Must-Read Articles on the Bailout

I still haven't figured out why final passage caused stocks to fall, but this WSJ article explains one of the bigger issues with the bill. "The most expensive long-term addition may turn out to be the increase in deposit insurance to $250,000 per account, from the current $100,000. ... The long-term danger is that this increase will merely encourage riskier lending behavior."

McCain is correct that Republicans have been warning of a Fannie and Freddie-related meltdown for years; read the quotes here and an article contemporary to the "deregulation" blamed by Barak Obama from The New York Times in 1999. (hat tip: Verna)

Was the problem too much deregulation? Mr. Clinton says, "No, ... it wasn't a complete deregulation at all... But I have really thought about this a lot. I don't see that signing that bill had anything to do with the current crisis. Indeed, one of the things that has helped stabilize the current situation as much as it has is the purchase of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, which was much smoother than it would have been if I hadn't signed that bill."