It is how our "system" works. Politicians know better than we do what we need cuz they are lawyers and all, so we should just accept that we are too stupid to know what is best for our own good and stay out of their way.

Here's my checkbook, you guys just take what you need. I know it's for my own good.

Once again, the people are being ignored. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi run the "company" and their will be done. This is the reason I hate politics and politicians. And lawyers.

Funny cartoon, says it all.

I hope you are wrong. They vote today. Of course, the House would have to pass it too. Let's hope they aren't too hungry :))

I fail to see how increasing FDIC insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 counts as "liver". Very few Americans keep more than $100,000 in a single bank account, so they are already adequately protected. And most investors with a quarter mil in liquid assets don't store it in low interest banks. So that is no dog treat. Even my dog wouldn't be fooled by such an empty handed gesture. And vague middle-class and business tax breaks might make my dog sniff from afar but wouldn't get him too excited either.

I hope those that have voted against the package did so based on economic principle. If so, they won't be tempted by a tiny morsel of liver.

I have never felt so much like I am being taken advantage of as I do with 1.) the while mess caused/allowed by out elected officials and 2.) by them wanting to "fix" the mess they caused by forcing this bailout down my throat. This is government out of control. They have proven their ineptitude. Anyone with a hand in this should be shown the door!

I agree. We are being ordered by our elected officials to pay through the nose to put everything back as it was before they made their colossal mess.... without them or the parties involved suffering any consequences. We are the victims and yet we are paying the penalty?

If they ram this through, everything will go back to business as usual. Except we will be poorer.

I think we need another tea party!!

Richard, that may be what they are telling the press are the concessions they think will get the holdouts to vote with them when they actually are doing something else behind closed doors.

I say let them fail. In my neighborhood I have seen 3 or 4 restaurants, a grocery store, and several small businesses go under in just the last couple months and no one is bailing THEM out. Maybe they are belly up because of things beyond their control or maybe they were stupid or greedy. But they were on their own and now they are gone.

But big Wall Street companies expect a bailout. They could have sold off their bad paper and assets at a loss to stay afloat but no, they figure they can ge5t a better price from being bailed out. They gambled and lost. That should mean they are out of the game or they have to solve their own problem which many could do.

And the guy whose store closed up? He still will be expected to pay a share of what he has left to bail out the big companies.

I'm sorry but this is so very wrong on every level. All the while, our politicians are telling us it's doom and gloom if we don't. They are the problem. At the least they should all get replaced. And how about we give every day folks a chance at running government for a while. The lawyers have sure screwed us over.

Todd is right, FDIC insurance to $250,000 won't attract smart investors to banks and it doesn't do anything to help us or solve this problem. Are Senate Democrats naive enough to think it's all about buying Republican votes with "concessions"? Is that how they "reach across the aisle"? How about conceding some of the main sticking points, like Republicans wanting to "loan" the money for the bailout and expect repayment? Or giving American citizens an equity stake in the companies we are expected to fund in this bailout? Oh no, the dems want it their way or the highway, put everything back the way it was before they effed it up. They'll give little trinkets like FDIC insurance no one needs or wants, but they won't budge on anything meaningful.

If any Republican votes for this boondoggle we don't even know will work and definitely won't solve the underlying problem, they will have lost my vote forever. I hope democrats feel the same way.

Remember, it isn't a foregone conclusion we have to do this bailout or the sky will fall, no matter what they are telling us. There are other more thought out approaches and options. But committee Democrats want it their way really really bad. They want a rush to judgment. Don't you wonder why? What aren't they telling us? What might they be covering up? Are they trying to keep from being investigated themselves? By someone other than themselves?

Jan is right. This bailout is at the insistence of the same people that created the disaster in the first place and their judgment should be suspect.

Economics 101 taught us that in a free market economy, some businesses will fail. They will be bought out or just built over by new and better businesses. That is the very basis of a free market economy. That is how and why we are successful and have grown.

But in a nationalized economy, where government gets involved in taking over businesses, that isn't the case. We already have city governments taking over people's homes and turning them over to developers to increase tax revenue, supposedly for the "greater good of the people". Sounds like communism to me.

Hey Doug, here's one more thought: They have already told us there would be taxes to pay in order to cover the bailout. And the majority of Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, oppose it. So if they ram this through, it amounts to taxation without representation.

They will argue that we have representation - them. But when representatives ignore the wishes of the people, it is no different than no representation at all.

That calls for a tea party and an organized ouster of any representatives that vote against our will. Of the People, By the People and For the People. We should never forget that. They apparently have.

Even Apl stock was down yesterday to '07 levels so I bought some more. Like money in the bank!

I agree with facore, let's get rid of the lawyer shysters and corrupt politicians and replace them with regular citizens who maybe have owned and run small businesses, struggled to make a payroll, and had to hold themselves and their employees accountable. I would welcome the change.

Let the big failures fail. They deserve to fail. Truth be told, many won't fail if they sell off their assets for whatever they are worth and rebuild. If they can't, let them sell to someone looking to buy for a price commensurate with the risk. Or shutter the windows and let competitors pick up their business. But waiting for a better price from taxpayers shouldn't be an option made available to them.

And Henry is right. It's tea party time. It's clean out the trash in Congress time. Anarchy? That's not such a bad word. Sometimes it's good. If our government becomes unresponsive, it is the right thing to do. Ask our founders. Ask the framers of our Constitution.

As you said, Senate Dems offered up some "liver" by increasing the FDIC insurance cap from $100K to $250K, something Republicans had argued for in earlier negotiations but which had been knocked down by Democrats. They also waved $110 Billion in tax benefits as a "treat" they think enough extra House Republicans will jump at to seal the deal.

But they run the risk of losing some Democrats who don't like the tax treats. It will be interesting to see how the House vote goes down.

Of course, most Americans on the sidelines falsely believe the "plan" will fix what's broken. But that isn't so. It's only a start to free up lending. The problems will be far from over and more "fixes" will be needed. Think of the $700 Billion as a down payment.

When I first started following the whole mess, I was anxious for the bailout. Now I am siding with Doug (and maybe the majority of Americans) who believe that failing banks should be allowed to fail so that better ones can replace them. Not that we (Americans) have a say. Our elected officials made the mess and are compounding it now, and our objections are falling on deaf ears.

you were right and it didn't even take a couple hours for the house repubs to jump on the liver and do tricks for more.

don't think this will fix the problem, this is just the beginning. if you have some bad debt, send it to the treasury and get your check. there will be more 'bailouts', excuse me,'relief' emergencies we will have to pay for down the pike. watch how the deficit doubles during the next 3 years.

I thought the House would at least put up a gallant battle before caving but I guess a couple hundred billion in pork and tax relief was all it took. Senate dems I guess know them better than I did. Want to start a pool to guess how long before they need to return to the well?