Congress extends jobless benefits, stocks sink

[Terri]

By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press
November 21, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Jarred by new jobless alarms, Congress raced to approve legislation Thursday to keep unemployment checks flowing through the December holidays and into the new year for a million or more laid-off Americans whose benefits are running out.

The economic picture was only getting worse, if Wall Street was any indication. The Dow Jones industrials dropped more than 400 points for a second straight day, reaching the lowest level in more than five years, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell below lows established six years ago.

The Senate's vote followed Thursday's government report that laid-off workers' new claims for jobless aid had reached a 16-year high and the number of Americans searching for work had surged past 10 million.

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[Cynical Pete]

Now I am really confused. I thought the $700 billion bailout was supposed to fix the economy.
Instead, things have gone from bad to worse, then from worse to worser.