What Do You Think About the Rescue?

This bill is just to big, we don't need 456 pages. See a common sense approach. We probably need to also restore the uptick rule, restrict short selling for a period of time and restrict high leverage transactions. Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps: Common Sense Plan. I. INSURANCE A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity. B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things: 1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage. a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes. b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives. 2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs. C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal. II. MARK TO MARKET A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate. B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing. III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing. B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

This is a shameful end run around the U.S. House. PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THEY CAME UP WITH A 451 PAGE BILL IN ONE (I REPEAT ONE) DAY! What would be real interesting is to know the conversation between Pelosi, REID and Paulson. Under any other circumstance, this is called CONSPIRACY. One very big prblem with this is that it is TOO IMPORTANT an issue to be decided in one day....and that does not matter which side you come down on. It is a shameful ploy...and everyone that votes for it should be held RESPONSIBLE....including Bill O'Reilly. If the world cannot take it easy for a few more days and give us time to get this right, we should not WORRY about it...we will never be able to do anything to calm them down. I not willing to pay through the nose to prop them up. Tough love is a tough message. Woody Wilson Charlotte, NC

Make available a $350 billion loan to banks that are solvent. Banks will get the money to the ones that need it and not have to bail out anyone. Reward for doing good work in a fiscal sound manner.

I WOULD MAKE THE BANKS A LOAN AT LOW INTEREST LET THEM KEEP THEIR OWN BAD PAPER. THEN THE TAX PAYERS WOULD REALIZE AT LEAST A MODEST RETURN ON THEIR MONEY.

Transfer the wealth from Wall to Main Street; use the $700,000,000,000.00 on improving infrastructure, national rail system, new energy sources and education. This should create good paying jobs and the economy will once again grow from the bottom up the way all things naturally do. Let the free market economy work…just a thought. Ron Maugeri Port Orange, Florida

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps: Common Sense Plan. I. INSURANCE A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity. B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things: 1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage. a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes. b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives. 2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs. C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal. II. MARK TO MARKET A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate. B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing. III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing. B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

Everybody agrees that the cause of the whole problem is housing. Why isn't housing on the fore front of what the solution is? I propose that Paulson and the Fed start with that and everything else thereafter. Billions have been injected into the system and nothing seems to be effective. Let's try that for a change.

Their is no bailout needed. Greed got us into this mess, now it's time to suffer the consequences, and most people need to deal with that fact. If these corporate goons ran their companies in the ground, take all their personal belongings and money, put them in a tent in Afganistan and let them figure out a way of life over there. It's just white colar terrorism anyway. Let capitolism work, close our boarders, stop importing everything from overseas, become self sufficient. Stop throwing money at it because capitolism always corrects itself, besides, why should our grandchildren suffer for our greed after all?

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps: Common Sense Plan. I. INSURANCE A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity. B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things: 1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage. a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes. b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives. 2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs. C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal. II. MARK TO MARKET A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate. B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing. III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing. B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

Fox, Congress is supporting the Wall Street Gang of "Priates" and is still not listening to the people. Take the Billions of dollars and offer it to the taxpayers with mortgages (ALL mortgages) create a low interest rate of 2.5% and back a 2% guareentee from the government for writing the loan to the consumers. This would immediately unlock all of the funds avaliable and restimulate the ecomony and get it moving forward. The companys that took the risk made millions already and they don't need the US taxpayer to bail them out. If there is a baliout it should be the US taxpayer and not the wall street pirates. Also, golden paracutes should have strict requirements and not a guareentee. keep that money in the company and give it back to the team that created the walth in the first place.

Bailout is not required Just give the economy a boost by: 1) Repealing the mark to market law passed after the Enron collapse. 2) Repeal the Capitol Gains tax If something further needs to be done then it can be addressed at that time rather than trying to solve the entire problem by throwing MY money at it. Look at like this, when I get into trouble the government doesn't come to help me out; why should my money help someone else out because they made some piss-poor business decisions.

I think each member of Congress should pay the maximum tax rate as a small measure of helping the rest of us pay for the debt.