More thoughts on the failed House vote

In no particular order… So, the Dow went down 777 points after the vote; for theday, the S&P 500 is down even more in percentage terms (over 8.8%); the TED spread jumped by 20%.  Way to go, Congress!!!!   As I’m typing this, the House of Representatives’ web server appears to have crashed.  I wonder why?  ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

In no particular order... So, the Dow went down 777 points after the vote; for theday, the S&P 500 is down even more in percentage terms (over 8.8%); the TED spread jumped by 20%.  Way to go, Congress!!!!   As I'm typing this, the House of Representatives' web server appears to have crashed.  I wonder why?  I think Nate Silver slightly exaggerates the extent to which financial markets anticipate political outcomes.  This point, however, is spot-on:  "the schadenfreude of certain liberals on this issue is absolutely obnoxious. A lot of people are going to be hurt by this, and not just those in the investor class. I tend to see this more as a failure of our democracy than a reaffirmation of it. The congressmen who are retiring this year -- and who therefore can perhaps be described as the most neutral arbiters of the public good -- voted overwhelmingly for this measure." Tyler Cowen asks, "If things do not totally tank right now, Paulson and Co. truly have zero credibility -- for better or worse -- the next time they claim that some particular policy action has to be done."  I need to know the definition of not totally tanking here.  Things can undoubtedly get worse, but I'd call today's events a pretty decent signal of what's to come.  Um.... some good news -- oil will be cheaper

In no particular order…

  1. So, the Dow went down 777 points after the vote; for theday, the S&P 500 is down even more in percentage terms (over 8.8%); the TED spread jumped by 20%.  Way to go, Congress!!!!  
  2. As I’m typing this, the House of Representatives’ web server appears to have crashed.  I wonder why? 
  3. I think Nate Silver slightly exaggerates the extent to which financial markets anticipate political outcomes.  This point, however, is spot-on:  “the schadenfreude of certain liberals on this issue is absolutely obnoxious. A lot of people are going to be hurt by this, and not just those in the investor class. I tend to see this more as a failure of our democracy than a reaffirmation of it. The congressmen who are retiring this year — and who therefore can perhaps be described as the most neutral arbiters of the public good — voted overwhelmingly for this measure.”
  4. Tyler Cowen asks, “If things do not totally tank right now, Paulson and Co. truly have zero credibility — for better or worse — the next time they claim that some particular policy action has to be done.”  I need to know the definition of not totally tanking here.  Things can undoubtedly get worse, but I’d call today’s events a pretty decent signal of what’s to come. 
  5. Um…. some good news — oil will be cheaper

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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