Speaker Pelosi recently stated in a news conference that she is referring to the current "Bailout Bill" as a "Buy-In".  So the taxpayer has the opportunity to buy into this program and profit from it.  Really? 

The fact is that not even $700 billion will be enough to spare us from more economic anguish if this bill works out the same way that previous rescue packages have in the past.  Take, for example, the 1989 "savings and loan" mess.  The stock market fell, recession hit, and housing prices continued to plummet for another 3 years!!!! I was there; I remember.   

At the risk of sounding negative, no one has provided any reason to have us believe that this time will be any different; particularly since the bailout involves hard-to-value assets!  Some of you may not know this, before I got into real estate more than 20 years ago, I was a financial planner.  So I've had my ear to the news, trying to figure out why we need this bailout and how it may affect us.

The truth is that the dire predictions of Wall Street have already had ramifications on Main Street.  For one, credit card limits at some carriers are being reduced as much as 10% to limit their exposure (even if you have a spotless payment history and A-1 credit).  Secondly, student loans may be more difficult to get.  Some banks such as Wachovia and Bank of America have stopped issuing student loans.  Thirdly, stocks are very volatile right now.  Listening to financial wizzards this weekend, the best way to hedge your bets is to diversify your investments.  However, if you have to sell, time it to take advantage of up-turns. 

There are some upsides for the consumer:

- Your money market may be as safe as your savings; the bailout bill promises to cover money market accounts.  i suspect there will be restrictions though.

- Banks are offering incentives to attract new depositors; Citibank and Bank of America are offering hefty incentives to get new deposit.

- Good credit equals good deals!  If you have good credit, look for deals as banks scramble to increase their business (especially if you are shopping for home equity loan or line of credit).

- When economic times are tough, the tough go shopping!!!! Look for super retail sales in advance of holiday sales this year!