Taxpayers to the rescue: PF bloggers sound off
Posted
Sep 22 2008, 04:02 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Are you outraged about the $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street, relieved that the government's offering financial markets a helping hand, or sitting back until the dust clears? You're bound to find some kindred souls in the personal-finance blogosphere.
First, we'll deal with the anger.
David at My Two Dollars is among those who are the most outraged. He writes, "If our government can afford (and us, in return -- without a choice, of course) $1 trillion to bail out companies that should be left to fall apart -- but we let poor kids suffer without an education or health care -- where are the priorities in this country?"
(To read more outrage and other sentiments, go to the MSN Money message boards by clicking here.)
Now for the middle ground: The bailout might not be fair to taxpayers, but it's probably necessary, writes Flexo at Consumerism Commentary. The new bailout "sends the message that corporations and homeowners are encouraged to lie, cheat and steal: Once the situation gets bad enough, all past sins will be forgiven," he writes. "Nevertheless, a bailout of this size is most likely necessary to help stabilize the economy, and without it, the world's economies might experience a devastating collapse in a manner never experienced before."
Will the plan work? It's too soon to tell. As an article at MSN Money says, "The plan could prove catastrophic for U.S. taxpayers in the worst case but could actually make money for the government if the housing market and the market for related securities begin to recover."
The question, writes economist Stephen Popick in a guest post at our partner blog Get Rich Slowly, is "Just what else is out there? And sadly, the answer is that we really don't know, because we don't have a handle on just who owns what debt in what financial instrument."
While we're waiting for the truth to emerge, let's not panic and stow our money in the mattress, many say. The advice from Sarah Winfrey at our partner blog Wise Bread is to hang in there because this will all eventually work itself out. "There will be a day, not too far away, when all of this dizzying up-and-down will be a distant memory," she writes.
Mr. ToughMoneyLove also offered some advice -- after blaming the government and business community for pushing homeownership as a goal, whether people could afford to buy houses or not. "Here's my suggestion," he said. "The next time the government or a stakeholder industry tells you that borrowing to purchase something is in the national interest, pay no attention."
