This will be a shorter diary than I normally write and will be one of the few I ever write that isn't about politics. Because I firmly believe that whether or not you support this bailout bill should have nothing to do with politics. So when I see people as influential as Markos writing diaries about this bill and examining it purely through a political lens, I cringe. Another, well-written diary is currently on the rec list opposing the bill...but again doesn't examine the financial consequences one way or another.
I believe the following:
Reach your own conclusions about this bailout, but do so by your own research, speaking with people whose expertise in securities and financial issues are real and deep and whose judgment you trust, and avoid reaching any conclusions based on any diary on DKos or any other political blog.
This is an issue for whom the realities of the situation are too important to decide based on the politics of it, it should be only based on whether you believe it is the right or wrong thing to do.
And one last note based on that: far far too many diaries have been written saying, "this is exactly the same pattern the Bush administration used to get us into the Iraq War - shock, then panic, and then shoving a bill down our throats."
Sure, the similarities are undeniable. But that's not evidence to PROVE that the bill is the wrong thing to do. Just because the government has cried wolf before doesn't mean that this time the crisis isn't real. Reaching that conclusion is understandable, but it's purely a psychological conclusion not based in any realities one way or another.
For the record, I support the bill, and I believe that the crisis is real, but I'm not going to try to convince anyone because that would be hypocritical: my point is for you to get away from DKos in reaching your own conclusion.
Do I think the politics of the bill are good? I have no idea. Do I think there will be a recession anyway? Yes. Could I be wrong? Sure.
But I don't claim to be a financial expert, and one thing I know is that Kos and many others on this site aren't either. Some are and may have a different opinion than mine. That's fine.
I love this site and this community, but on this crucial, complex financial issue, I have lost the faith of diarists here to separate the politics from the realities of the situation. And for this one issue, your time would be best spent elsewhere in trying to determine whether or not you support it.
UPDATE: Some commenters are making the excellent point that politics are impossible to separate from this bill. It's a very valid point, and I can't argue with it. I suppose my issue is with posts that suggest you should decide on the fundamental rightness or wrongness of this bill PURELY based on the politics of it and nothing to do with the financial realities of our current predicament. The problem with DKos recently is that far too many posts have focused on the politics, which has really colored the argument and made it not the best site for reaching a conclusion.