This article overlooks a key point. That $700 billion was not Henry Paulson's money, nor President Bush's money, nor Congress's money. It was the money of the American people, who had made it clear they were massively opposed to its being spent in this way. Congress did the only defensible thing.

Robert Firth, Singapore,

Dim comments from 'Main Street'. This toxic debt is mortgage defaulting from Stockton to downtown Detroit.

Big banks shouldn't have made credit easy, Greenspan shouldn't have kept interest rates low after 9/11 and Clinton shouldn't have passed the CRA bill.

But we need the rescue now.

J H Holloway, London, UK

What is a job when you have already lost your country?

JJ, Wellesley, MA, USA

if people have narrow minded attitude to let wall street go to hell then the financal system will cease up, companies national and multi national will not be able to raise cash and will fill for bancrupcy, millions unemployed and losing their homes - the people will suffer more than wall street...

c alum kirkland, glasgow, united kingdom

From the comments here and on US websites, it appears that the ordinary US citizen is against this. I am now afraid they are headed for a depression, which I regret deeply. However Europe now needs to find its own solution. A central clearing party for EU inter-bank lending would be a start.

Andrew Piercy, London, UK

I get the impression that bulk of us down here at the bottom of the food chain are resigned to the fact that the US economy is collapsing and it will have difficult - if not catastrophic - implications for us, but let the system collapse. It's the cost of having a (relatively) free economy.

Michael Cyr, Charlotte, USA

We in America are going to have a serious recession in any event. How squandering an additional trillion dollars on the Fat Cat Titans of Wall Street, will mitigate the recessions' effects, is beyond me. Frankly, Wall Street can go to Hell... it will just be joining the rest of middle America.

Dave H, Alexandria VA, USA

Japan had a similar credit crunch in 1991 which sharply sent their economy into 11 years of recession until 2002, with huge amount of job losses and absolute misery for the average worker through out the whole decade. Essentially the whole economy froze with bad debts. This bailout is a MUST.

Takeshi, London, Great Britain

Warren Buffett is said to have written $billions of put options, i.e. stands to lose a fortune if the rescue plan fails and markets fall. If that is true, his recommendation should be regarded with suspicion, Katherine.

Cyril Berkeley, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Payday has finally come to the greedy Wall Streeters who have been getting away with financial murder for years. Let them all fall! Sure Mainstreet will suffer, but so what? We're the ones who have been suffering all along anyway. Why should we care? We're already hurting. Let them suffer too

Mike, Hoosick Falls, USA

As a US citizen, I see a president who lied us into war - whose energy policy has given us the highest gas prices combined with the highest profits ever for oil companies - now asking us to spend nearly a trillion US dollars to socialize Wall Street. He squandered our trust and now we all pay.

Anne Ward, Libertyville, United States

RBS, AIG, the UAE, Tata, et al are NOT Main St! The millions who lose jobs will be those who earn their living outsourcing America.

The bailout was about bankrupting the US, hedged by foreign and corporate elites. We demand investigations and lawsuits!

Marie, Boston, MA US

This is a sad day. All because of some ill-informed, uneducated, "leaders" in Congress. When someone in Congress, voting on the health of America's and the global economy, votes down a plan defined by learned individuals and recommended by no less than Warren Buffett they need to be replaced!!

Katherine, Atlanta, Georgia,