Another rubber check

MANIFESTO

The Bush administration is asking Congress to let the government buy $700 billion in toxic mortgages in the largest financial bailout since the Great Depression, according to a draft of the plan obtained Saturday by The Associated Press.

The plan would give the government broad power to buy the bad debt of any U.S. financial institution for the next two years. It would raise the statutory limit on the national debt from $10.6 trillion to $11.3 trillion to make room for the massive rescue.

Not a word from the Harvard MBA as to how the country would actually, you know, pay for this. Just raise the national debt; succeeding generations (and administrations) can take care of the details.

President Petulant is trying to talk a good game:

"People are beginning to doubt our system, people were losing confidence and I understand it's important to have confidence in our financial system."

One assumes that free-marketers' heads are exploding after hearing a sentiment like this. After all, they believe that the "system" is supposed to work on its own, without such massive infusions of cash.

Nevertheless, lest anyone think that this is anything other than oligarchs supporting oligarchs, it's the financial institutions that'll receive the benefits of President Trickle Down's sudden largesse.

Democrats are insisting the rescue include mortgage help to let struggling homeowners avoid foreclosures. They also are also considering attaching additional middle-class assistance to the legislation despite a request from Bush to avoid adding controversial items that could delay action. An expansion of jobless benefits was one possibility.

Asked about the chances of adding such items, Bush sidestepped the question and answered by saying he hoped the rescue plan would pass quickly.

We'll obviously see how this shakes out, but no one seems to understand this rush to bailout ("The proposal does not specify what the government would get in return from financial companies for the federal assistance."), so any benefits to anyone other than bankers seems as best problematic.

UPDATE — From Glenn Greenwald:

The people on whose behalf these schemes are being implemented -- the true beneficiaries -- are the very same people who have been running and owning our Government -- both parties -- for decades, which is why they have been able to do what they've been doing without interference. They were able to gamble without limit because they control the Government, and now they're having others bear the brunt of their collapse for the same reason -- because the Government is largely run for their benefit.