Where’s the Outrage?

Here’s the Monday evening news roundup:

• Unless you’re living in a cave, you already know that the U.S. House of Representatives rejected the bailout plan. The Dow responded by dropping 778 points. This is the single largest one-day drop since October 1987. In my opinion, the president gave us a half-hearted attempt to sell this plan. He had one prime time speech and that was it. (To be fair, he did have a photo opportunity with congressional leaders in the White House.) If this plan is going to pass, the president needs to take it to the American people and sell it.
• The Federal Reserve is pumping over $600 billion into the global financial system. Although this seems to alleviate some of the cash crunch, I’m not sure how it won’t increase inflationary pressures.
• The House (Republicans and Democrats) needs to look at this legislation carefully. Is this legislation the best thing for our economy right now? If the answer is no, let’s defeat this proposal and move on to find a solution. If, on the other hand, this is the best solution for America at this time, what is the problem? Politics can’t stand in the way, can it?
• There seems to be over a thousand different things to worry about. We have the war in Iraq. We have a lack of resources in Afghanistan. Here at home, we see these extremely large banks buying up what most would consider to be large banks. Wachovia was the latest bank to be acquired. Citigroup purchased Wachovia. It seems as if Citigroup, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan Chase will be the only banks left when all is said and done. Charlotte, North Carolina stands to lose tons of great paying jobs.
• Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed a special prosecutor to look into the infamous U.S. Attorney firings. According to the New York Times, the report gave a “blistering critique” of Alberto Gonzales’ management of the department. The report specifically pointed out that complaints from New Mexico’s Republicans to the White House led to the removal of David Iglesias. You can read the several hundred page report here.
• Are you better off now than you were eight years ago? The numbers are somewhat frightening.
• Galveston continues to struggle in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. There’s only one emergency room open for the entire island.
• Check out the thoughtful piece written by Tom Wise over at BuzzFlash on white privilege. In a New York Times opinion piece, Paul Krugman points out that John McCain’s attitude and actions concerning the economy should cause everyone to take notice. The only thing crazier than his behavior is his poor choice of advisers. Frank Rich adds his two cents about McCain’s behavior. He once thought McCain was a maverick and a sympathetic politician atlhough, looking back, that suggests he didn’t follow politics that closely. McCain has completely shattered any dream that he, along with most Americans, harbored about McCain being a thoughtful, intelligent politician.

Tags: Economy, Environment //