Think first

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Sep 26, 2008

Those of us who have been around for any length of time have experienced days, or weeks, when aspects of our personal or professional lives have seemed to be spiralling out of control and we've wished the world would just let us catch a breath.

Then, we realized the way to regain control was to slow ourselves down.

We think our elected and appointed officials in Washington, D.C., would do well now to slow down, and take a few deep breaths, as they contemplate a plan to bail out companies at the top of the country's financial pyramid from beneath a mess of their own making.

President Bush, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had proposed a $700 billion deal that called for the government to buy troubled mortgages from the Wall Street giants, freeing them of that albatross and allowing them to get back in the money-lending business so the economy can continue to function.

It was a proposal long on boldness but short on detail.

Key members of Congress are working feverishly to add detail they think taxpayers are going to demand in exchange for their billions and had hammered out a tentative bill by Thursday afternoon. It fell apart later in the day and work continued into the night.

But more than a few economists and members of Congress are wondering why the world must move so fast.

We, too, wonder at the rush and think we all would be better off if the Washington folks would just slow down a bit. That they are on the job, apparently determined to get something done, should be enough to calm troubled waters for a while.

We're not financial geniuses, but we've read enough over the past weeks to realize the situation demands action. We just think the devil is in the details, and fear some essential details may slip through the cracks.

The first deal worked out Thursday would have prohibited the executives who destroyed their companies and threatened the country's economy from collecting lavish severance packages.

It also appeared to give the taxpayers some ownership in the companies that benefit from the bailout. Whether those provisions will be in the next version that goes up the flagpole is anyone's guess now. Regardless, we see no need to rush a bill to a vote.

Granted, many members of Congress want to head home so they can campaign for re-election. But we think they can best serve their constituents by remaining in Washington until this thing is done right.

The bailout debate reminds us of one of our favorite quotes from the late Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois. "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money," he once said.

We think $700 billion is real money. Let's take the time to get it right.