Reply #12: I don't see that happening [View All]

[Dreamer Tatum]

Not in the least.

And I am failing to see how this bailout provides huge payouts to more than a couple of guys, at least one of whom
is firmly in the Obama camp (Fred Raines). Add to it that financial stocks, the last week notwithstanding, have taken a mighty
beatdown and will not be back anytime soon. Many execs are stock-heavy in compensation. They're still overpaid, but
at least they got smacked by the market.

Our debt could be downgraded, but you have to start defaulting first, which is not likely now and even less likely
later. Although this raises howls here, the simple fact of the matter is that the economy now is in much better
shape than it was in 1982, the last major recession. It is simply an empirical fact.

Major holders of our debt instruments would be shooting themselves in the foot if they rushed to sell them. Who's going
to buy them, Burundi? Also, contrary to popular (and populist) belief, US debt is not secured by land, buildings,
factories, monuments, hamburgers, electric guitars, or anything else. It's just debt. There is no such thing as foreclosure,
else much of Latin America would belong to the United States right now.

It's not a pretty picture, but neither is the sky falling.