So I’ll admit that I don’t know the whole deal with the economic bailout proposal. But I’d like to make a number of points about it:

• No one I’ve talked to really understands the whole deal. I’d really like to see a poll of ordinary Americans that asks them to explain (or choose, via multiple-choice) the issue.
• I think it’s a failing of Congress in general that no one has explained this clearly. Why didn’t President Bush’s speech explain it? Why haven’t Obama and McCain done so?
• The proposal was $700 billion. The CIA puts our population at 303,824,640 people. That’s $2,303.96 per person. While it wouldn’t directly solve the bank crises, this could be quite an “economic stimulus package.” Imagine a check for $9,215 being mailed to my family. (A family of four, times the $2303.96.) High gas prices? People in danger of losing their homes? Consumer spending down? Giving every American a few thousand dollars would help a lot.

Of course, this is a bit misleading, since the real issue is the banks failing. And you could make a good case that “giving” taxpayers money is somewhat ridiculous, since we’d essentially pay $2,303.96 more in taxes and then have it mailed back to us. But still, I think it’s interesting food for thought…