Current Event #1: Falling Economy and $85 Billion Dollar Bailout

Last week, Wall Street dropped huge, three-digit numbers, triggering the collapse of companies nationwide including the nation’s largest insurance company, the American International Group (AIG). The Bush administration decided to take control of AIG with a $85 billion loan, hoping to stabilize Wall Street. Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, reacted by saying that it was time to end “’reckless conduct, corruption unbridled greed’ on Wall Street,” according to an article from the Washington Post (“McCain Embraces Regulation After Many Years of Opposition”). In the past years, McCain and other Republicans have supported deregulation of big businesses claiming that it would promote economic growth. He supported bills such as the Leach-Bliley Act of the late 1990’s that would remove walls that were created during the Depression for banking, investment, and insurance companies. As of last week, McCain has changed his position to regulation (opening up their books and accounts) of these businesses, making sure anything like this would ever happen again. Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate, attacked McCain by stating that McCain had no idea what was wrong with the economy and wouldn’t know how to fix it. Both candidates proposed vague solutions along the lines of enhancing the tumbling economy and protecting the people of America.

Republican John McCain announced on Wednesday, September 24th that he would be suspending his presidential campaign temporarily to work on the Wall Street bailout bill (he would meet with President Bush on Thursday, September 25). In addition to this, McCain also asked to postpone the debate that is scheduled to occur tomorrow with Democrat Barack Obama. Obama basically said that a president should be able to deal with the economy AND campaign at the same time. McCain, a “patriot” as some refer to him, feels that the country should come first.
Democrats are definitely going to have an advantage by bringing up the failures of the Bush administration and McCain’s new decision plus his campaign suspension. Many of the undecided voters are also probably going to look at McCain’s and Obama’s responses and proposals where economy may be the main concern. Americans need protection from the economic crisis. Wall Street’s plummeting even today. The global economy is feeling the affect of the economic crisis and America’s really going to have to step it up, whether it means more regulation of the big businesses or some sort of stimulus plan.