I agree, the bailout is flawed, I agree, more needs to be done for homeowners, to curb executive pay, to protect the taxpayer and all of these things can be incorporated into the current bill to save the financial system, but the last thing that anyone in the world needs right now is partisan bullshit and any radical new ideas from either side, sub prime worries have been present for years and last year was the time to think about different ideas of how to sort this mess out. What the world needs a plan and it needs one quickly.

The consequences of the failure of the US financial system would tear down industry not only America, but also around the world. Let me tell you how this might play out, banks stop lending, companies cant refinance their loans, companies go bankrupt, people lose their jobs, and production of goods grinds to a halt, no investment in the States would mean a collapse in the price of the dollar, probably made worse by the rush to sell off any dollar denominated assets abroad, so you wont be able to buy the stuff you can no longer make at home. The result of which would be a global recession, millions if not tens of millions of jobs lost and the possibility of an economic disaster that may result shortages of basic goods, leading to winter of intolerable hardship. All this could happen, so please, spare me your hollow cries of injustice, those of you who claim to be from the left put aside your put aside your anger for a second and think about how massive economic failure jives with your pro poor politics.

The ideas that have been floating around the blogosphere, such as giving a ’shot of adreneline’ and buying back the mortgages are not just wrong, they are irresponsible. When it comes to economics I prefer Krugman to Sirota and Welsh.

Firstly buying back the morgages from homeowners

Look I agree, paying back mortgages is probably a little better than paying back bankers. But doing so would be equally as stupid, and really make no difference to the bankers.

Doing that would still be bailing out the bankers because here is how it should work,

bankers make shitty loans, people cant pay back the shitty loans, bankers dont get their money back and go bankrupt, sucks for everyone, thats why no one should do it.

If you pay back the mortgages you get, bankers making shitty loans, people cant pay back the loans, government pays them for them, bankers get the money back, their profit, their bonuses and continue to make shitty loans.

The 150 billion ’shot of adrenaline’

Firstly where does this number come from? sounds like it was pulled out of someone’s arse, maybe it isnt but if it is, and it isnt believed to be enough, it will make little difference. In truth I think no one knows how much money will be needed but the bail out plan needs to be credible to work, and that is probably why Paulson has asked for such an incredibly large sum of money. If it isnt credible and the markets dont know that there will be more coming if it isnt enough then uncertainty will continue and the volatility that has been damaging the economy will continue.

On the extreme right? Rubbish about letting the market taking care of it is what got us here in the first place, so please Republicans, spare me.

So America, please stop, stop your partisan bickering, stop your ideological grandstanding and actually try to save the world from global economic crisis, something that no doubt we would all be grateful for

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