America says bring on the bailout

It would have been foolish to say "$700 billion" because it is not going to cost taxpayers anywhere near $700 billion.

Put it this way, if all these mortgage assets go to $0, this nation will have more serious problems than a deficit. It will mean our houses are worth nothing...

Good point.

Although the poll question does say "investing," which would imply that we might get all our money back.

I have (as always) an alternative plan.

Send me 700 billion with no to limited oversight. I will take on all sorts of assets at some sort of price and do something with them. Should I fail, the bailout will be simpler, since only one institution, me, will need to be rescued.

And you probably won't be leaving office in January. A brilliant idea.

I just wish we could put some of that $700 billion into badly needed infrastructure improvement - roads, schools etc. Think of the jobs that would create.

I guess we'll just have to use the profits from our investment?

@dad

if you believe mccain, obama will tax those profits to nothing (tho i'm not sure how the gov't taxes itself, but those pesky dems will find a way!)

@justin
"And you probably won't be leaving office in January. A brilliant idea." heck no, i'd be leaving as soon as that $700 trillion dollar check cleared.

Just to add to my previous comment - the infrastructure additions we're really going to need badly are high speed rail lines, subsidized energy plants and desalinization plants. And lots and lots of levees - we're already too late to stop global warming. The arctic tundra is beginning to release CO2 at a higher rate than we can possibly compensate for.