McCain Has a Meltdown of His Own

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig Sep 26, 2008 John McCain is rapidly making his temperament an inescapable issue in the presidential campaign. Does the nation really want so much drama in the White House? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Back in the USSR

David Sirota / Truthdig Sep 26, 2008 In the late 1990s, Washington was in the throes of a deregulatory orgy. Many lampooned Rep. Bernie Sanders' opposition to the grotesquerie, and his notoriety as the only self-described socialist in Congress. Nobody guessed that in a few years our country would become the United States' Socialist Republic. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

They Claim the Bailout Is Necessary, but Is It Constitutional?

Stanley Kutler / Truthdig Sep 25, 2008 Wall Street will not trouble its collective consciousness with worry over the Constitution. But this bailout bill is virtually unprecedented in its assumptions and its reach for unchecked power. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

A Fox to Protect the Henhouse?

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Sep 24, 2008 Does it really matter which party is in charge when it comes to bailing out the Wall Street hustlers whose shenanigans have bankrupted so many ordinary folks? Not if the Democrats roll over and cede power to the former head of Goldman Sachs, the investment bank at the center of our economic meltdown. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Fed Chief: Pass a Bailout or Else

Staff / Truthdig Sep 24, 2008 How's this for not mincing words? "I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way." So sayeth Ben Bernanke on Tuesday, in a dire warning to Congress. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Getting the Bailout Right

E.J. Dionne Jr. / Truthdig Sep 23, 2008 Unless something very strange happens, Congress will pass a massive bailout of the financial system by the end of this week simply because every other option is worse. But the content of the bailout package matters enormously. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Socialism for Dummies

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Sep 23, 2008 So this is how the "ownership society" works. We own all the bad stuff. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

So Much for the ‘Masters of the Universe’

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig Sep 23, 2008 Let's be clear about why we're facing a crisis that could pull down the global financial system. The irresponsibility of individuals who bought houses they couldn't quite afford pales in comparison to the irresponsibility of the financial wizards who built on those shaky mortgages a towering edifice of irrational faith. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Bailout Negotiations Inch Forward

Staff / Truthdig Sep 23, 2008 It seems that some key officials involved in the negotiations with the Bush administration over the terms of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700-billion bailout proposal for Wall Street aren't about to make a deal unless it includes specific plans for congressional oversight and help for homeowners on the brink of foreclosure. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

This Is the Man Who’s Going to Fix the Economy?

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig Sep 19, 2008 John McCain was telling the truth when he said that economics wasn't his strong suit. In response to what many economists have called the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Republican nominee has sounded -- and let's be honest here -- totally, embarrassingly and dangerously clueless. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Krugman on Bank Collapse and ‘1931 Revisited’

Staff / Truthdig Sep 16, 2008 Financial columnist Paul Krugman, trying to make sense of the Lehman Brothers debacle, warns that "the defenses set up to prevent a return of those bank runs, mainly deposit insurance and access to credit lines with the Federal Reserve, only protect the guys in the marble buildings, who aren’t at the heart of the current crisis. That creates the real possibility that 2008 could be 1931 revisited." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Fannie and Freddie’s Double Whammy

Bill Boyarsky / Truthdig Sep 9, 2008 With a stunningly vicious pair of blows, the faltering world economy -- the Godzilla of this year's presidential race -- has made the candidates look small. Why hasn't this looming crisis been part of the presidential debate? Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )