I’m guessing Brad DeLong isn’t too happy about today’s failure of the bailout bill. He’s got a suggestion on what to do next: Bring Congress back into session after the election and adopt a nationalized plan. From DeLong:
“„…go for the Swedish plan: nationalize the insolvent large financial institutions: dare Bush to veto that after the election.
“„Democrats: 141 Yea, 94 Nay
Republican: 66 Yea, 132 Nay.
“„This Republican Party needs to be burned, razed to the ground, and the furrows sown with salt…
Well, it wasn’t a popular bailout plan to begin with, so it’s hard to say how much voting it down will hurt Republicans. Probably depends on what the markets do, and what happens a few months down the road. If a bailout never gets passed, that’s when you’ll see lots of people start losing their jobs due to the credit crunch.