It’s somewhat amazing to watch a bunch of clowns get led around by the nose by Paul Krugman, as if he were the sacred source on all things economic and political, only to see Krugman pull the rug out from under them by supporting the bailout plan. And, yet, even with Krugman showing common sense and maturity, the infants he whipped up into a frenzy are still calling on all decent progressives to call their congressmen in the morning and yell, ‘Hell, no!’
Here’s the deal. The bailout plan that is currently on offer bears very little resemblance to the three-page piece-of-crap Paulson Plan that got everybody’s knickers in a twist. It has oversight, it has public equity, it has executive pay provisions, it doesn’t dole out all the money at once, it has provisions for repayment.
If Congress had not come up with a bailout package it would have led to certain short-term economic calamity. Not only would the global economy have panicked, but no one would be able to secure credit to meet payroll. The bailout package could have been a lot better, and it is certainly no guarantee that we aren’t headed into a nasty recession. But it is an acceptable piece of legislation under the circumstances.
Don’t listen to people that think they understand economics but don’t. Don’t call your congressperson to complain about this bill…call them to complain about why this bill became necessary. And, remember, if you subscribe to Gospel According to Paul Krugman, Krugman supports the bill.
