I think that deregulation plus failure to enforce current oversight rules are largely to blame for the mortgage debacle; that corporate and individual greed (including by those persons who were buying and turning over homes for profit in the bubble years) are too; that this “I’ll get mine fast” attitude has ironically resulted in “whoops, as a taxpayer I’m my brother’s keeper whether I like it or not”; that the multimillionaire heads of AIG, Freddie, Fannie, and the other mis- mal- or even non-feasors should by by any legal means be forced to suffer loss of their gigantic unearned gains no matter what their golden parachute clauses say; that many a Joe and Jane Subprimemortgagee have to be appropriately protected (kept in their homes) by the coming legislation; that Congress should act very deliberately despite the stampeding attempts by Bernanke and Paulson. . . . . Well, I’ll pause there before getting to shortsellers, brokers, derivatives, paper chasing paper chasing paper—-.

Consider this comment, though, by a financial advisor I respect:

“The bottom line is the government will buy up shaky mortgage assets to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. This will provide liquidity to a market which desperately needs it. Although the plan is to buy up to $700 billion dollars of mortgages, this does not mean that the US taxpayers will be out $700 billion. Most of these mortgages have value and will ultimately return that value – and perhaps more – to the treasury. The main thing this action buys is time. Banks can get these assets off their books and resume more normal operations.

It should be noted that the AIG bailout is a loan – at approximately 11.5% interest. Unless AIG defaults, this will not be a loss to the government. For insuring money market funds, the government will be charging those funds a fee as well. So, while the government is taking drastic steps to resolve these problems, it is not just giving money away, but in many instances, treating it as an investment.”

Yes, I say; true–though it could prove to be a bad one, no?

No, we can’t afford another Republican pres.–esp this 72-yr-old one, who has had four bouts w. cancer, and now has a narrow-minded and ignorant veep as backup. Haskell

Tim Ramsey