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How unpopular is the "bailout/rescue" plan?

By wayoutwest - September 29, 2008, 4:50PM

There seems to be a prevailing perception that the bailout is wildly unpopular with the public. This poll suggests otherwise: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/general_business/opposition_to_bailout_plan_falls_dramatically.

I guess it would matter which parts of the populace those various percentages come from, and what states they tend to live in. But it does look as though the tide may have been turning. And maybe the worm could turn on those in opposition to the bill?

Comments (4)

The problem with many polls now is that fear and panic are setting in. We've seen it on these boards.

Obama is doing well here - he has been for rational thinking and not panicking.

Most people don't, for example realize that the 1987 crash was worse -- but to understand that you have to measure in percentages, not points.

Lastly, how the question is asked is critical: It appears that most people want intervention. What type of intervention is another story.

Posted by clearthinker
September 29, 2008 4:56 PM | Reply | Permalink

The difference and the worst part about what is going on today is not so much the market drop, but the credit crunch. The is why this might well be far worse than '87.

The broadest measure of the American stock market, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, fell 8.77 percent, its biggest drop since October 1987. The Nasdaq composite index fell by more than 9 percent, after the House defeated the bill by a vote of 228-205.
The fear was most pronounced in the world’s credit markets, considered gauges of anxiety among investors. Yields on Treasuries plummeted after the House rejected the plan, with the one-month Treasury note yielding virtually zero.

Banks were charging enormous premiums for short-term financing; the difference between the cost of a three-month loan from a bank, and a three-month loan from the government, rose to the widest point since at least 1984. Other lending rates stayed high.

Posted by jsfox
September 29, 2008 5:09 PM | Reply | Permalink

It's early yet... This is going to make 1987 look like a little pot hole.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092902762_pf.html

They Just Don't Get It
By Steven Pearlstein
Tuesday, September 30, 2008; D01

Oy vey.

In the next few weeks, the center of attention here in the United States will shift from the Congress and an exhausted Treasury to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which will now have to rescue any number of failing banks, either by taking them over directly or managing their transfer into stronger hands. It will also shift back to the Federal Reserve and other central banks, which will have to step up their efforts to maintain liquidity in money markets and prevent the credit crunch from taking down hedge funds, businesses, and state and local governments.

Posted by h0db
September 29, 2008 8:22 PM | Reply | Permalink

Well, the whiners and snivelers got their way...I hope it isn't too late to reverse the damage once they see what they've done...

It's bad enough to get screwed by Wall St...

It's worse to get screwed by your fellow little guys...

Posted by stillidealistic
September 29, 2008 9:40 PM | Reply | Permalink

Coming Soon	Nov. 30-Dec. 4
January 12-16

How unpopular is the "bailout/rescue" plan?

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