On Tuesday, Congress failed to pass the financial bailout plan, a plan that was introduced after our country began heading towards recession. Precisely one day after the failed attempt, there was nearly a 778-point drop on the Dow industrials, which is the biggest one-day point drops ever. People everywhere are asking themselves, “Is this bill what could fix our country’s economy?”

The bill, originally called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, is intended to buy up to $700 billion of the troubled assets from financial institutions. Most of these assets are mortgage related and have caused crisis in the credit markets. The goal is to free banks of their bad loans so that they are able to lend again. If the bill isn’t passed, it is said that the global economy could suffer as well. Stocks are plummeting for people all around the world, including our community. On Monday, September 29, S&M and NASDAQ saw the biggest percentage drop since the crash in 1987. On Tuesday, Nikkei of Japan lost 483 points, or 4%. Australia fell 4.3%, and Taiwan fell 3.6%.

“This plan sends a strong signal to markets around the world that the United States is serious about restoring confidence and stability to our financial system,” said the president of the United States of America, George W. Bush, “Without this rescue plan, the costs to the American economy could be disastrous.”

When the bill was introduced, it wasn’t considered a success. Members of Congress were getting calls 100 to 1 against the bill. In addition, on Monday, the bill was rejected 228 to 205. 133 Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against the bill, while 140 Democrats and 65 Republicans voted in favor. While some were expecting this, a few found it shocking.

“You had this economic crisis, this markets bearing down, you had the President of the U.S., the speaker of the House from another party, united congressional leadership across the board, and both Presidential candidates giving cover, and the bill still went down,” said George Stephanopoulos, the Chief Correspondent for ABC News, “We have never seen anything like this.”

The bill was revised and reintroduced Wednesday to the Senate. Many of the senators added in their own provisions, some of which include $8 billion in tax relief to those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas, and Louisiana, and others added in to attract more votes in the House, in particular the 2/3rds of the Republicans who voted against it. After 3 hours of debate, the bill was approved after a 75-25 vote, and is now waiting for a decision from the House of Representatives.

Our current president, George W. Bush, is aiming for the bill to be approved, as are the presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama. Other supporters of the bailout plan have agreed, “It’s necessary to avoid a collapse of the economic system because it would drag down not just Wall Street, but possibly the saving and portfolios of millions of Americans.” Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. warned, “that failure of the rescue plan could dry up credit for businesses big and small, making them unable to make payrolls or buy inventory.”

Many who are in favor of the bill don’t like the option, but feel it’s the only one our country has. “I feel that the bailout plan is a necessary evil that must unfortunately be passed,” said Tyler Hurst, a sophomore at Greenup County High School, “I’m not fond of the idea of using the hard-working taxpayers’ money to bail out companies with corrupt CEOs. In order to reverse the economic crisis, we must start with the bailout plan, though. In order to pay for this bill, we need to make sure taxes are not raised and spending is cut.”

However, some are totally against the bill. Opponents said the bill wasn’t thought out and was put together too quickly. People also think the bailout plan is rewarding bad decisions by Wall Street, putting taxpayers at risk, and fails to address the real economic issue of America. Democratic Representative Nancy Kaptur, of Ohio, voted against the bill because she claimed that the problem should be solved itself, not through the governmental intervention.

Regardless of what option is actually put into action, something needs to change. On Friday, when the House votes on the bill, the decision chosen needs to be the right one for our community, our economy, and our country.