We asked for reader's thoughts on two things yesterday: credit problems and the bailout. And your response was overwhelming.
The inbox is packed full.
On the bailout question ... readers are overwhelming against it. By at least a 2-1 margin.
Why should we bail out the rich people or the idiots taking out mortgages they can't afford? — Frenchy
And there is a lot of anger.
It's a sham designed to cover up for Wall Street fat cats and keep them in their high-paying jobs.— Bea
But not everyone is "anti" the bailout.
This bailout will help the middle class immensely. The pain the average family will feel without it will be considerable. Unfortunately, folks just don't seem to grasp the situation and they think by not doing this we will somehow hurt the big fish.— Marc
And there is anger on this side of the argument too.
After reading more comments from CNBC "readers" regarding the Wall Street rescue/bailout, am I the only one that's noticed that most of them boil down to "I hate rich people"? They may be the most vocal of the pro-con debate, but they seem to be the least informed as well. This is hardly "rich vs. poor", people. — Chris
And the bailout discussion seeped over into the credit discussion. Most people, on a personal level, aren't seeing any problems. Loads of folks told us they got a new credit card, car loan, boat loan, or mortgage with no problems ... except maybe a little extra paperwork.
Just took out a 48 month lease on a 2009 Porsche 911. No problem whatsoever. — Marie
And this makes them doubt the need for a bailout even more.
I also tried to apply for a mortgage online for $380,000 to flip a house and I got plenty of both prime and subprime offers. This shortage of credit hysteria seems overblown to me.— Alan
But there was a significant portion with a different stories: Personal credit denied or business loans turned down.
Applied for a Super Jumbo Loan with a 735 Mid FICO score, 200K in liquid Assets, 500k Annual Income. 1 Million Net worth and I was turned down.— Eddie
I had GMAC freeze my home equity line of credit. My school loans haven't come through yet. — David
While some folks are always going to get turned down for credit, these folks claimed to have good credit scores. So these stories, while fewer in number, could be a disturbing sign.
Thanks to all who wrote in.
And by the way, I'm glad some of you enjoyed my "It's a Wonderful Bailout" analogy.
But what's wrong with letting the market correct itself, barring the appearance of any angels? What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. Just ask Goldman Sachs.— Perk
Every time a bell rings a CEO gets his golden parachute.— Gareth
___________________
