Skip to main content

Postscript to the bailout madness

As we noted in an update to yesterday's post, the US House rejected a Treasury-sponsored $700 billion bailout bill that would have would have given Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson "broad authority" to purchase mortgage-backed junk paper from financial companies.

Part of the reason the bill failed in the House was the overwhelming response from Americans incensed at the proposed deal. Voters flooded their congressmen with mail, faxes, and phone calls, with many voicing their strong disapproval of the proposed bailout.

As a result, the tide surprisingly turned against congressional planners and unelected officials who had pushed for the bailout, some of whom shamelessly paraded the plan as a "rescue of Main Street", when in fact it is anything but that, especially when one examines the longer-term costs of such a rescue.

Unfortunately, the bailout proposal will not die so easily. The stock market is enjoying a rebound today, as news of a hoped-for salvaging of the bank bailout/"rescue plan" emerges.

That's why I'd like to point out Mish's recent posts, "Courageous Vote in the House", and, "The Bailout Failed. What's Next?", in which he urges readers to continue voicing their disapproval for any related bailout package.

If you are so inclined, please take a look at the information Mish has provided for contacting your elected officials about these soon to be voted on bailout measures. You can also pass this information along very easily to your friends and contacts in the media. The choice is yours!

Related posts and articles:

1. "Jim Rogers says let banks fail, clean out system" - Bloomberg.

2. "Stocks tumble, bonds rally on bailouts" - Finance Trends Matter.

3. "Comments on the bailout bill" - Finance Trends Matter.

4. "The Bailout Reader" - Mises.org.

Popular posts from this blog

Seth Klarman: Margin of Safety (pdf)

Welcome, readers! Signup for free email updates at the Finance Trends Newsletter . Update: PDF links removed due to DMCA notice. Please see our extensive Klarman book notes below. New visitors, please check the Finance Trends home page for all new posts. Here's something for anyone who has been trying to get a look at Seth Klarman's now famous, and out of print, 1991 investment book, Margin of Safety .  My knowledge of value investing is pretty much limited to what I've read in Ben Graham's The Intelligent Investor (the book which originally popularized the investment concept of a "Margin of Safety"), so check out the wisdom from Seth Klarman and other investing greats in our related posts below. You can also go straight to Ronald Redfield's Margin of Safety book notes .    Related posts: 1. Seth Klarman interviews and Margin of Safety notes     2. Seth Klarman: Lessons from 2008 3. Investing Lessons from Sir John Templeton 4.

Moneyball: How the Red Sox Win Championships

Welcome, readers . T o get the first look at brand new posts (like the following piece) and to receive our exclusive email list updates, please subscribe to the Finance Trends Newsletter .   The Boston Red Sox won their fourth World Series title of t he 21st century this we ek. Having won their first Se ries in 86 years back in 200 4, the last decade-plus has marked a very strong return to form for one of baseball's oldest big league clubs. So how did they do it? Quick background: in late 2002, team own er and hedge fund manager, John W. Henry (with his partners ) bought the Boston Red Sox and its historic Fenway Park for a reported sum of $ 695 million. Henry and Co. quickly set out to find their ideal General Manager (GM) to help turn around their newly acquired, ailing ship. This brings us to one of my fav orite scenes from the 2011 film , Moneyball , in which John W. Henry (played by Ar liss Howard) attempts to woo Oakland A's GM Billy Beane (Brad Pi

William O'Neil Interview: How to Buy Winning Stocks

Investor's B usiness Daily founder and veteran stock trader, William O'Neil share d his trading methods and insights on buying winning stocks in an in-depth IBD radio interview. Here are some highlights from William O'Neil's interview with IBD: William O'Neil's interest in the stock market began when he started working as a young adult.  "I say many times that I didn't get that much out of college. I didn't have much interest in the stock market until I graduated from college. When I got married, I had to look out into the future and get more serious. The investment world had some appeal and that's when I started studying it. I became a stock broker after I got out of the Air Force."    He moved to Los Angeles and started work in a stock broker's office with twenty other guys. When their phone leads from ads didn't pan out, O'Neil would take the leads and drive down to visit the prospective customers in person.