Just Wonderin'

As the Behemoth Bailout was failing in the House of Representatives, I noticed something interesting about the Wall Stree activity. While the voting was happening and it became unclear whether there were going to be enough votes to pass the bill, the Dow Jones plummeted. At one point it was more than 700 points down. Then, as it became absolutely clear that the bill was going to fail, the Dow Jones actually recovered over 200 points.

It has slowly dropped down to a nearly 600 point loss for the day, but why did it rise on the realization that the bill failed?

I am glad that the bill has failed for the moment. I don't think something this profound should be forced through so quickly. If it's really a national emergency our congressional members can give up their recess. I'd like to see a more creative approach to re-igniting our economy and causing money to flow. Sheesh, split those billions of dollars amongst all the taxpayers and watch mortgages, credit cards and student loans get paid off. That would give the banks cash and it would get us out of a debt-laden economy. Also watch  how many people make luxury purchases (I think credit should be withheld until people have spent their cash and demonstrated a flow of income) and start their own or invest in other businesses. We could probably accomplish a lot at a much lower price tag.

Also, I would like to state my appreciation for the fiscal conservatives who are sticking to their ideology of letting the market fend for itself and the liberal populists who don't see why the Average Jane should foot the bill for the Fat Cats. It's always fun when different ideologies intersect in an unexpected way.

Update: While the DOW did finally end 777 points down yesterday, it's back up today by nearly 400 points as of 3pm. The S&P and the NASDAQ are also back up.