After an informal poll in The Daily’s editorial meeting Wednesday, we realized none of us knew enough about the proposed $700 billion federal economic bailout to make a solid decision about whether or not we support it.

We are pretty sure we’re not alone.

Many students haven’t even heard of the bailout. (See page 12 for details.)

The lack of knowledge among young people is frightening.

Congress’s decision at the end of this week will have an enormous impact on young people’s future, whether or not it passes.

If the bailout is approved, today’s young people are the ones who could wind up with the $700 billion bill.

If it fails, young people are the ones who will have to find ways to keep the economy from going bust for decades to come — much longer than the people who are currently voting on the bailout.

If the credit market contracts, it will be harder for students to find college loans.

Mortgages will be harder to come by as students graduate from college and start looking for houses.

Recession will make post-graduate jobs harder to come by. Inexperienced students will have to compete for entry-level jobs with professionals who have been forced lower on the corporate food chain by recession.

It’s time for the people who are going to be impacted the most to educate themselves about what the bailout is and how it will affect them.

To that end, we published information about the bailout on page 1, including the opinions of economics professors, economics students, university presidents and Oklahoma business leaders.

We hope readers will use that information to learn about what the House of Representatives will be voting on Friday and form their judgments based on information, not political affiliation.

Then, we hope readers will get in touch with their representatives and communicate their thoughts about the bailout and the economic decisions they will be living with for the next 50 years.