U.S. lawmakers are being given little time to think about either the jaw dropping price or the ramifications of the government’s bailout plan aimed at dealing with the worst financial crisis this nation has had since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“We must act now,” says President Bush.  And, he all but said, we must do it his way.

No one really knows how much this scheme will end up costing American taxpayers, but one reporter on ABC News said probably fewer than one trillion dollars.  Now, that’s a relief.

The administration argues that the alternative to this enormous bailout would be far worse, perhaps a meltdown of the entire U.S. financial system. Already, banks had basically turned off the spigot of credit that greases our consumer driven economy which has had an impact not only here but overseas as well.

But lawmakers are being asked to act with uncommon and probably unwise speed to come up with the requisite legislation needed to permit the government to use our tax dollars to buy up troubled mortgages and mortgage backed securities from banks and  other financial institutions.

It is hard to argue with predictions of pending catastrophic doom in the event a bailout is not approved by Congress: the cascading and dizzying events of the past few weeks are proof of that. The government, meaning taxpayers, has already taken control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as insurance giant American International Group.

But considering the profound changes such an enormous bailout plan will have on the U.S. economy for years, maybe even generations, to come, surely lawmakers should exercise more rather than less caution in arriving at some solution?

Where is the rescue package for beleaguered home owners who would still be unable to pay their mortgages? Where is the helping hand for the out of work American who cannot find a job? Is it only big banks that deserve a chance for a fresh start?

It may very well be that a bailout of such historic proportions is the best medicine for what ails us, and yet, given the government’s track record, how could one not be suspicious that Congress is being railroaded into adopting a plan that is basically welfare for the rich?

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