So, if companies can't make payroll this week and start laying

[medicswife]

people off left and right....what will happen then?

[TexasObserver]

1. Suddenly, Americans will demand the congress act, and it will.

the problem is that the country never got behind this bill

[medicswife]

6. Do you think it will happen?

That has been kind of my threshold to gauge just how serious this really is....I know, kind of sick, but I have been curious as to whether or not that prediction would come to fruition if a bill wasn't passed today.

[Samantha]

10. I think it might

On the list of companies that cannot make their payroll without banks giving them credit - GM, Caterpillar and Goodyear. And that's just three the names which were released. There are many, many more. This is a huge debacle.

[medicswife]

13. Shit. They employ a really large number of people too. nt

[TexasObserver]

42. once we have consequences, THEN the public will get a new attitude

[TexasObserver]

41. All over America, seniors are watching their retirement funds shrink.

They will soon play connect the dots, and that's when we'll get some kind of bailout bill.

[Thegonagle]

34. I think the country saw $700B on top of ever-mounting national debt...

And is finally starting to get scared that we'll never be able to pay off the national "credit cards."

While this might not be the best place to "save" $700 billion (*cough*Iraq!), I think this is one possible reason the public is not behind this. Also, we don't have as much sympathy and understanding for the "take the money and run" mentality of the many people who created this crisis with their lack of forethought. Maybe we want some of our fucking money back.

I know it doesn't work this way, but Sara Palin isn't the only person in America to have received a "D" in ECON-101. Lots of people have no idea how the banking system really works.

That's one reason the public was against a "no strings" bail-out.

[TexasObserver]

44. The public cannot be for the bill until the public sees negative consequences.

As that occurs, they will demand action.

I have felt that we were unwise to push a bill that lacks public support. First, let the public get behind the thought, then move the bill.

[Barack_America]

2. The unemployment rate will go up?

:shrug:

Hopefully the companies will be straight with their employees and tell them exactly why they've been laid off.

[demnan]

3. I have enough in my regular bank

if I can get it to last me through to the election. I will help the Obama campaign full time if I am laid off.

[Debi]

4. As a small business owners we've already seen our clients not paying their bills

or paying them in very small increments. Our landlord/power company/phone company don't seem to care that our clients aren't paying us. It's already very tight here. Don't know what will happen if we don't get any business.

[Cronus Protagonist]

8. I already went through that, and It's still happening

There's no point in working when your clients can't pay you, and I'm getting pretty hard core with my downstream people. How many times can they sue you for money your clients aren't paying you? hehe. Freedom for the people!

[Cronus Protagonist]

5. Lots of people will finally be FREE?

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

[prolesunited]

17. I'm not sure I want to be that free

And for the record, I've been in and out of poverty all of my life and live very simply and drive a 10-year-old car, hang my laundry out to dry, garden and can. Do I pass the purity test, or would you be happier if I was out in the street and dying because I have no health care to keep my chronic conditions from killing me.

[Cronus Protagonist]

23. Gosh, I wish I had healthcare myself

I have a swollen leg which is going down very slowly, but I'm for UNIVERSAL FREE healthcare, so I would actually help you out a bit.

[prolesunited]

32. I'm paying COBRA

so it's not like I'm getting a free ride.

Are there any health clinics in your area? A swollen leg could be a clot, which is nothing to play around with.

[prolesunited]

18. I'm not sure I want to be that free

And for the record, I've been in and out of poverty all of my life and live very simply and drive a 10-year-old car, hang my laundry out to dry, garden and can. Do I pass the purity test, or would you be happier if I was out in the street and dying because I have no health care to keep my chronic conditions from killing me.

[ContinentalOp]

7. How about if Congress authorizes a $700 billion pool of money to be made available...

to lend to small businesses with good credit who can't meet payroll?

:shrug:

[Cronus Protagonist]

11. They'll drink that up in a week or two

The bankers will take their cut, the lawyers will get paid and the fat cats will be back for more in a couple weeks.

[ContinentalOp]

19. Why not loans that specifically have to be used to meet payroll? If that is the real problem?

And if that doesn't work then how would the $700 billion have worked?

[Cronus Protagonist]

25. Clearly there are tons of economists out there who know better than Bush what to do

I'd trust a concensus of economists long before I would trust a Bush lackie to handle our money.

[TheDonkey]

39. what are actual economist saying? All i hear is from Bush or his minions

what are the non-partisan professionals saying (and ones with no dogs in the race ie. Buffet).

[Cronus Protagonist]

46. There is a petition going around.............

http://faculty.chicagogsb.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/mortgage_protest.htm

[medicswife]

26. Those giant companies depend on their lines of credit to

do things like make payroll and stuff I guess....so the problem as I understood it was that the credit markets are frozen right now, and so companies like GM don't have access to what they need to make payroll. Someone else could probably explain it to you better, but I know from personal experience recently that credit is basically impossible to get unless you have a score over 720.

[Cronus Protagonist]

14. They'll drink that up in a week or two

The bankers will take their cut, the lawyers will get paid and the fat cats will be back for more in a couple weeks.

[JuniperLea]

9. There's not much anyone can do at this point...

Two European banks failed today... the US can't bail out the world... a runaway train takes a lot more time to slow down than this... we all just need to hang on for a while...

[medicswife]

12. For once I actually feel happy that my husband reenlisted in the

fucking Army. At least they can't lay him off......just get him killed....*sigh*

What a mess.

[JuniperLea]

16. I feel for you...

:hug:

What a horrible situation to face alone. It's good you can shop on base though... you will be the last to see the shortages...

[medicswife]

27. You're right, because we're right in the middle of the gas

shortage and I only saw two of our stations out of gas once. Otherwise, we have had gas available here when there was not any in the surrounding community.

[JuniperLea]

33. Good... that should give you some solace...

You'll be ok. Be frugal and stock up on non-perishables just in case;)

[medicswife]

38. I already bake all of our bread myself and

am a darned good cook.......so as long as I can get things like onions, flour, dry beans, eggs, etc. We'll be a-ok. We won't starve. lol

[geek tragedy]

15. Ask the fuckwits who postured in front of cameras while

opposing this.

I don't care if they're Republicans or Democrats--fuck both groups of purists.

[JuniperLea]

21. This is global... two European banks failed today...

We can't bail the world out... perhaps someone is actually thinking we might need this money...

[Ganja Ninja]

20. What's going to happen when they start shutting down ...

ATM and Credit Cards? I wonder how many "fiscal conservatives" will cheer about that? We're going back to a cash economy and cash is going to be in short supply.

[jberryhill]

22. Lots of new volunteers with a lot of time on their hands /nt

[Jennicut]

24. The Rethugs will get the picture...-674 right now on the Dow

[Myrina]

28. Why in God's name would a company BORROW to meet payroll?

That should be Sign #1 that the company isn't stable to begin with.
If there isn't enough overhead to meet the most basic expense, then ... uhhh ... hmmm.
Sounds like some seriously up-fucked priorities to me.


:shrug:

[medicswife]

31. I know, it doesn't make much sense, does it? But that is how a LOT

of major corporations handle their business. Lines of credit. :shrug:

[msallied]

40. Because it takes time for a company's customers to pay THEIR bills.

Meaning if you have company that makes toothbrushes, and one of your biggest customers is Target, and Target only pays you once a month, you have to be able to pay your employees and run your business in the interim. So you borrow a little money to pay your expenses, then you pay that loan off at the end of the month when you get your check from Target. Then the ball starts rolling all over again. It's how business has always been done. When the banks run out of money, businesses fold. Period.

And THEN when Target can't sell toothbrushes because people are out of a job and don't have any money, then even more companies start folding.. It's a domino effect. We're all connected in this mess. No one gets off without taking a hit. That's why when people think this "bailout" was only for Wall Street, I want to SCREAM. Because shit rolls downhill. We'll be hurting more than anybody when the economy collapses.

[donco6]

43. Not necessarily.

We do it. I get half my revenue from property taxes that come March-June and the other half from state aid that comes in 1/12 increments. By Feb. I'm really low on cash, so I need a cash-flow loan to make payroll. I know the money is coming . . . I just don't have it yet. And I don't have a big enough reserve to make it through.

[busymom]

29. We throw 700 billion into healthcare, unemployment benefits and job retraining...

we provide them with small business loans from that money?

[Myrina]

30. Why in God's name would a company BORROW to meet payroll?

That should be Sign #1 that the company isn't stable to begin with.
If there isn't enough overhead to meet the most basic expense, then ... uhhh ... hmmm.
Sounds like some seriously up-fucked priorities to me.


:shrug:

[msallied]

36. Almost ALL companies run on credit.

They always have because accounts receivable cannot keep up with the daily financial demands of running a business. Welcome to Economics 101.

[CalGator]

37. gotta meet the CEO's salary demands first, imo [/WallSt]

[NJGeek]

35. http://mccain-crash.ytmnd.com/

http://mccain-crash.ytmnd.com/

[ShortnFiery]

45. We'll have to supprort each other in our local community. Congress will NOT save the economy.

Please, give up on that pipe dream. :shrug: