Quote Originally Posted by selil View Post
6) There is a divergence of opinion between "experts" on if it is even needed

8) The stock market is not the economy, the credit market is not the economy, and bailing out either does not help the economy. The stock market and credit market are indicators.

That is not to say things don't have to be done. Panic and a rush to judgement though rarely makes good decisions. The financial crisis has been brewing since the early 1970s. The tendrils of the issues are like a cancer touching nearly all aspects of the economy.
George Will correctly said that financial companies are (were?) the "commanding heights" of the US economy. The stock market funds a great deal of US industry. Credit markets are much larger. Even a large conservative corporation maintains, on average, a 40/60 debt to equity ratio. Imagine what would happen if much of that debt came due in a short period of time, it would be disastrous. That's what would happen if the financial industry imploded. It would have dire consequences for the US and western civilization. That is not an overstatement.

There is no guarantee the bailout will work, and many of its consequences are unfair. But given the choice between being "fair" and maintaining the viability of the world financial system I will go with the latter.