Hello In There

Can anyone tell me why Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson swore up and down the world would end if we did not take 700 billion dollars and buy up toxic debt immediately and now, two weeks later no debt has been purchased? Can somebody explain why two weeks ago Paulson dismissed out of hand the Democratic alternative of buying equity stakes in the failing banks; yet now he's changed his mind and wants to buy equity stakes in the failing banks?

Can someone get a flashlight and check to see if this man has his head up his ass?

Two weeks after persuading Congress to let it spend $700 billion to buy distressed securities tied to mortgages, the Bush administration has put that idea aside in favor of a new approach that would have the government inject capital directly into the nation's banks -- in effect, partially nationalizing the industry.

As recently as Sept. 23, senior officials had publicly derided proposals by Democrats to have the government take ownership stakes in banks.

The Treasury Department's surprising turnaround on the issue of buying stock in banks, which has now become its primary focus, has raised questions about whether the administration squandered valuable time in trying to sell Congress on a plan that officials had failed to think through in advance.