Starting with the $700 Billion Rejection

Today, the House of Representatives voted against the bill that proposed a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, defiant of the pushing of the President and the House party leaders. The bill required 213 votes to pass, but only received 205, whereas 228 representatives voted against it. A majority of Democrats voted for the bill, but a stunning majority of Republicans voted against the bill. Now that the bill has been rejected, House party leaders have called for a reconvening on Thursday to discuss a different strategy for getting the economy back on its feet.

Stock markets plunged as it appeared that the measure would go down to defeat, and kept slumping into the afternoon when that appearance became a reality. By late afternoon the Dow industrial average had fallen more than 5 percent, and other indexes even more sharply. Oil prices fell steeply on fears of a global recession; investors bid up prices of Treasury securities and gold in a flight to safety.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., appearing at the White House late Monday afternoon, warned that the failure of the rescue plan could dry up credit for businesses big and small, making them unable to make payrolls or buy inventory.

All of the projected economic failures would have a devastating effect in the global economy, slowing commerce in most of Europe.

Now, what are we as hard-working middle class Americans supposed to do to cope? I personally already am having a hard time recuperating from poor financial decisions on my part. I'm just getting back on my feet and now that this whole situation erupted, who knows when I will be able to build my credit back up?

There seems to be nothing that we can do in time to save the economy. The one thing that would have done anything at all was disapproved by Congress, and now we're doomed to further recession.

See what happens when you take out a loan you can't afford to pay back? Congratulations to everyone living in a home more expensive than they can afford. You all just destroyed the economy for the whole freakin' world.

[Updates as they develop, or as I find them.]