The bailout bill isn’t exactly working wonders, but one longtime Wall Street critic still think it was a necessary first step:

When millions were cheering on the House of Representatives last week for initially saying no to the Wall Street bailout plan, Doug Henwood was not among them. The founder of Left Business Observer, and whose classic book “Wall Street” argued that the stock market was at best useless and at worst dangerous, Henwood nonetheless watched in dismay as fellow lefties from Rep. Dennis Kucinich to the antiwar group Code Pink argued for rejecting the bill.

Henwood isn’t crazy about the bailout plan, even after Congress trimmed some of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s most grandiose power grabs. But, he says, that’s not the point… [read more]