Friday, February 20, 2009

The stock market votes

click to enlarge

This is how the stock market has performed since Oct. 1 of last year. Some dates to keep in mind:
  • Oct. 3, 2008: The House approves and President Bush signs a $700 billion bailout for the financial sector.
  • Nov. 4, 2008: Obama elected president
  • Dec. 19, 2008: President Bush declares that bailout money can also be used for the auto sector.
  • Jan. 20, 2009: President Obama inaugurated.
  • Feb. 10, 2009: Secretary of the Treasury Geithner announces his plan to use bailout money to buy "toxic assets" from banks.
  • Feb. 17, 2008: President Obama signs stimulus legislation.
  • Feb. 18, 2009: President Obama announces a housing bailout.
We keep throwing more money at the problem and things continue to deteriorate. As Fred Barnes says:
The Dow fell 332.13 points on inauguration day, 381.99 points on the day Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner announced step two in the bank bailout, and 297.91 points when the president signed the stimulus bill three days ago. Financial markets are a bet on the future. The market's view is that an Obamanomics-driven economy looks grim.
Maybe these are just coincidences. But then again maybe not.

Update: Drudge links to a story that says Wall Street is giving Obama an "F".

Donald Luskin, meanwhile, says that the country is being "rescued to death":
How are we supposed to invest, to plan, to save, to build, to lend, to take risks — when at any moment the government can change the rules of the game? When, at any moment, the government can take the winner's winnings and give them to the loser?
Indeed.

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