Backlash Building Over Bailouts

Doug Elmendorf, a former economist at both the Fed and Treasury, said he doesn't oppose government interventions, though he's "opposed to doing it wrong."

"I think it would be a major challenge for the government to design a fair and effective program to inject funds into financial institutions,"' said Elmendorf, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "Structuring either of those in a way that doesn't reward mistaken private investments is very difficult."

As much as I don't like it, I have been universally supportive of efforts the government has undertaken until now. But, Elmendorf's comments reflect my feelings exactly. Paulson's plan is a major mistake in my estimation. And, our economy will be put under significantly more economic burden for longer than necessary if this plan is not reswizzled. There are too many other solutions that have actually been undertaken in the past that have worked. This is completely without precedence. These alternatives preserve the integrity of some type of market while better protecting American citizens. Hopefully Congress will awaken to their primary responsibility to their constituencies with any solution.