I disagree. Nearly 80% of the incoming calls and emails from the constituents of both parties were against the bailout, a signal that the general public has lost its last shred of trust in both the US government and Wall Street.
The decision to pass the bailout has caused a stampede among Joe and Mary Shareholder, for everyone with even a limited education in economics understands it will; A) drive inflation (which affects every consumer); B) lower the value of the dollar (which affects every consumer); and C) reward the bad guys, and shows that no matter how badly you run your company, the government will bail you out (which angers every consumer).
Confidence in the market and the government is down, as it should be. Both parties have tried to paint themselves as The Guys Who Will Fix All Your Problems... and the unintended consequence of that platform is that when you fail, you fail across the board.
Exactly. I’m redistributing my portfolio to be less at the whim of the untrustworthy U.S. Government and its economic (especially monetary) policies.