Economy Blog Due on 9/23/08
As we all of heard, seen, or read, these past weeks have been arguably the most turbulent economic times in our nations history. Banks are foreclosing, the government is stepping in and rescuing what were landmark institutions. Above all, Wall Street has taken the biggest hit. For this assignment, I looked at online articles from three sources, the Star Tribune, the New York Times, and Wall Street Journal, to see how each paper was covering what has been a devastating time on Wall Street.
The first article was from the aforementioned Star Tribune. The article, of which a link can be found at the end of this entry, detailed President Bush's decision to try and bail out the economy with a 700 billion dollar loan package. I feel that this was a very solid article, as it fairly and accurately portrayed the economic crises which the United States is currently under. The article has frequent quotes from President Bush, and is full of solid, factual information. I feel like the reporter used President Bush as their main source because their is no one more qualified than the current President to discuss how his plan will try to salvage the economy.
The second article, from the New York Times, a link of which can also be found at the end of this blog, was also about the economic "bailout" proposed by President Bush. This article is focusing however, on how Congress is moving forward with the bailout package, while also mentioning that many lawmakers are unhappy about the bailout. The article portrays both sides of the story perfectly, while remaining unbiased in their reporting. The article uses quotes from Senators both Democrat and Republican, with both sides weighing in on the proposed plan.
The third and final article was from the Wall Street Journal, a link of which can be found at the bottom of this entry. This article highlights another main person in the bailout fallout, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. This article was rather harsh on Paulson, as it criticized whether he has the credentials and knowledge to handle what is surely a stop gap measure to help the economy. I felt that out of all of the articles, the Wall Street Journal definitely was the harshest, as it directly targeted one specific person. While the other articles remained for the most part neutral in their coverage, the Wall Street Journal talked directly about one person, and his role in the economic bailout.
Link to Star Tribune Article: http://www.startribune.com/politics/29285184.html?page=1&c=y
Link to New York Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/business/23cong.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Link to Wall Street Journal Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122211317487463897.html