Sec. Paulson's plan calls for there to be no oversight by courts or Congress. Seeing as how the Treasury Secretary will be spending 700 billion dollars that, strictly speaking, the country doesn't even have, I think I would want someone to be able to say "hey, wait a minute," should something funny be going on.

Also, why isn't this going to be like the S&L bailout, when the US took over the failed companies' assets, and sold them? There is probably a reason, but I don't know what it is.

I think the lawyer quoted in the article is a dirtbag who is drooling at the prospect of "cashing in" as he pursues lawsuits against the "fraudulant brokers and lenders". They are no more responsible than the individuals who signed thier names to loans that they had no business entering. In the end, the only innocent victims here are the fiscally responsible. The bailout is a travesty, and an insult to those who have saved and spent only within their respective limits. The banks need to fail. The fiscally irresponsible on ALL sides need to fail. We all need to learn from our mistakes. And the lawyer needs to go climb under a rock.

This begs the question, who is more despicable: the lenders and speculators who fueled this crisis or the lawyers who bottom feed on it.

We are experiencing a market correction. The correction of the 80's saw the market drop as much as it has in the last 14 months in ONE day, and we're talking about a $700 billion bailout? No thanks. Right now home prices need to drop another 29% to correct to a 40-year trend. What the government is really saying is, "we screwed up by over-deregulation in the late 1990's, but we want to get re-elected so we'll 'bail you out' if you re-elect us." which can also be read "we'll make your kids pay for this mess if you re-elect us." The market still needs to drop, and the government wants to step in before it can fully correct. Keep in mind that the government doesn't actually have $700 billion to sink into this... basically they are adding it to the debt. In other words... our government is buying a poor investment... ON MARGIN... and hoping it can sell it back at a decent rate in the future. Here's what I see in my future. I'm part of the generation that saw inflation in education run 4x that of energy prices, and 2x heath care costs. Now students are saddled with student loan debt, and universities are working to "correct" these high prices, which means starting salaries can decrease, which means eventually I'll be paid less, while having paid more for my education. Further, with the baby-boomers retiring, SS & Medicare will be drained quickly, and taxes will have to be increased. Slowly but surely inflation will cause the alternative minimum tax to reach my income level, and I'll be taxed even more. I'll pay record amounts for health care costs for my whole life, just to have my medicare benefits decrease at retirement because the system is out of money. I'll get $.76 on the dollar (this is what the government is telling us people... maybe you should take their word for it) back from Social Security, and since I'll have made less money and been taxed more I'll have a smaller nest egg to improve my standard of living at retirement. In other words I'll live my whole life with a significantly lower standard of living because of the greed of the previous generation. Forget that, I'm moving to a country that gets socialism right, like the U.K.! At least there I'll get free health care, and a government pension at retirement. The United States got socialism wrong... rob from the poor, and give to the rich... oops, that wasn't right was it?! I pray this bailout doesn't come to pass. By the by, I'm a very successful business owner that has thrived in our previously capitalistic society... I'll take my talent and money elsewhere if the government wants to bailout the foolish.

Anon:

More despicable. The media!

Few people know much about anything. But they watch TV and read the local paper. If people are getting rich and have smiles on their faces, why not?

If any one is to blame it should be the gateway to information. They had it before you and I did. Greenspan and the early blogers did. The media ignored it, the media companies (like those who own the Sun) made money, the late comers especially lost out.

Don't forget the media. Most people wouldn't have thought to buy, like me or become a Real Estate Agent, if it wasn't for the 24/7 programming of happy smiling faces.

Yes, lending was easy and people were not responsible.

The media is making money off the front end and trying to off the back end.

What about the media?

If there were no 24/7 channels on making money off of real estate, smiling faces and corperate owned media conglomerates depicting the best, even while bloggers and Greenspan said this can't be sustained, would this have happened?

Most people don't know the ends and outs of the economy, or real estate investing. But you can't help to see the channels dedicated to it, or the award winning reporting. I was a 30 something, that didn't care about real estate, but in a year and half bought 3 houses, and became a real estate agent.

How can you leave the media effect out?

Dunn,

I'm frightened that you and I agree on something. But I'm not so sure that you (and your ilk) are without blame in this fiasco!

"If you complain once more, you will meet an army of me." -Bjork

I agree completely with this lawyer. What do I care if lawyers make money prosecuting criminals? The fact some of the comments make this sound evil is just bizarre to me. He's not talking about prosecuting the single mother of three who lost her job and got foreclosed on and now owes income taxes on the forgiven loan. He's talking about the investors who knowingly committed fraud on signed legal documents and the loan officers who conspired and also committed fraud. There were laws in place to prevent this and they broke them.

And, the obvious reason we are in this situation is because of way too many bad loans made to people who had little or no skin in the game and thus nothing to lose. Blaming real estate agents, lawyers, home builders, the media, or any other player that was not directly pumping money into the system is just silly. Home builders are going to build homes to meet demand. It's not their fault if its fake demand. Their shareholders don't care. When the demand goes away they stop building, which they have. Real estate agents are going to help people buy houses. It's their job. Are they supposed to turn away business because they think the broader economy might be headed for a recession? No. Another agent would just come and take the business from them.

So, while the media, real estate agents, settlement attorneys, home builders, Home Depot, HGTV, and whoever else benefited from the situation, they hardly created it. If the money (extreme leverage) had not been there, then the demand and transaction volume would not have increased so rapidly as it did and they would never have benefited so much. And, we also wouldn't be in this mess.

Dunn - do you resent your becoming a realtor, and blame media for that?

Well, I can tell you I noticed recently that many realtors have marvelous comic talents. Maybe that could be a way for some?

Just a simple and emphatic NO to the bailout. Corrections will happen, and they will be painful. if the first several hundred billion dollars in bailouts (economic stimulus, bear sterns, aig, etc...) haven't reversed the tide, what makes them think that another 700 billion is going to help when the fundamental market is overvalued far more than that?

Why can't the CEO's of the financial institutions involved be docked some of their pay or not get their huge bonuses this year?

Lots of economic experts say the bailout is necessary. Ok, if we take their word for it... some of the money should come from the heads of the companies that messed up. I have no idea how much money that would be, but probably a significant chunk of change, instead of putting all of the burden on taxpayers.

I totally agree with the idea of the government taking some of the money from the CEO's huge salaries, commissions and bonuses, that it would be a substantial amount to help the financial situation and it would take the burden off of hard working Americans like myself. Why should middle class and low income families pay for the mistakes of others. We have to learn from our bad decisions, what makes them any different. I say no to the bailout.