When the going gets tough

NOTHING inspires stupidity like stupidity. The US Congress has just approved of a whopping, unprecedented $700 billion bailout plan for troubled American financial institutions. The plan has been met by much criticism, both within the US and without. But from certain quarters within Pakistan, it seems to have earned admiration. By the folks at the Karachi Stock Exchange, for instance. The nation's leading bourse has requested the government to set up a Rs 20 billion market support fund to bear the brunt of any losses that the investors will incur when the KSE abolishes the floor-price mechanism as per the directives of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. This was an idea we had earlier on, the KSE would say. But it certainly does seem to be inspired.