Even tho we aint got money

This Wall Street bailout is starting to smell rotten to me. Paulson and Bernake are running around like Chicken Little, screaming that the economic sky is falling. As Congress stiffens in resistance, offering conditions on such a plan, the administration is saying that any conditions will negatively impact the potential success of such a program.

Let's review - it's always helpful.
1. The Bush administration, along with a Republican Congress, loosen regulations and essentially eliminate oversight of the banking and finance industry.
2. Bush promotes the "Ownership" society, and Alan Greenspan opens the credit faucet beyond the danger zone.
3. Wall Street ingeniously designs packages that create trillions in wealth for their firms. Executives make off with obscene bonuses and severance deals.
4. The house of cards that was built with this foundation begins to teeter.
5. Feds rush in and bail out Bears-Stearns, Freddie and Fannie. They let Lehman collapse and then decide it was a bad idea and bail out AIG.
6. Paulson tells us everything is under control after bailing out AIG, and then turns around next day, and, in secret meetings, tells Congress we're facing a global financial wipeout.
7. The administration, telling us they've been working on this contingency plan for months, offers a three-page plan with no review, oversight, or taxpayer protections. We're told if we do not pass this clean bill, the economy will collapse.

Ok. I know there are lots of holes, but this is the general picture. If the situation is so dire, why would these institutions choose to fail rather than accept some strict terms on a bailout? If this money was being provided by capital venturists, you can bet there would be a bigger piece of the pie than what Congress is asking for. Why is the administration balking at conditions? Why are we not hearing from captains of the finance industry explain why some of these pre-conditions are worse than failing? Remember, these CEOs have a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders, they are personally responsible.

There's something rotten in DC. But we already knew that.