This week's poll asked what you think about the Federal Reserve's efforts to lower mortgage rates by purchasing $1.2 trillion in debt from Fannie and Freddie and in mortgage-backed securities. Good idea or no? Here are the results, as of right now:

--Thirty-nine percent chose, "No, because it's only delaying the pain"

--Twenty-four percent opted for, "Yes, because I need to sell/buy/refinance a house"

--Twenty percent said, "No, because mortgage rates ought to reflect the market"

--Fifteen percent voted for, "Yes, because it will help with the recovery"

And one Wonk reader wrote in an answer: "This will further devalue the dollar and further set the stage for greater inflation." (This story points out several "early indications that that was happening.")

So: about 60-40 in favor of a thumbs down.

On a related note, I thought it would be interesting to show how much costs for a $250,000 mortgage can range depending on the interest-rate environment. Here are some different monthly payments, rounding to the nearest 10:

--$1,310 at 4.8 percent

--$1,470 at 5.8 percent

--$1,630 at 6.8 percent

--$1,800 at 7.8 percent

--$1,980 at 8.8 percent

--$2,160 at 9.8 percent

Even a change of half a percentage point (which happened between Wednesday and Thursday mornings) really does affect a borrower's bottom line. And sellers too, indirectly.