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It’s the wrong time for political courage. Every member of Congress is up for reelection in November. Elections scare the hell out of politicians, and when they get calls from constituents running a hundred to one against an issue, reaction trumps thinking. That’s the big problem with the Wall Street bailout bill. There’s no thought, just sloganeering and political spin. Main Street vs. Wall Street; bailouts for billionaires; losing homes while saving banks; fraud, corruption, etc. are examples of the spin repeated ad infinitum in the news media.

Because of this misdirection, rational economic arguments get lost. A simple (in language) bill, in essence calling for financial industry liquidity support, gets politicized and expands from three pages to 110. Provisions having little to do with the bill’s purpose get included. The politicians bicker about fault and issue inherently false claims about the need to protect the taxpayer, keep people in their homes and cut CEO pay.

Meanwhile, the voters, most of whom are wholly ignorant about financial issues, easily repeat false slogans in group affirmation meetings at Starbucks. It’s a lot easier to label something (like a racial stereotype) than to try and understand it. So here’s an attempt at perspective.

This is not a “bailout” of Wall Street. Calling it that stokes a fire of gross misperception. The idea is to purchase distressed illiquid assets to shore up balance sheets, providing liquidity to otherwise healthy institutions. The premise is restoring trust, the foundation of all inter-bank transactions. When one bank calls another, it’s not Joe dealing with Jane, its Wachovia dealing with Bank of America. No trust, no transaction. Banks, like turtles, withdraw into protective shells. Saying, “No,” can’t hurt.

“No” then expands to include all transactions. Everything becomes suspect. All credit products are restricted, including those for businesses, as well as consumers. Since credit is the lifeblood of our economic system, routinely employed for business expenses (e.g. payrolls) and consumer purchases, its absence results in oxygen deprivation and slower economic activity; in short, recession.

Who pays in a recession? Only Main Street; having a job and taking care of the family are the first priorities. In that context, who cares about the Wall Street executive? But here’s another factoid: Some 30,000-plus bank employees (including some highly paid executives) have lost their jobs and life savings. Almost all of them are from Main Street.