Slashdot Mirror


$700 Billion Bailout Signed Into Law

Many readers reminded us of what no-one can have failed to hear: that the Congress passed and the President signed a $700B bailout bill in an attempt to avert the meltdown of the US economy. The bill allocates $700 billion to the Treasury Department for the purchase of so-called "toxic assets" that have been weighing down Wall Street balance sheets. This isn't particularly a tech story, though tech will be affected as will virtually all parts of the economy, and not just in the US. Among the $110B in so-called pork added to the bill to sway reluctant legislators are extensions of popular tax benefits for business R&D and alternative energy, relief for the growing pool of people subject to the alternative minimum tax, and a provision raising the FDIC's ceiling of guaranteed deposits to $250,000. Some limits were also imposed on executive compensation, though it's unclear whether they will be effective.

4 of 857 comments (clear)

  1. Sweet? by Entropy98 · · Score: 5, Funny

    How big of a check should I expect to get?
    --
      Blackshot

  2. Paulson's speech by David+Gerard · · Score: 3, Funny

    "We owe it all to the bedrock of our economy: the ordinary hard-working taxpayer. You resisted the siren call of credit cards, lived within your means to save for a rainy day, never took out an interest-only mortgage, credit score to make Jesus cry. Without taking every penny you saved over the $100,000 guarantee, we'd never have made it. And the best bit is, we know you'll still vote Republican! God bless you all!"

    By the way, your house is still worthless.

    --
    http://rocknerd.co.uk
  3. Re:I'm a Vice President in IT. by Dutchmaan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Certainly a very busy man.

    I work on programming and enhancing strategic investment platforms for both fixed income securities and equities.

    So yes, you can be both a Vice President and a member of IT. I've even been a Vice President and Chief Technology Officer in the past.

    Did you by chance happen to stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

  4. Re:Friday by JackieBrown · · Score: 4, Funny

    Our attention span is to short to allow for planning