Bush says he is working hard on economic turmoil

Friday 19th September, 05:52 AM JST

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SezWho2 at 09:52 PM JST - 19th September

Betzee,

I agree that no one has a plan. That's why any specific plan that can be presented as pro-McCain-anti-Obama would be such a good one. Whether it works is secondary. The primary consideration is holding on to power.
zurcronium at 09:57 PM JST - 19th September

bush has worked hardly at all in his last 8 years which is why the country is a total mess. He has been on vacation 2.5 years of the last seven plus. He was on vacation when he let OBL attack the US. He did get busy enough to lie his way into invading iraq but not busy enough to prevent it from being a total failure.

The repub leaders are locking up bush now as they know when he says anything stupid again, another 250,000 people will vote for Obama.

Its sad that his own party is not ashamed of him, as I am sure his family is as well. He wanted to prove daddy wrong about not being a screw-up, but in the end he just proved it all over and this time he screwed up the country.
Betzee at 10:04 PM JST - 19th September

I agree that no one has a plan. That's why any specific plan that can be presented as pro-McCain-anti-Obama would be such a good one. Whether it works is secondary. The primary consideration is holding on to power.

Except for the time factor. They don't even have time to present a plan. While the Europeans are enjoying the hypocrisy of American free-marketeers suddenly rolling up their sleeves to involve the government in unprecedented ways, nobody really wants to see the global financial system go belly up. Once the system is stablized, then there will the time to discuss plans. It will also be time to take stock of just how much debt the American taxpayer has been asked to shoulder to achieve stability.
Betzee at 10:14 PM JST - 19th September

Here's a measure that would have been difficult to contemplate (even last week):

The Treasury Department said Friday morning that it would guarantee, at least temporarily, money market funds up to an amount of $50 billion in order to ensure their solvency.
SuperLib at 10:28 PM JST - 19th September

It's strange but I just realized that this is the only media outlet where the economic debate is 100% about George Bush.
Sarge at 10:43 PM JST - 19th September

SuperLib - Amazing, isn't it, considering that the Democrats basically caused this mess.
Betzee at 10:48 PM JST - 19th September

Congressional leaders said after meeting Thursday evening with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that as much as $1 trillion could be needed to avoid an imminent meltdown of the U.S. financial system.

Wonders never cease, the five trillion GWB will bequeath to the national debt just grew.
Sarge at 02:39 AM JST - 20th September

zurcronium - The Republicans are the ones who have been trying to reform the system. And who's been in charge of Congress recently? And who was in the White House from 1993 to 2001?
Good_Jorb at 03:00 AM JST - 20th September

The Republicans are the ones who have been trying to reform the system. And who's been in charge of Congress recently? And who was in the White House from 1993 to 2001?

The problem started in 1913, since then both parties have had enough time in power to reform the system. The fault lies with everyone who believed an economy based on debt could continue to grow forever.

The ironic part is the Bush and Republicans have been working hard at fixing the problem by turning the US into a socialist welfare state.
moderateguy2008 at 03:41 AM JST - 20th September

Sarge- great post buddy, true patriot!

Those pesly DEmocrats aleways try to ruin the good work of Republicans, but the country trusts Bush and McCain.
SuperLib at 09:03 AM JST - 20th September

SuperLib - Amazing, isn't it, considering that the Democrats basically caused this mess.

Well, maybe I should say that this is the only website that defines the problem through Democrats and Republicans. I read quite a few different websites to get information about the problem and there's very little partisan reporting, but I come here and it's 100% partisan. Most people here have no free will.
SezWho2 at 10:26 AM JST - 20th September

SuperLib,

If "most people here" have no free will, we can all be thankful that you are a refreshing exception.

Solutions--if any exist--to this problem are going to be crafted with fiscal policies in a political environment. If we are going to make generalizations about "most people here", I would submit that most of us here are not economists and are completely unqualified to discuss this problem apart from political considerations. We might as well discuss cosmology as pure economics applied to the current situation.

This particular article concerns what Bush is or is not doing. Generalizations about most people here or this web site aside, it is 100% applicable to be talking about what Bush is or is not doing, has or has not done.
SezWho2 at 10:33 AM JST - 20th September

Betzee,

I really don't want to get into an argument with you as to whether the administration has time to craft a plan or not. I personally think they do have time, but if you don't think so that's OK with me. I don't know how we would go about proving this point one way or another. Do you?
Betzee at 09:36 AM JST - 21st September

I really don't want to get into an argument with you as to whether the administration has time to craft a plan or not. I personally think they do have time, but if you don't think so that's OK with me. I don't know how we would go about proving this point one way or another. Do you?

You're right on the money here (with enough knowledge, however, ignorance is easy to spot something SuperLib fails to comprehend): I would submit that most of us here are not economists and are completely unqualified to discuss this problem apart from political considerations.

Finance has become an arcane field that requires a strong background in math (like beyond calculus). Future Treasury Secys should have Wall Street on the resume. Those who come industry are unlikely to be able to adequately follow what is going on in the financial world.

We've arrived at the planning stage now (and we're in uncharted waters). For example, how will the purchase price of these assets be determined? If Uncle Sam, or specifically the Treasury Department, gets the price right, the upfront outlay could be recouped at the later resale date (after the real estate market recovers). On the other hand, if it overpays, the taxpayer (that's you and me) have to absorb the difference.
SezWho2 at 10:36 PM JST - 21st September

Betzee,

I think you are right about the purchase price valuation being important. But I'm devilish enough to wonder how much of the 2-year budget of $700B Paulson intends spend and who he intends to spend it on.