House bails on Bailout

With the United States economy in a tailspin, the house of representatives voted today on a $700 billion dollar bailout that would allow the United States government to buy up all of the bad mortgages that have caused major companies such as AIG to collapse. The bill was just voted on and the result is the house shut it down; the bill did not pass. I have to wonder what this means for the not only the United States economy, as the DOW plummeted 600 points while waiting for the results of the vote, but also for the world economy. Several banks in Europe have already folded due to the economic crisis in America. It is unclear why the bill was not passed, however the majority of the "no" votes came from members of the republican party. It needed 218 votes to pass, but it came up 13 votes short. The final vote was 228 against, 205 for, and it has been stated that 60% of the democrats voted for the bill, while less than 1/3 of republicans voted for the bill to pass. The bill was seen as the only measure to prevent the economy from tanking any further, ranking republican on the house financial services, Spencer Bachus, was reported as saying "Our time has run out. We're going to make a decision. There are no other choices, no other alternatives." Yet even after urging from major party leaders, the bill still failed in the house. Latest reports are that supporters of the bill are attempting to put it up for another vote. At this point I don't think anyone really knows what the next step is, but it is clear that the effects of this bill not passing are going to be felt not only in the financial district, but in homes across America. 

Isidore, Chris. "Bailout Plan Rejected." Bailout moves toward congressional approval - Sep. 29, 2008. 29 Sept. 2008. 29 Sept. 2008 .