Something terribly wrong with this picture ?

Most of the time, businesses get into financial trouble and need to be bailed out. Such as the time when Chrysler needed bailing out. Or the time Gerald Ford told NYC to "drop dead". The government would bail out these folks. We never approved of such transactions but we lived with it.

But, what happens when it is the banks that need bailing out? The citizens of this country are supposed to bail out the big banks and financial institutions in order to save our financial system. The poor working Joe is suppposed to sacrifice for these folks?

How serious is it when banks are going under? When the citizens are asked to bail them out? What happens if they do go under? Is that the end of capitalism as we know it? These are unchartered waters.

vacation home? What about downsizing to a used car?

but many investors would have been screwed. That said this very quick $2 a share buyout smells to high heaven, but I am happy for investors and retirees and retirees to come.

the nuts and bolts of American commerce run thought the financial sector, it cant just seize up one day like a car on a cold winter day.

I'm impressed the Dow is down just $15

how do we know, the numbers we are seeing are REAL?? ...would anyone benefit if we were kept in the dark about the real truth of our economy?...(would it have been possible for the world bankers who met secretly to have decided to adjust numbers over the week end so they didn't show the truth?) I have to ask (because I don't know)if it makes sense that after this Bear/Stearns debacle that the DOW would only be down 15? To me, this seems as though it would be a pretty extreme circumstance that would have broad reaching and possibly dire effects somewhere along the line...lots of people lost lots of money..wb

They will pursue a consumer for every last dime they can run up against them with outrageous fees and interest rates, and yet they now want the government to use taxpayer money to bail out their bad investment decisions.

to 50% to help them thru this crisis? That would only be fair, huh?