It's not pretty and it is certainly not perfect, but the $ 700 billion economic rescue package approved by the House on Oct. 3 is a necessary evil to keep the economy moving.
This bill did not pass to bail out a bunch of greedy Wall Street fat cats. All the rhetoric to deny such people "golden parachutes"was meant to soothe any voters who clogged the congressional phone lines. The real purpose of this bill is to safeguard the jobs and capital of millions of companies and employees about to be left in the cold by an unyielding credit freeze.
That's what all the sound bites about Wall Street vs. Main Street were all about. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, Ohio, who changed her early "no "vote to help pass the Oct. 3 version of the bill in the House by a 263-171 vote, said she heard from "all the CEOs on Fourth Street, and I mean the one in Cincinnati, not New York. "All told her stories about the credit crunch and warned their companies would not be able get the loans their businesses depend on if Congress didn't act, she said. House Republican Leader John Boehner, of West Chester, Ohio, supported the bill early in the week and again on Friday. Like the others, he despised having to pass the bill, but warned that further delay risked another precipitous decline in the stock market, which would cause far more long-term pain for millions of Americans. We agree. Seeking a perfect solution could not be allowed to defeat what was possible, and necessary.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer
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