The Senate says yes to the bail-out plan

Oct 2nd 2008
The Economist

TWO days after the House had rejected the financial bail-out plan proposed by the president and his treasury secretary, the Senate on Wednesday October 1st passed a revised version of the bill by the healthy margin of 74 votes to 25. John McCain and Barack Obama, the two candidates to be president, both flew back to Washington, DC, to vote for the bill. Both spoke in its favour, warning that a failure to act would invite calamity.

Although taxpayers should eventually recoup some or even all of the bill’s cost, both candidates admitted that it might affect their fiscal plans. Mr McCain promised a freeze on all non-essential spending. Mr Obama said he might delay some of his spending plans, but excluded his tax cuts, health-care reform, infrastructure investment, alternative energy and education. That is, all the main items on his wish-list bar expanding the armed forces. the rest