Bailout = Still Not Working

The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted another 508 points today, which added to the 157-point drop last Friday and the 369-point decline yesterday means that the market has plunged by 1,034 points since Congress approved its so-called “economic rescue” plan last Friday.

The plan – a $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout of “troubled assets” – clearly hasn’t calmed the markets the way its backers said it would, prompting the Federal Reserve to announce additional bailout plans today.

From today’s edition of CNN Money:

The Federal Reserve announced a new program to help the battered market for short-term business loans – taking its closest step yet to lending directly to businesses …

And then there’s this little nugget all the way at the bottom of the article:

The program is slated to expire in April 2009 and will have financial support from taxpayers. But Fed officials said Tuesday they did not know yet how much money Treasury would contribute to the program.

Jesus … when the hell are these idiots going to learn their lesson?