Should the government be bailing out anyone in the subprime mess?

AP

"Greenspan created this mess by going to the extreme by lowering over night rates to 1% a few years ago! Banks and homebuyers made choices about these loans and they should not be bailed out! As my dad told me, 'you make your bed, you lay in it!'"
-- Dan B., Washington

"Absolutely not! Banks and mortgage brokers made money hand over fist and homebuyers bought homes they knew they could not afford.
-- PJ, New Jersey

"Can I make a bad stock trade and get bailed out by the government? Can I buy a McMansion and get bailed out by the government?"
-- Jack P., New York

"I'd prefer to see the Fed cut rates rather than have the government directly bail out anyone."
-- Jim L., Missouri

"Absolutely not! If lenders are dumb enough to make those loans, they should suffer the consequences and we (the taxpayers) should not be the ones to pay."
-- Clayton L, California

"No! This is a problem generated by market actions and it should be solved by the market. Keep the Government out of the market."
-- Reagan G., Texas

"No. Each contract was signed on case-by-case basis. The risks were disclosed to the individual and assumed by the companies involved. Unless the process was proven to be against any laws or done with intent to defraud or mislead, the government should take no action."
-- F.K.

More comments...

"Hell, no! Both the lenders and the borrowers are adults. Let them reap what they have sown."
-- Mike B.

"I'm all for a government bail out...as long as the government bails me out of the $5,000 I lost in Vegas, my student loan payments and the alimony I've been ordered to pay to my lovely ex-wife!"
-- Andy F., New York

"Definitely no bail out. The companies that make these loans should be horsewhipped and run out of business. The public companies that assume these loans should fire all the executives from the CEO down to the intermediate manager. No one should be able to buy a house unless they can put ten percent down."
-- Rich G.

"The only people who make the big bucks are the executives of these lending companies who probably have absconded with all the funds they did not deserve. Why reward them further by bailing the companies out? No money down, interest only? No doc loans? Why are there no standards/laws regarding predatory lending? Let the high risk investors live with their dieing investments in their support of these companies. Why is the public required to bail out private citizens?"
-- Jerry, Florida

"No! They reap the rewards when things are good, then turn to the government for a bail-out."
-- Bill H., New Jersey

"No, do not bail them out. They would not share their profits if business went good! We should not bail them out with our tax money. Bad business decisions mean bad results."
-- Corey D., Maryland

"I do not think the government should bail them out. I think the firms, their top executives and the borrowers should be held accountable for the deals they made."
-- Steve L.

More comments...

"A big no on this one. Let the subprime market shake itself out and let some of those mortgage companies who charge homeowners outlandish rates to go bankrupt. The government should only bail out an industry or sector if it's in real serious trouble. The mortgage lenders who take advantage of homeowners don't deserve to be bailed out at all."
-- Chuck H., Mississippi

"The lending market would take care of itself in a free market environment. The Fed was imprudent to lower rates as much as they did which opened the door for irresponsible lenders and unqualified borrowers. Since we are at their mercy, the best thing Bernanke and the fed board could do is drop the rate a half point on Tuesday if those well-fed Fed board members have any hearts left in them. That would save a lot of personal troubles and suffering nationwide. The Government bailing out the mortgage industry is just more unilateral and unfair wealth redistribution at taxpayers expense. I say no way."
-- Scott, Minnesota

"The government is the reason we have the subprime mess in the first place. Of course we should not let them intervene now. If they had not run amok with so many plans allowing unqualified or poorly qualified borrowers in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess now."
-- Tom, Hawaii

"No, the government should not bail them out. Did the government bail out all the carpenters, plumbers, tillers, welders that the illegal immigrants put out of work? No, no one on Wall Street cared. So I think the Bear sterns employees should have their salaries cut and give back their bonuses. The rest of us should not have to pay to bail them out."
-- Nancy M., Texas