Paulson gets $700 billion to throw around as he pleases to the banks that got us into this mess with barely even a week's worth of 'debate' and the auto industry is being made to jump through hoops to get a $40 billion LOAN for over a month.

Don't get me wrong, I think they should have to jump through a a few hoops. But where the %*&%@ was any of this scrutiny and hoop jumping when the banks came screaming? And where the hell is any of the benefit to that $700 billion?

This is why 61% of the public apposes supporting the auto industry in the form of loans. They just watched $700 billion get pissed away by the feds and they are still losing their jobs, still watching their 401ks disappear and still watching the ecomony go deeper into the hole.

I said from the beginning that no good legislation is written in a week. I said from the beginning that that $700 billion was being given away with no oversight, no plan and did nothing to address the underlying problems in our economy. So far I've been proven right. While the big investment banks get bailed out of their imaginary world of derivatives and pushing numbers around a balance sheet over here in the real world things continue to go down hill.

My company is looking at a third round of layoffs in an 18 month period. A great way to kick off the new year. What little savings I have are still dwindling. Banks STILL are not lending money (big surprise after all the rate cuts).

And even worse, because of the complete f*^%-up that has been the bank bailout, genuine efforts to help the economy are being stiffled. Republicans have political cover in the complete mismanagment of the TARP to filibuster any other 'bailouts' even ones in the form of loans.

We are at the cusp the next 3-4 months will decide if this is either a long deep recession lasting 4-5 years or a decade plus long depression.

Between Bush fiddling while Rome burns and obstruction from Republicans I'm betting on the depression. Unfortunately the guy I'm betting with won't have any money to pay me with.

Someone who actually understands the issues beyond talking points?

That will be a serious upgrade from the last few years.

Bush deserves to be impeached, shipped to the Hague to stand trial for was crimes and spend the rest of his life in a prison cell.

What he will get is a lavish retirement filled with well paying speaking engagements at Republican rallies for the faithful. A sweet heart book deal (with memoirs written by a ghost-writer). And will lead a life where he never has to see or face the consequences of his Presidency. And he will never have to interact with the millions of lives his policies have destroyed not just in Iraq but around the world.

I keep saying this but ...

Once again the Fed fails to understand the fundemental problem. Interest rate cuts spur demand for loans, by making money cheaper. The problem we have today is not demand for money. Everybody wants cash as evidenced by the number of industries forming beggar's lines outside of Paulson's and Congress's doors.

The problem is the banking industry does not want to lend because their balance sheets SUCK. They are loaded down with bad debt and unknown assets tied to securities whose underlying values are linked to a collapsing housing market.

Until that problem is fixed the banks will not lend. No matter how low interest get.

The solution is either to nationalize the banking industry or to lend money at a good rate to the banks that steered clear of the current mess so they can go out and buy up the good assets from from the corpses of their weaker more stupid competitors.

My dad and I have a revolving arguement about the Fed and monetary policy.

We both agree that the Federal interest rates should be fixed. I say it should be pegged one percentage point above inflation and not allowed to shift beyond that range. My dad says just fixed interest rates at 6 percent and never move them no matter what. Both approaches basically move the Fed away from gaming the system the way it has been over the last 30 years or so and allow the market to work around them with a clear baseline in monetary policy.

Any way you look at it though its hard to argue that Fed policy over the last 10 years or so has been anything other than destructive to the long term stability of the US economy. Pegging interest rates BELOW the inflation rate skewed all measures of risk in the economy and led to lending patterns that simply are not sustainable and created a bubble bigger than anything seen since the (I hate to say this) the Great Depression. And deflating that bubble is going to take YEARS.

The best we can hope for at this point is a long deep recession lasting 4-5 years.

More likely we are looking at the opening days of the another Great Depression that could last longer than a decade.