Full faith and credit -- not!

It's axiomatic that "capitalism depends on credit," and that credit relies on faith -- faith in the ability of the other guy to repay his loans, faith in the markets to play by the rules, faith in the rules themselves. Faith and uncertainty are mutually exclusive. With the failure of the House of Representatives to pass the economic stability package, the uncertainty has not only not been resolved, but, according to some market watchers, has hardened into despair. The enormous stress on markets is global in scope, and as the commentators on CNBC are noting, now with some regularity, in this crisis Main Street and Wall Street are not severable; they are joined at the hip.

The "nay" votes were presumably not driven by any reality except a short-term political one and an exceedingly narrowly conceived ideological one. Congresspersons looking to next month's election were particularly responsive to the negative view of the legislation flowing to them from their constituents. Their job was, first, to educate themselves, and then to educate the folks back home about the Main Street realities. In this, too, they obviously failed.

So, of course, did the press. The public relations aspect cannot be overlooked. The more the press headlined "Wall Street bailout" the less likely it was that John Q. Public would understand that passage was essential to his own well-being, not merely, if at all, to the well-being of the fat cats with their mansions and Mercedes-Benzes.

Some Republicreep has the CNBC microphone saying he doesn't want to add $700 billion to the debt of his children and grandchildren. How thoughtful of him. But in the meanwhile, today $1 $1.4 billion in market capitalization has been eradicated. That's twice the amount of the rescue. In one day!

And some of that money was mine.