Bailout Fallout

What's the matter with our leadership in Washington? Why don't they get it? They seem to be more concerned about positioning themselves for re-election, rather than doing what is right for the country. I know that the seeds for this crisis were planted many years ago, and that a solution is not going to be quick or easy, or without pain. That being said, it just appears to me that they are trapped in ideological disagreements over what amount to bandaids for the problem.

Clearly, the crisis exists on a couple of levels: First, citizen and voter distrust of politicians is at an all time high. What we've seen this week with all the posturing, grand standing and finger pointing isn't likely to help that concern. And second, investor psychology is pretty much in panic mode. Most Americans don't understand the relationship between the credit markets and the economy at large. So they believe that any "bailout" is targeted at the fat cats on Wall Street - the rich get richer, or get out of jail free, etc. In reality, the lack of liquidity has gotten so bad, that unless some confidence can be infused back into the market and soon, we are looking at an even longer and much more painful recovery. It is already extremely difficult to get a business loan, and two thirds of our economy is generated by small businesses. As resilient as our economy is, without access to capital, we're in big trouble.

Anybody who works in a real estate or mortgage related business, has gone through 3 pretty tough years - with no clear end in sight. Over the last few months, we have seen some positive signals that are cause for optimism: leveling off of price declines or actual increases, reduction in inventory and a similar reduction in days on market. But if the clowns in Washington don't do something soon and get it right, all bets are off. What do you think? I'd love to hear from you.