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Across the country the $700 billion bailout has been a tough pill for taxpayers to swallow. We spoke with Utahns this evening about the latest bailout developments. Believe it or not, there were actually a handful of people we spoke to off camera who said they either didn't know anything about the bailout or didn't care.
Those who are up-to-date are very concerned about how their tax dollars will be spent. Joe Solomon said, "What we're not happy about, obviously, is the burden on taxpayers."
The burden is $700 billion for a rescue plan some are calling the most ambitious since the Great Depression.
Another man we spoke with, David Kuhn, said, "I don't think anybody's happy with it. I don't know how anybody particularly could be happy with it."
People we talked to in Salt Lake City share the same concerns as much of the country, asking simple yet critical questions about everything from the future of housing to their investments.
Kerry Solomon said, "And that we don't repeat the mistake. I think we mentioned it's not something that's been new to us. Unfortunately, no one was giving it the right amount of attention."
While for some it may be too little, too late. That attention has been given in the form of a crash course on Capitol Hill.
Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, who's on the bailout conference committee, said, "The downside of not doing this is such a catastrophe for our nation we don't even want to think about it."
Democrat Rep. Barney Frank, with the House Financial Services Committee, said, "It's not a bill then any one of us would have written, it's a much better bill than we got, it's not as good as it should be in some ways."
The new compromised plan could be ready for a House vote as early as tomorrow. If approved, the bill would give the government $250 billion immediately, another $100 billion at the president's request, and the other $350 billion would come under separate certification.
David Kuhn said, "A little more regulation previous to this might have avoided the whole problem in the first place."
People we talked to appreciate the immediate action by lawmakers but hope a forced decision won't create more problems down the road.
Another man we spoke with, Joe Solomon, said, "I'd much rather see another six months dedicated to actually figuring a solution out and not just kind of a quick throw down to appease both government and the people itself."
Meanwhile, Utah is already feeling the effects of a tightening economy. State lawmakers just approved almost $300 million in budget cuts.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com
