[CSX4236]

So how does this rescue plan affect me? This just in...

"The commercial paper market is used by companies to borrow money over short periods, such as 60 days, to help them pay day-to-day expenses and run their businesses more smoothly. The market peaked in July 2007 at more than $2 trillion, but then plunged as companies and other entities with big mortgage exposure were purged."

If the person that signs your paycheck relies on short-term credit (it's not just consumers that have gotten stone-drunk over easy credit) to do such mundane things like meet payroll, pay suppliers, taxes, etc. you should be very concerned because it's disppearing faster than no-doc mortgages. Next in line will be credit lines that companies have relied on to do much the same. AT&T couldn't get anyone interested in their notes for more than overnight (and that was a week ago).

So, before we all lose focus on what's really at stake, take a deep breath and ask yourself how long you and can survive off of savings and unemployment. I'm going to hold off on the blame game for now and push to get my respresentatives to focus on something other than their re-election coffers long enough to vote this thing through. I'd still like to be getting a paycheck come next week...