My latest email to Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)

Do our elected representatives understand the current economic mess well enough to draft effective legislation to deal with it?
I doubt it.

This thought inspired my most recent email to New Mexico's senior Senator:

Senator Bingaman:
Before the Senate votes on the next bail-out package, would you and your Democratic colleagues be willing to invest an afternoon to become better informed regarding business, finance, and economics?

No, I'm not selling anything. I am one of your New Mexico constituents whose knowledge of business, finance, and economics can be written in big block letters on a postage stamp.

But, there are knowledgeable people out there.
One such fellow, William A. (Bill) Ackman, was on Charlie Rose today, speaking in very simple terms about the current economic and financial crisis.
Mr. Ackman is the Harvard-educated CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P.

I note that AIG executives are still taking retreats on the tax-payer's dime.
Most large businesses require annual training for their employees - including senior executives.
I suggest only that the Senate Democratic Caucus follow this example and schedule an off-site training session with Mr. Ackman or some other well-qualified expert. I suspect a 4-hour short course presented by Mr. Ackman would help you deal with the current economic crisis as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Mr. Ackman can be reached at Pershing Square Capital Management:

Phone: 212-813-3700
Fax: 212-419-2341

Corporate headquarters:

888 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019

I've no idea if Mr. Ackman would be willing to provide a 4-hour short-course for the Senate Democratic Caucus, but he did take the time to prepare a brief presentation for Secretary of Treasury Paulson (delivered electronically), so he just might be interested in helping members of Congress better understand the current crisis and his views on how to resolve it.

This is a serious suggestion!

If not Mr. Ackman, please - get a quick tutorial from somebody!

Have a nice day.