Hot Potato!

The debate over bailing out Wall Street continues. Everyone has an opinion about this matter because, frankly, everyone will be effected by it. Congress has a lot of weight on its shoulders as it must decide who will take the responsibility for the 700 billion dollars to bail out lenders. While nobody seems to want to hold this "hot potato", the American public waits . A recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times, Bail out the bailout, discusses the poor judgement of Washington's political powers in dealing with the mess.
Good arguments are made throughout the editorial. The author points out Congress' avoidance of the issue as they failed to pass a bailout bill. 700 billion dollars is a big check write and Congress has the only account big enough to back it. Unfortunately, signing away that much money does not make it easy to be the one holding the pen. Someone has to pay. The author's makes a conclusion that opponents should deal with their responsibility and make improvements to the discipline of the market. This argument is valid as it addresses opposition and considers concerns of readers. Americans depend on the economic well-being of the United States for survival. It educates, feeds, clothes, and houses them. Like it or not, the U.S. economy has a lot of control over our next meal. The author discusses the fact that taxpayers forget this bill is for their own good, but for some reason viciously hate the thought of it. This mentality seems to have convinced the U.S. Congress not to help when it had the chance. The author makes a strong appeal as the general good of people equates with passing the bailout bill. It would make sense that passing the bill would be beneficial to everyone according to these arguments. Why hasn't it happened?
The author simply states "they [Congress] can't pretend that it's someone elses problem to fix." To the dispair of many and disgust of others, he is correct. People cannot be so caught up in their own pride that they forfeit the survival of our economy, more specifically, our next meal or tank of gas. The author points out the serious condition of this impending economic crisis by referencing the Federal Reserve Chairman. The use of his desperation conveys the attitude that each one of us credit card swipers should adopt. We are on thin ice. This is not only the opinion of some pencil pushing desk jockey, but a reality backed the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman. The author drives home his argument by questioning the reasoning of Congress. According to the author, they need to seek out wise council before making any more decisions. These decisions have a much greater impact than relieving Congress from the heat of the potato; the United States could be facing a financial crisis. Congress may have not made this mess and nobody wants it. Congress, as stated, in this article is our only hope. Will they pass the bill?