Bailout bill fails, Dow Jones plunges almost 800 points

[Subrick]

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer

1 minute ago

WASHINGTON - In a stunning vote that shocked the capital and worldwide markets, the House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue for the nation's financial system, ignoring urgent warnings from President Bush and congressional leaders of both parties that the economy could nosedive without it. The Dow Jones industrials plunged nearly 800 points, the most ever for a single day.

Democratic and Republican leaders alike pledged to try again, though the Democrats said GOP lawmakers needed to provide more votes. Bush huddled with his economic advisers about a next step. The House was to reconvene on Thursday instead of adjourning for the year as planned.

The stock plunge began even before the 228-205 vote to reject the bill was officially announced on the House floor. The decline for the day surpassed the 721-point previous record, on the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, though in percentage terms it was well short of the drops on Black Monday of October 1987 and at the start of the Depression.

In the House chamber, as a digital screen recorded a cascade of "no" votes against the bailout, Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley of New York shouted news of the falling stocks. "Six hundred points!" he yelled, jabbing his thumb downward.

Bush and a host of leading congressional figures had implored the lawmakers to pass the legislation despite howls of protest from their constituents back home. Not enough members were willing to take the political risk just five weeks before an election.

"No" votes came from both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle. More than two-thirds of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats opposed the bill.

The overriding question for congressional leaders was what to do next. Congress has been trying to adjourn so that its members can go out and campaign. "We are ready to continue to work on this," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

"The legislation may have failed; the crisis is still with us," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a news conference after the defeat.

"What happened today cannot stand," Pelosi said. "We must move forward, and I hope that the markets will take that message."

At the White House, Bush said, "I'm disappointed in the vote. ... We've put forth a plan that was big because we've got a big problem." He pledged to keep pressing for a measure that Congress would pass.

Republicans blamed Pelosi's scathing speech near the close of the debate

[takersfan]

Subrick this is why people flame you. Come on dude learn after mistakes

[Twist of Fate]

I don't see anything wrong with the thread...the American economy on its way to death is just as important as CS quitting weed or Paul Newman passing on.....if you feel the thread is stupid, don't get back in it.

Back on topic.....I heard the news of the vote, but am not quite sure exactly what the bill proposed....something tells me that if Bush and Obama were agreeing that it needed to be passed, it probably needed to be passed...it's really hard to ignore that Wall St. is crumbling and will take with it everything else here.

[Subrick]

This is incredibly serious. I personally believe that most of this could have been averted had the Bush administration not started the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and thereby spend billions of dollars a month on them.

I'm not blaming the whole thing on Bush, though. It wasn't entirely his fault (although he played a big part in it). The mortgage thing was the thing that started this all. Who thought that giving house loans to people with shit credit was a good idea?

About the bill being shot down: I personally believe that the main reason it was defeated was because of people not wanting to lose personal money. In a nutshell: "fuck the world, your not gonna raise MY taxes!"

[phil]

Who thought that giving house loans to people with shit credit was a good idea?

The banks technically had to do it because of an equal rights opportunity for housing law that was passed a few years ago, which allowed people with shitty credit, minorities or both the opportunity to easily buy homes thanks to the banks giving them loans.

[Aero]

erm.. theres other factors too guys, like (again americas fault) raising oil prices etc, which has a knock on effect on the cost of every aspect of living, alot of greedy ppl profiteering "because they could" and basicly people feeling happy and safe and therefore over spending

...hope thats dumbed down enough for you's

[Twist of Fate]

For sure Aero....

What do you expect oil prices to do when an oilman is the president? He stands to become even more rich when oil prices go up..so naturally, oil prices will go up. Although, I think people as a whole here are spending less, because they realize whats going on..the only problem with that is, is thats less money circulating in the economy, which means some businesses lose tons, which means they have to lay off help, who then have no money, who resort to theiving which increases the over crowding problem in prisons thus causing the corrections industry to have to try to "add on" meaning they have to spend more money on construction so they have to take the funds from somewhere else, namely payroll and benefits. haha. Perhaps I over exaggerate a tad, but the underlying fact with the american economy is that its crumbling and we have no one to blame but ourselves. Don't blame it solely on Bush....remember how many people had to vote for him for him to be in charge...same thing with the House and Senate.... America is geared towards another depression and I'm not sure that any single item BILL could pass thru the Legislature and save us...its impossible for ONE bill to un-do everything thats caused our economy to collapse.

Except for maybe reparations..like on Chapelles Show haha. KIDDING.

[Thom]

[phil]

By proxy, they're idiots as well.

[Aero]

but they are saying they dont WANT to be! thats like me sayin dont wanna be 5"7' but i am!

[bigpoppn]

Another topic about things you don't understand?Great!

And meh, the Belgian economy is crashing down too because of the gouvernement almost collapsing here and Fortis (a bank) was almost gone and that's all because of you Americans!(Seriously, it is)

[Twist of Fate]

have no fear Thom, when America burns, we'll just come take over the UK. haha.

poppn, sorry my friends and neighbors have ruined your country too...ya see, its not just as fun to ruin your own life as it is to ruin someone elses MILES AND MILES away.

[bigpoppn]

It has something to do with real estate things.And I knew you had to hit us in your quest to world dominance .

[phil]

but they are saying they dont WANT to be! thats like me sayin dont wanna be 5"7' but i am!

Screw them. Saying it is one thing, but living it is another. Brandon Flowers is right about them being nothing but posers within anti-American circles.

[Twist of Fate]

Keep in mind, America is the worlds predominant superpower. We have to crush everything in our way to become a totalitarian government over the whole planet. haha. Or we just have poor spending habits causing our economy to spiral downwards until we're all fuckin broke.

[phil]

Or we just have poor spending habits causing our economy to spiral downwards until we're all fuckin broke.

NASA's recent trip to Mars is the most recent prime example as well as the Iraq War being the most obvious. We ought to spend money on those who really need it: the sick and the poor.

[bigpoppn]

Nicely said, St. Phil.Any idea on how to do that?

[phil]

Simple: Take all the current world leaders, drop them on an island filled with the deadliest creatures from the animal kingdom, and then then harvest what's left of the prey (the world leaders) and feed it to the hungry. As for medicine, I say that more spending should be used for the cure towards the myriad of diseases we face that are now becoming resistant to our medicines instead of making useless commercial shit like Viagra, etc.

[bigpoppn]

I'd say America starts with a little thing called Social Security (I translated it but not sure if it's right), which basically mean that ppl pay a bit more taxes, but if you're sick and can't go to work, you still get money.

[Nemo]

phil, pharmaceutical companies are out for profit and viagra sells. simple as that.

poppn, the united states already has social security and it's failing because more money is going out than coming in.

[bigpoppn]

Has it got it?I thought it didn't...Anyhow, the US is way too big for things like that.

[Twist of Fate]

Yes, America does have a Social Security system in place...