There are a few people out there who are "saying what needs to be said."

Most students of the MBS market realize the necessity of the bailout.

Most anyone else is predisposed to see it as an unjust attack on taxpayers.

Those "naysayers" have not had to face the reality of the broad implications of the failure of the bailout bill to pass....

until today...

This is just a taste.

Critics of Paulson have suggested he needs to be more forceful in representing his plan. The talking heads on CNBC were debating how that could be done. Liesman quieted the chatter and brought the focus to himself and said something to the effect of the following: "Paulson doesn't need any strategy. He simply needs to say: 'congress... you want to know what the implications of this bill's failure would be? Look at how the markets reacted today.'" Done...

They can argue and argue and argue. The general public (and even nobel prize winning economists from what I hear) can lament the iniquities of the legislation. They can proclaim that the massive restriction of credit in this economy will not be "as big of a deal" as the several thousand extra tax dollars incurred per capita. But ultimately, the MARKETS decide... The MARKETS folks! The MARKETS decide who gets money and how much for almost everything that these "horribly victimized" consumers have come to include in their standard of living.

No one knows the implications. But THE MARKETS VOTED TODAY! And they voted that the opponents of the bailout PERHAPS are not considering "something" with respect to the interconnected fragility of our capital markets. The MARKETS VOTED for the 2nd worse decline in the S and P EVER! Do those figureheads chasing soundbytes on the congressional stage know just how bad things would get if the markets lost all hope that SOMETHING could be achieved? Do they want to run the risk of finding out? Despite the ostensibly romantic ideals of advocating for the "little guy," let today serve as a bone-chilling and sobering wake up call to those who would presume they are in control.

Whether you agree with them or not, the following can be offered from a stance of complete neutrality: they are not in control. That was proven today. The capital market is a savage dragon that no army of brave knights--emboldened with the notion of an idealistic crusade--can possibly tame. To presume to have that power is folly. Lawmakers pride and shortsightedness will tragically and ironically lead to more harm for the very souls they are trying to protect (or trying to impress with empassioned diatribe). Congress, it's time to put the bull-horn down... Time to sit down and listen. To anger the dragon further may well lead to the destruction of that which you are trying to protect. Love 'em or hate 'em, Hank and Ben are not attempting to "pull a fast one" on the american people. Maybe, JUST MAYBE, with Hank as the former chief of the most successful investment bank in American History and with Ben a reknowned scholar on the time period that most closely resembles present day, JUST MAYBE they might have an insight that armchair economists, and yes, even the highly decorated congressional leaders might not be fortunate enough to possess. In fact, yes, considering members of the house financial services committee have quisically pondered the phenomenon of Prime rates moving in the opposite direction of mortgage rates, I do think Hank and Ben might deserve a bit more consideration.

Let us sit now. Let us take shelter safe from the conflagration of the enraged dragon's wrath. Let us not attack it, but do as the previously derided "old fools" had suggested and, despite the superficial pain it might cause us, find a way to appease the beast that we might co-exist and forge ever onward in a world that has a place for our children, or at least for our children's ability to finance that Caddy, buy a quarter pounder with cheese for under 5 bucks, own a home, afford to take an apple pie to baseball night, and to have some sort of social infrastructure that may come close to being irreparably damaged if we choose any other course of action. Today's events were a gift. A fair warning. To not learn from this gift would be the true injustice for the American Taxpayer. Mouths closed, ears open. Maybe we don't know everything about everything.