David Cay Johnston on this current market situation:

[rurallib]

Johnston used to work for the NYT. Don't know if he still does. His books on how the rich game the tax system are almost required reading.
Here is his measured response to the situation:
http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=13611
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In covering the proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street don't repeat the failed lapdog practices that so damaged our reputations in the rush to war in Iraq and the adoption of the Patriot Act. Don't assume that Congress must act instantly, as so many news stories state as if it was an immutable fact. Don't assume there is a case just because officials say there is.

The coverage of the Paulson plan focuses on the edges, on the details. The focus should be on the premise. And be skeptical of what gullible Congressional leaders, most of them up before the voters in a few weeks, say after being given a closed-door meeting on supposed horrors.
<< snip>>

Ask this question -- are the credit markets really about to seize up?

If they are then lots of business owners should be eager to tell how their bank is calling their 90-day revolving loans, rejecting new loans and demanding more cash on deposit. I called businessmen I know yesterday and not one of them reported such problems. Indeed, Citibank offered yesterday to lend me tens of thousands of dollars on my signature at 2.99 percent, well below the nearly 5 percent inflation rate. That offer came after I said no last week to a 4.99 percent loan
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I think everyone needs to read this
It is not only the theft but the cover up by the media.

[barbtries]

1. i agree

this article was very calming. we're being set up and it's way way too much like the war build up

[Eric J in MN]

2. Yes, David Cay Johnston says there is no crisis.

He's a reporter on financial matters for the NY Times and the author of "Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich--and Cheat Everybody Else."

[wellst0nev0ter]

6. Sounds Like Another Must-Read Chapter In His Latest Book "Free Lunch"

Great book, but reading it put me on Alka Seltzer for days.

[Mojorabbit]

3. Interesting article

I wish I knew who to believe about all this stuff.

[Bozita]

4. Reading DCJ is always time well spent.

One of the good guys.

[CharmCity]

5. Yes! FYI, he left the NYT last year. nt

[CharmCity]

7. All Reporters Covering the Bailout Story Should Read This

The whole article... this calls on reporters to dig deeper.