I think they should call it a day.

The stock market has taken a nose dive, the likes of which hasn't been seen in a long time. Even the events of my birthday weren't this bad. Apparently, Wall Street, like every other street in America, has lost faith that a true measure to save the economy will pass.

It seems every day for the past two weeks we have been waking up to more incredible news. I thought this was a one-week thing, but it continues like a daily alarm clock ringing--only we can't hit the snooze button. Today it was Wachovia. Pretty soon there are going to be two or three banks in America, and although they'll be strong, I'm not sure that's a good thing.

I don't have time to read the 110 page tome that is the "Bailout Bill". But you can read it here, if you want.

I'm not alone in this questioning of the bailout. There are many people like me who question whether this bail out will work, when it will work and what it will do to any hope of getting help to the people who really need it. As you can see, my concerns are multi-fold.

First, will this bill even work? Are the firms that have bad debt going to be around to take part in the clean up? Wachovia won't be there. Washington Mutual won't be there. Bear Stearns won't be there. Leheman Brothers won't be there. So basically about 50-75% of the people who created this mess have left the party before it ended and therefore can't help to clean up. Is this enough?

Second, if it works, when will it work? Sure, the world has become a much faster place with a pace that rivals Robin Williams on his most crack-ridden day, but at the same time, how is it possible for just a mere vote of confidence to lift the markets? And really, that's what the bill is intended to do for right now.

Third, regardless of when and if it works, will this end the sense of urgency that allowed for bipartisanship in the first place? In other words, what about struggling home owners like Mom and Dad Grace. Will they get anything down the pipeline? Or are we done? I fear that once the urgency is over, the work will not get done. So health care, housing, etc., will just be trampled on in the meantime. I don't think the average American had high hopes of Congress helping them, but damn it, if this passes, they'll have to lower their expectations even more. And that just ain't right. Maverick McCain might think the fundamentals of the economy are strong and the American worker is strong--but if the American worker has no work, then the whole thing falls apart.

We need a New Deal, folks. Corporate bailouts without populist policies to aid the everyday American are nothing more than a screendoor on a submarine. DadGrace would tell you that.

As I write this, it appears the bailout bill has stalled and might fail.

I hope by the end of the day we have an economy at all.