Don't get me started. WHY? I have four kids crammed into this house since it's what we can afford right now. - Cyndy

Email their producers. That's really irresponsible for CNBC to try to push. - Patricia

And those of us who can afford our mortgages (because we didn't buy more than we could afford) will get hit with a depreciated dollar and higher interest rates. - Jim McCusker

+1 for @Patricia send complaints, both to CNBC and your representatives. I'm all for letting both the previous home owners and their failing lenders go down. - xero

So instead we bail out the poor banks who overlent them the money? Where's the moral there? - Aaron Krug

I say if we use taxpayer money to help anyone, it should be the taxpayers.. - Aaron Krug

Morals have nothing to do with it. Look at history. Look at what happened in Sweden. They tried to wait and let the companies with bad debt fail, and they ended up with 50% inflation and a deep recession. Their solution was a lot like the current bailout plan put forth by Dodd: http://www.time.com/time... - Jason Carreira

Jason so if we are going to help the companies out, where is the cynicism coming from about helping out the individuals too? If we're going to practice socialism shouldn't it be socialism for everyone? - Aaron Krug

Also Allen, as far as lessons for your kids, I think teaching them that helping people out even when they should have helped themselves and didn't is a good one. Its about what you do as a person, not what they do. - Aaron Krug

I don't particularly want to help out any of them, but in terms of enlightened self interest we need to help out the banks. In doing so, though, we need to take a pound of flesh in equity so that they feel the pain and we can recoup at least some of the investment. - Jason Carreira

Jason agreed that we need to help the banks out, but that's not what you were saying. You make it seem like it should be one or the other (banks or individuals), and I'm saying it should be both or neither. I'm not against socialism, I'm against selective socialism that benefits big business made by people who refuse to even cap CEO salary. - Aaron Krug

WTF!?!? No, no, no! I could have bought a place and had a back yard for my now four year old daughter. But I knew it was a bad financial decision. The income to home price ratio is *SO* out of whack. If *ANY* homeowner gets taxpayer money I will want my part too. Why should I be penalized for making the right decision? How is this American? It's called personal responsibility. What, do I get my money back from the bad stock tip? Can I get my money back from betting Patriots on the Super Bowl. Sorry. No Dice - AJ Kohn

CNBC Feedback link: https://register.cnbc.com/email... - AJ Kohn

AJ I am with you there, my family and I live in a condo instead of taking any one of the several loans that were offered to me during the lending heyday and getting a house, because my wife and I knew we couldn't afford it. What I am saying is that I don't like either situation, but using your logic shouldn't we let the banks fail too? Why do they get to benefit from this selective socialism? They made bad choices, its called fiscal responsibility. Why are we only bailing them out? - Aaron Krug

No, if we let the banks fail it hurts everyone as we'll fall into a recession. We need to help the banks, but make them pay for that help in equity. Make them feel the pain, but help them stay in business. - Jason Carreira

@Aaron: I'm not for a large scale bailout of banks. I'm for a small scale rescue when the time is right. I don't think it's now. I'd prefer to see the strong take over the weak (JPMorgan > WaMu) and have the government jump in if the natural market correction closes credit completely. If we do anything now it should be small, an effort to buffer/hedge that potential without fully interfering with the correction. - AJ Kohn

NOT ONE EXEC gets a severance! - Cyndy

Jason, I agree that we should let them feel the pain but help them stay in business. Our 'brightest minds' are busy cooking up a plan to do just that as we speak; can we do the same thing for the individuals then? I admit I am not wise enough to see a way to do it, but couldn't we have them feel the pain but help them stay solvent? - Aaron Krug

AJ I completely agree with you, and hope that our leaders will as well. $700b is not a check I want to have to cover. - Aaron Krug

Cyndy let's hope that you are right and it stays that way. - Aaron Krug

@Jason: +1! - AJ Kohn

Anyone who thinks that this will end up costing anything less than $2 Trillion is as insane as the bailout itself. - Joe Perrin

How much would a 5 year recession cost us? 5 Trillion? More? - Jason Carreira

@Jason: I'm glad you added "overpriced" to your statement above, since the importance of the auto industry to the American economy in the 20th century cannot be overstated. - Steve Lowe

Jason K i couldn't agree with you more on that point. When did it become commonplace to borrow and buy instead of to save and buy? Jason C what is the cost of bailing out the banks and continuing to do business in exactly the same way as before, only to set ourselves up for another situation exactly the same as this? Far more than a 5 trillion recession. - Aaron Krug

Hi, Mr. Government! Thanks for dropping by house (unannounced) and bailing me out. I really didn't feel like paying my bills (on things I knew I couldn't afford before I bought them) for the last 10 years. So give me a minute while I put on a shirt so I can make sure you spell my last name correctly on that check. -- This would NEVER happen in a million years. Apparently I have to be a greedy scumbag on Wall Street for the government to pay off my 4th yacht and my country club memberships. - Joe Perrin

What set us up for this problem was not the concept of mortgages, it was the deregulation of markets which allowed unsound debt to be spread across the whole industry. If it had been localized with the mortgage companies giving out these horrible mortgages, it would have hit 2-3 years ago and been a relatively minor blip that didn't crush Wall Street. It was only because they could securitize and sell this bad paper that it became EVERYONE's problem. - Jason Carreira

Blame Phil Gramm for making sure there would be no regulation of the credit swap markets, which grew to be 3x bigger than the stock market based on bad paper being passed around and every real dollar of value being leveraged 30x. - Jason Carreira

Jason C. I don't think you are getting it. I don't want to blame anyone. If we play the blame game we can add the greedy businesses that took advantage of Gramm's idiocy, then the greedy companies that shove advertising down consumer's throats, then the greedy consumers who bought more than they could pay for, then back to the government who didn't step in at any point in that chain of greed. Blaming gets us nowhere. - Aaron Krug

All I'm saying is if we're going to bail out anyone (big business) we should bail out everyone (individuals). There is no reason that only businesses should benefit from the taxpayer money we all paid (and will continue to pay for a long time to come). If we don't want to do that then we should let the individuals and the banks go bankrupt together and take a recession that we set ourselves up for in the first place. - Aaron Krug

Jason C: I don't think more regulation (which will just be ignored or under enforced) is the answer. People being smart and educating themselves before making the choice to get into a business transaction. It's called using common sense. Why don't people and businesses act with responsibility? Because both are willing to take the other for a ride. Blame falls squarely on people not making smart choices. How do you plan to regulate that? - Joe Perrin

Joe, I've got an idea, and I think you, AJ, and even Allen Stern who started this string (and has since been nowhere to be found) can see the value here. Why not just let these businesses and people go bankrupt and out of business for making the decisions that they chose to. Its like I said in the beginning, I think it should be both or neither, and I can see the pros and cons of both of those routes. But one or the other is selective socialism and solves nothing. - Aaron Krug

People that take on loans that won't start paying off any part the principal for 4 YEARS! I don't have any sympathy. But now that this has come to a head I'm being punished for being responsible. I get to literally pay for someone who is laughing at me for doing so. I'm outraged!!! - Joe Perrin

And that's why I'm not for bailing out people who took out stupid mortgages on properties they can't afford. We HAVE to bail out the banks. Letting it play out is what they tried in Sweden before their inflation shot up to 50% and they went into a deep recession. From a purely selfish standpoint, I don't think any of us want that. The best answer is the one Dodd has recommended: No severance for execs, and we'll bail out your bank, but we're taking equity in return and it's going to hurt. - Jason Carreira

I will admit that one thing I find mildly amusing about this is that earlier when the only people that were affected were consumers (read:citizens) we called it 'the housing crisis' and there was no talk of any kind of bailout or anything like that (unless you count that $600 I got from Uncle Sam), but now that the situation has come home to roost for big business there is such an uproar that John McCain said he can't even keep campaigning (which he did anyway). Shows who my govt cares about. - Aaron Krug

Jason I see the merit in Dodd's plan, my problem is where the equity goes. My tax dollars are going to bail out this bank and the govt gets equity, but what do they use that for? Their own agenda. Its not like when they get the equity they're giving me the money back. The only outfit that ends up benefiting is the govt., and i give them enough of my paycheck already. - Aaron Krug

If they do it like the Swedes did it, then when the banks are back on their feet they sell the equity (which would be non-voting equity, btw) and recoup the money, which goes back into the treasury (or possibly pays off the treasury notes we'll have to issue to pay for this plan, most likely to China). - Jason Carreira

Jason, so at this point I'm supposed to not only be in favor of a plan but finance it as well so that my govt. and China can make money, and that's all based on the fact that I'm trusting my govt to do the right thing? Are you kidding? Our govt wouldn't even recognize the right thing, much less pick it by default. Can you see why I'm not buying this? - Aaron Krug

While they are at it maybe the government is willing to buymyshitpile.com - Joe Perrin

Sure, let's just let the economy slide into another great depression. Super plan. - Jason Carreira

Jason, so because there are no good ideas out there we should pick a bad one? Also a super plan. - Aaron Krug

A depression is not going to happen. How do I know? Because the government learned from the last one that all they have to do is print more money. And they are doing just that. - Joe Perrin

@Joe You do realize that causes inflation which only speeds up the downward spiral, right? - Jason Carreira

@Aaron Depends on what you consider a good idea. I'll take the idea that's ALREADY BEEN PROVEN TO WORK IN SWEDEN. But then I'm pragmatic like that. - Jason Carreira

Jason, I'm not implying that you are not pragmatic, I'm implying that my govt. is not, something which they've proven at nearly every opportunity as of late. If you were in charge I'm certain that we would do it exactly as Sweden did, however you are not. Also, you accidentally hit caps lock there at the end of the sentence. Make sure you turn it off before signing into anything, passwords don't usually work like that. - Aaron Krug

Also, we've already gone over the flaws with the plan you are promoting, at this point you're really just repeating yourself. We can talk about how your plan will only make my govt and the Chinese govt money and we will be the ones giving it to them again, or you could just read what is already written above. - Aaron Krug

Why are you viewing this as a money making situation? This is a "Preventing another Great Depression" situation. Just letting it play out is not an option, as history shows what will happen. Dodd's plan, that had wide support in the Senate before McCain decided to stick his nose in, is very similar in structure to what the Swedes did, so what's the problem? - Jason Carreira

The problem, as stated throughout, is that we are being asked to bail out companies who created their own problems. My concern is that by doing so we are practicing selective socialism that benefits only big business. My contention is that we should not bail out the businesses and leave the individuals high and dry. This could be done in conjunction with your precious plan btw. Fix that for me and I will be happy with the knowledge that I am paying to fix societal ills. - Aaron Krug

I have no desire to only help big business. If we're going to help, as you say we have to, then we should help everyone involved. This isn't even going into the fact that your plan hinges on assuming that our govt is going to do the right thing at every turn. - Aaron Krug

How do you help the people who bought a $2 million house on a $50 K / year salary? You don't. That would be punishing the people who DIDN'T buy the house they couldn't afford. Obama's been pushing for help getting those people refinanced, but if the numbers don't add up, what can you do? They need to get out and find something they can actually afford. Too many people thought they could get something for nothing, and I don't think we should reward that. - Jason Carreira

Jason I am completely willing to live with that. However in that case we should use the same logic with businesses, as I have stated before. The numbers aren't adding up for them, so we are just buying their unwanted assets at what they value them at, which is why they couldn't sell them in the first place, because they overvalued. Why are we rewarding that? Also, just to point out again, I told you the exact same thing twice already in this thread. - Aaron Krug

If you're willing to bite the bullet and help businesses that don't deserve it, then why are you so dead set against doing the same thing for the individuals involved? - Aaron Krug