Brice Timmons

Congress: Please, Don't Rush the Bailout Plan

User 118015: "visa visa" is spelled "vis-á-vis," meaning "face to face" in French.

I've been emailing a friend in Congress all week with this precise sentiment. Unfortunately, he doesn't sit on any of the relevant committees. :-(

My fear is that there is little understanding of this issue on the hill. People often expect that lawmakers are usually intelligent and at least have intelligent people working under them. This is a) not always true, and b) even if true does not guarantee understanding of a specific discipline. Congress is particularly susceptible to panic when people like Paulson and Bernanke yell "Fire!".

These two are behaving like brokers cold calling Congress for a "once in a lifetime opportunity." Treasury should be presenting specific findings and a specific plan, not this absurd power grab.

I especially like one point in this article: foreign investors and private equity. Let's take advantage of the preposterously low dollar and get some foreign capital infused into the market. Private equity firms of late have demonstrated a drive to turn around companies and look for long-term solvency and profitability. We could use some focused, hands-on ownership on Wall St. right now.