I was told by my government, the House and Senate leadership, Jack Welch, Bernanke, Paulsen, and company that the economy would collapse this past Friday if a deal wasn't reached.
That didn't happen.
I was told all week by my government, the House and Senate leadership, Jack Welch, Bernanke, Paulsen, and company that all credit had dried up, and that NOBODYcould get loans anymore.
I called my local Nissan dealership in Grapevine and told them that it was all over the local news that Texas Nissan of Grapevine was no longer financing cars, and was strictly doing business as cash only. I asked how long that was going to last. The sales manager on the phone about stroked and wanted to know exactly which media outlets were reporting that. I told her ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC...and that they were reporting exactly what the aforementioned people had told us this past week.
The sales manager told me that was absolutely not true, that unless you had horrible credit, they were financing people right and left. Based off of my previous purchase in March, I would be approved for 1.9% financing. That doesn't seem like a depression/recession/Armageddon to me.
So far the only credit that's frozen is the "munis" which is lending to municipalities for big projects.
The thinking is that it would, in time, start cascading down, the food chain of credit, eventually hitting money needed by end consumers for thinhs like homes, cars, perhaps even groceries.
I personally don't think it will come to that though, even without this bailout.