This has been going around but I wanted to highlight it: herewith, the Main Street consequences of your financial crisis:
The sudden loss of credit, one of the ripple effects of the current financial turmoil, is affecting local governments in all parts of the country, rich and poor alike. In New York, a real estate boom has suddenly gone bust. Washington has shelved a planned bond offering to pay for terminal expansion and parking garages already under construction at Dulles and Reagan National Airports.Billings, Mont., is struggling to come up with $70 million more for a new emergency room. And Maine has been unable to raise $50 million for highway repairs.“We really are in terra incognita here,” said Robert O. Lenna, executive director of the Maine Municipal Bond Bank, which helps that state’s towns and school districts raise money. He said he had worked in public finance for 34 years and had never seen credit evaporate so completely.
McDonalds can't get loans for its franchises. And a large number of hedge funds could close today, further exacerbating the situation.
And this evening, the Senate votes on the bailout bill. Though I understand it polls better if we call it an “investment” -- which it actually is.
— Tim Fernholz
