This fiasco began with the exit of jobs from the US. NAFTA, Bill Clinton and gang. AS our production left the states for cheaper slave labor elsewhere under the guise of globalization, Americans began falling behind.

Soon enough rules changed. Credit was plentiful and the credit lending folks became predatory once they understood and marked things like increasing interest rates for late pays and over limit as well as late fees as desired revenue streams (trust me, I know this to be true).

As Americans slowly slipped down the slippery slope, the mortgage industry got very grimy and allowed those who could not otherwise pay jump in with creative mortgages and relaxes rules. Take that with unregulated capitalism (my mind's jury is still out on how to fix that without becoming socialist)and the stage is set.

Sub-prime and predatory lending is all the result of Americans already NOT being of sound credit. We designed it and Congress turned its back on the American people (Dems and Republicans)through their tacit response to greed and usury.

We've a long way to go to fix this, but first America needs to produce something other than money and people need decent jobs again. Think about the roots.

This goes back a long time, pre George Bush. NAFTA and the export of American production and wages is the root that created the financial softening of common sense work for the greedy corporate financial world. The consumer credit bucket is full and consumers can't pay up. Thus the crisis. Want it to go away? We need real jobs and real production...stuff to sell, not manipulated finance as a means of production.

I don't know if the bailout can work or not, but we have to do something to regulate the markets and continue with business or we simply crash.

If nothing else, it was the first speech he ever gave where he seemed as though he really understood what he was saying. I told my wife it was the first time he sounded presidential even though I don't like the message.

Conason, you show, once again, you are nothing more than a rank-in-file-knucle-dragging-partisan ape.

Is McCain fit to serve? Probably not. You fail to mention that his opponent is also utterly unqualified.

Ah, but I digress, truth holds no value in partisan politics. We're screwed, my friend. SCREWED!

This bill is the worst of circumstances for the American people. While we waited to see the outcome for days our leaders couldn't resist reducing this to another pork barrel heyday. I can't believe there is no shame for the add-ons used to entice the vote.

We should run them all out of the government. This is as comically corrupt and cowardly as a second rate Italian comedy.

you may be right, but your a knuckle dragging knee-jerk liberal and you are entitled to your opinion!! You always fail to mention how the dems, especially this time around continually dumb-down the candidate for president.

Keep it in perspective, Joe, if you have perspective.

from ourselves.

We created this phony election and its media driven good guy/bad guy mentality.

We deserve the indignation we'll soon have at the hands of a mindless puppet. Choose your poison.

I can't vote for either one of them, and I can't wait for this horseshit partisan coverage to stop.

The morning of Nov 5 can't come quick enough. Then all the people with their hands out will begin to see, they will remain empty.

Well, a generation that, like my boomer generation is self absorbed. Face it, every generation is self absorbed at your age.

I would love to say it is too bad you prevailed at the voting booth, but the choices were all very bad other than 3rd party protest voting in my estimation.

You've peered over the video screens of your latest game fetish just in time to pick someone with little more qualifications than you.

I love your exuberance. I would even love that you prevailed had the candidate been something more than a side show huckster selling his promising elixir of life from a carnival wagon. You bought what you are good at, Obama's gift of superficiality.

I'll support him because we all need to, and I pray he isn't the cardboard man I fear.

What a bunch of mindless horseshit. I am not sure if you are really this useless on the page or whether Salon is becoming the latest e-rag.

Sure, these cots impact the price of a new car, but do you think we'll be running to the dealerships to stand in line if the price of a car is reduced a couple of thousand dollars? The answer is no.

Foreign sales are suffering as well with an actual/presumed cost advantage. We simply make too many cars too quickly. Our means of production is too high while real wages in America recede.

The automakers can get all the bailouts they want. They can cut the cost of a car, but the fact remains we've got bad personal credit, too much personal debt and not enough income to buy so many cars so quickly. The credit bucket is full.

There is no sense in bailing out the auto industry. they'll just keep making a lot of what we can't buy. Let the stronger eat the weak on this.

Until American corporations dull their greed by sending American jobs and wages offshore, we are dead in the water. Why doesn't anyone get this?

We need wages, not bail-outs and production that reflects demand.