@Viper - I think you right. I was definitely not thinking about the numbers correctly. It would cost significantly more. Hmm. Well, it would be about right if it only covered the amount of money the bank/owner is losing due to the reduced value of homes. Maybe that would have been doable based on the amounts we've already spent. idk.
@mrstickball - I fully understand your logic, however, I think by letting it fall first would have been a far more negative result for the people affected and the ripple affect from that then trying to stop the gusher from happening. Obama's way GM/Chrysler still went bk and were able to reorg as needed without the loss of the entire company. Which would have been very detrimental to many other companies as well as thousands more employees that are not out of work right now.
We are funding the needed restructuring now vs waiting to see how bad it gets and then funding it. It makes more sense to do it now and potentially save thousands of jobs than do it later after too many people are on government assistance. Either way the government (i.e. us) are having to pay for a whole bowl of ish that mostly wasn't each of our direct problem. The idea is to affect as little people as possible while doing everything we can to turn around the economy.
Either way, housing prices will still fall to real levels, big corps will still reorganize and the government will still remove the bad policies and add some new ones to try and ensure this situation does not repeat. However, I strongly feel that by funding it now we are allowing far more people remain self sufficient.
Just because I told my child to stop jumping on the couch or he'll fall, doesn't mean that when he does fall I shouldn't comfort him and make it feel better. People make mistakes, unfortunately too many people are thrown into the world without proper financial sense. Buying a house you couldn't really afford once the rates jump up shouldn't mean that your punished now by having to live in your car because you lost your job as well as your house just so the the government (which is supposed to protect every citizen) can buy more F22's.
Help them out, housing prices will eventually go back up and the government will make money on the deal within 10 years.
