. Yes the stock market has lost $1.2 trillion but we need this correction. I don't believe its a correction until we see the DOW in the 6-8 thousand zone. Let the market correct itself. Once the carnage ends congress should passing the appropriate regulation followed by job creation stimulus like infrastructure repair/upgrading.

Wall Street Bailout Suggestion: This morning a viewer presented a new idea to help the economy......Our government wants to give 700 billion dollars to wall street and have tax payers pay the price. Why don't they give every tax paying American a one million dollar stimulous check out of the 700 billion? This would only be 300 million dollars. Then require each tax paying American to pay off debts ie..mortgages, credit cards, etc. In addition, they would have money to spend (which would stimulate the economy) and money to save & invest which would help the banks and wall street. The viewer who presented this was a genious and I don't know who he is. I would vote for him for President!

I am the original owner of my house since 1986. I refinanced in 2005 and now the lender has gone bankrupt. A Servicing Company is still collecting my mortgage payments. When I requested over the telephone "Who is holding my note?" The customer service representative replied, "I am not privy to disclose that information. Even if you put your request in writing, there is no gaurantee the information will be disclosed." Where is my note payments going to? The servicing company do not hold a copy of my contract. I am current on my mortgage payments. The servicing company has sent me a threatening letter on the subject of foreclosure. They do not have the power to do that do they? They are not a lender or mortgage company. Please help me. New Century Mortgage defaulted on my loan.

This is the second time a small group of Republican house members has derailed the bailout package, and their leader John Mccain is snickering over in the wing, thinking he'll swoop in as president and straighten this Bush mess out like some knight in shining armor. If they truly felt they were right, you'd think they'd be proud to say it out loud, but none of them have the guts to stand up and admit what they did. Everyone, including the Republican leadership, said they had the votes, so I'm sure these house voters did say they would vote yes and then voted no. There is a record, I feel that the record of the votes should be shared so we know just who to thank for possibly crippling our economy. They showed absolutely no leadership, and now they leave town and go back home wanting to be re-elected. What a farce this political process has become.

I can't understand how one person can change a house of many. These goverment reps. have been arguing on this bail out plan and now they she made me do it . Bull , Most of us I hope do have brains.

I am a Canadian and I have something to say. I feel as though this is a game of chess not checkers. In my opinion I feel as though OUR foes were not only waiting for this to happen but they knew this would happen.

Its ridiculous that we are even talking about a bail out of Wall Street investors...That's like giving a gambler his money back when we find out he's lost it all at the track...Nobody forced anyone to put their money in bad investments so why should I be forced to pay for their mistakes. Blame the failure of the resolution on anyone you want, maybe President Bush for that lame speech on how bad a shape we'll all be in if not pass(we're already in bad shape),maybe Congress(of course they couldn't even bust Roger Clemens), maybe Pelosi(for telling the idiots in the House just what they needed to hear), or maybe me and the rest of the civilized world for not being so darn stupid.

For you all people out there who have actually convinced yourselves that the NO vote is a Republican tactic and all about the election, try reading something other than the liberal blogs you are addicted to. Did it ever occur to you that they voted no because that's what their constituents want?? We don't want Wall St. bailed out – they made the mess – let them suffer the consequences. I don't believe for a minute that these companies failing is going to affect me – it's just going to continue lining the pockets of the greedy crooked Wall St. fat cats. There's a saying out there in the world of drugs and money laundering and weapons sales - FOLLOW THE MONEY. The trail will always lead you to the guilty party. Follow this trail and you'll see that this all began when your beloved President Bill Clinton started pushing financial companies and Wall St. execs to make more loans to low-income minorities. What did you expect from a no income verification loan???

Democrats, don't give in. Lending money to wall street is not the answer. Borrowed money is part of the problem that put our economy in the state it is in. Come up with a trickle up proposal and the people will back you all the way to the bank, if they are still open. Derek Duvall.

When it comes time for me and my children to repay this "rich get richer" bailout, WE're going on vacation.

What Nancy Pelosi said was the TRUTH. You cannot pass an absurd bill like this without making laws and regulations so that something like this does not happen again. Apparently, within this bill, all it was going to do is bail out Wall St., with no changes other than a blank check....She was trying to put forth some responsibility and people are slamming her for it? Why is it as soon as someone speaks for the people, they are "partisan" and should be ridiculed and put to shame?

I am happy Wall St and the rich are finally feeling the wrath the American people have been going through...to finally know what it is is like to wonder where your next paycheck is coming from, to slowly watch everything you have worked for disappear... to watch their lives and money spiral out of control.

Give the money back to the American people, not Rich st! They don't need this money, the American people need it! Where's our bail out plan? When do we get saved from the government?

I have said to my friends since 9/11 that the real terrorists are not those that kill us and get it over with in a hurry. Since I consider myself a good christian. The real terrorists are those who have the power to make us poor, beg, and hope that the govt. will have a handout after all of our means of sustenance have been depleted by those individuals who plunder our retirement funds, or investments or savings. Those who take away our means of survival in a humane and civilized way. Those whose greed know no bounds and whose butt don't get in trouble because of deregulation. We continue to think that big business will take good care of us because we have invested our lives helping them get were they are as workers or consumers, but, once again we forget that our human nature is such that we need to be checked and balanced by something or someone.

Does the taxpayer get saddled with a $700 billion debt for generations if the bailout fails? If it fails then what happens?? Does Wall St. continue to ask for more money??

I think the reason the vote failed is because of the media. The media keeps calling it a "taxpayer bailout of Wall Street" when it's not that simple. All of America hates the idea as described by the media but they haven't been told all the facts. The politicians in Congress are acting like politicians and not voting for something that the country needs because they're afraid of not being reelected. If something doesn't pass, it's going to be a black Christmas because stores won't have the credit (money) to buy their Christmas stock which is what a lot of stores depend on to stay in business all year.

On AC360 last night, I heard much talk about how Congress has failed. I think many around the Country view Congress in the light that they succeeded! This bill was ill-conceived with half baked solutions, it did little to protect the consumer, it did little to make changes and control companies that are bailed out, it did little to take majority ownership and clean house, it did little to cut and/or fire upper level management. If I purchased a company that was distressed and close to bankruptcy I would clean house and install new management where needed to turn the company around. This bill had very little common sense and again, did little for the consumer. Trickle down economics such as this bill is, is more of the same. I have had enough of this President and his cronies robbing us blind…..can I make it any plainer than that?

This is clearly a political move by the Republicans who are trying to get back winning the majority votes come November.They want pay back remembering the Democrats had their measure for the past two years. The Republicans know they are going to loose the Presidential elections so they are fighting for their lives like a drowning person.Shame on John McCain who to my surprise is blaming Obama for the Bailout Plan failing yesterday.McCain has shown that he is not the guy that will say "i'm sorry,i made a mistake" bearing in mind he closed his campaign to return to Washington to get the plan approve .It's time for the Republicans and John mcCain to shut-up and get the the job done. America--–What has George Bush done for you in the last eight years?

I can't find a cell in me that thinks it is OK to bailout the big money people. I want to hear WHY congress hasn't said they will be investigated, and their riches taken to help recover. Who cashed in their stocks recently in foresight? Get that money back. They KNEW what was going to go down and you can bet they protected theirselves.! Those of us that made smart decisions with our money CAN NOT be made to fix problems for those that didn't. I also want to know that these criminals are not at the helm still.

I don't think the government should bail them out. It may hurt the country for a while but maybe the people making these decisions on wall street would be a little more careful. My home was in the path of the last two stroms that hit the gulf coast. I had to take my family and leave. It cost me alot to be gone. When I was finally let back into my area my house had been spared but someone broke into it and robbed me. The federal government turned me down for any type of renbursement becauce I have a job and a little money in the bank. I lost 3 freezers full of food. They were giving out food stamps to people who needed help,for the month, but I did not qualify because I had a job and a little money.The working peope in this country don't have a chance with the system we have in place.This is a sad place we live in.