Think of it as flushing out the system

By the time this gets to your doorstep, the Senate will have already voted on a rescue plan for the ailing U.S. economy. Nevada's two senators, Harry Reid and John Ensign, will have voted in favor of it.

Good for them.

Now the bill moves to the House, where earlier the Nevada delegation split on a rescue plan. Jon Porter voted in favor, while Shelley Berkley and Dean Heller voted against. It is my hope our delegation will now pull together and support the plan.

Here's why:

Despite the supercharged rhetoric surrounding this debate, I don't think we're headed to hell in a hand basket with a brief stop at the Great Depression. But we are in a bad spot nationally with credit markets. If it is not fixed, it will exact great pain on growing markets such as Las Vegas.

Las Vegas, of course, is already coping with the recession. Tourism is significantly off, consumer spending is down and prices are up, as anyone who drives a car or buys food knows.

Of course, these are "garden variety" economic strains. Las Vegas has lived through those conditions before and can do so again.

But on top of that comes a profound dip in housing, which, I am sorry to say, remains a long way from improving. And if this the national credit crunch continues, the Las Vegas market will further contract, causing higher unemployment, more bankruptcies and far greater human suffering.

Las Vegas has already seen some of that. We have condo projects sticking out of the ground as their owners scramble to find the borrowing capacity to continue. We have casinos half built and malls half built, all waiting for a better time to continue. We'll have more of this if the credit market isn't fixed.

The sooner building and expansion projects get back on line, the better off Las Vegas will be. But without a plan of some kind to free up what ails the U.S. economy, we're in a holding pattern economically. And here's the truth our elected officials must face: If Las Vegas catches an economic cold, Nevada catches pneumonia.

Las Vegas is the breadbasket of the state. We generate the lion's share of taxes that support local and state governments. Without a vibrant Las Vegas, government in Nevada will contract.

Period.

It's in everyone's best interest for Congress to fix the problem. If Reps. Porter, Heller and Berkley will do that, Las Vegas and Nevada may find a way back to economic normalcy in relatively short order. If Congress can't find a fix, it will take much longer to flush out the system -- and that will exponentially heighten the human suffering for Nevadans.

Flush out the system. That's probably a good way to think of it. No one wants to deal with this problem, just as no one wants to fix a sewer leak. But sometimes it is best to get dirty and fix the problem before it becomes a public health issue.

Sherman Frederick (sfrederick@review journal.com) is publisher of the Review-Journal and president of Stephens Media.