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Did you think the bailout was a bad idea? Then yesterday you got your wish. What was the result? The biggest loss in the market. . .ever . . . ever in history. That is big. The financial estimates I heard said about 1.1 trillion dollars in capital were lost yesterday. This is the amount lost because the bailout did not happen. I must say that 700 billion is a big number, but I think 1.1 trillion is bigger. And where did that 1.1 trillion come from? It came from ordinary people like you and me that have money in a 401(k) and other, similar investments. Can that 1.1 trillion come back? Sure, but it will probably take years to actually get it back, and that is if the bailout still happens.

Another financial analyst I heard said something I thought funny. Everyone is so upset that there are so many executives out there whose companies will go under, but their "golden parachutes" will basically protect them from the fallout. The funny part is that the bailout legislation had a provision against "golden parachutes," so by not passing the bill, Congress (and the public that told Congress not to pass the bill) saved those golden parachutes for the executives.

I also found it interesting that world markets reacted badly to the news that Congress did not bail out the financial market. I was a bit surprised to see the Australian Prime Minister on American TV asking Congress to pass the bill. Apparently, we are still the world economic leader, which is a thought that gives me pause.

The other good news for those that did not like the bailout bill is that any similar bill will certainly not be passed for a few more days. It will be interesting to see what the markets do in the meantime. This piece from the New York Times says stocks were mixed today, and even rebounded slightly. The interesting thing to me is the reason that was given: "The action of the markets reflected optimism that Congress will act this week to approve an economic rescue plan." I guess we will have to wait and see. I am not holding my breath.