Bail Out Wall Street?
The Bush administration's proposal to relieve financial institutions of their "bad" assets may be the most momentous event that the U.S. economic system has experienced since Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal more than 70 years ago.
While the bailout plan's ultimate shape and its fate in Congress remain uncertain as of this writing, voter outrage is already driving lawmakers and the administration toward imposing some form of quid pro quo on banks that will benefit from the rescue effort.
Can a federal bailout save Wall Street as we know it - or will any such effort more likely amount to "destroying the village in order to save it"? Is there a glaring omission, some major provision that ought to be in the package but isn't?
Most important of all, how do you think a bailout might affect your long-term career prospects in the industry - including your future compensation levels?
