The Aftermath of America's Financial Crisis

The United States congress has voted down the USD700 billion bailout plan and sent stock markets around the world spinning to new lows. Pres. George Bush Jr. has lost whatever influence he has over his own Republican congressmen who refused to save "Wall Street at the cost of Main Street". With the US elections in just 34 days from today, the only political platform of urgency is the economic salvation of United States. Everything else pales in comparison and importance.

Having watched the CNN for almost 12 hours each day since the first broadcast on the shocking financial crisis to hit America since the 1920s, starting with the downfall of the global American Insurance Group or AIG then followed by other major investment houses, the impact had been tremendous especially for ordinary people with houses and pensions to lose. Wall Street has been accused of greed and recklessness and US politicians have the right to be angry, to refuse to bail out the culprits of this world-shaking financial catastrophe.

In Sweden, the stock market plunged and sent pension funds and company shares to new lows while mortgage loans hit new highs in interest adjustments. The Swedish dailies headlined impending cutbacks among industrial workers such as Volvo, where 1900 will lose their jobs; pension companies will be declaring a zero return on investment; interest rates will hit major companies and housing mortgage loans will go up in interest rate payment.
Those who borrowed 80 to 90 percent of their house values are worst affected, writes Dagens Nyheter.

Having watched the debate between the US presidential candidates last weekend, I was convinced that Republican candidate John McCain has more experience to take over a very troubled American economy. It seems though that Barack Obama is better understood by ordinary Americans now threatened with more unemployment and failure to pay housing mortgages. McCain has the misfortune of being blamed for the failures of the Bush Administration, although he has been trying to distance himself from the mistakes of the outgoing presidency. I do believe that McCain will and can handle the urgency to act on America's economic situation with his long experience as legislator as against Barack Obama's elegant rhetoric.