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Ok - thanks for the further info.

My question, then, is if a “bailout” is not instituted - rather quickly - I keep hearing “economists” say = the financial meltdown will happen - and fast = and I see this as a repeat of forcing an unneeded depression which will in effect throw every sitting Repub out of Congress because like it or not people will blame President Bush if this happens and all Repubs with him - even though we KNOW that is not what is going on.

He is not responsible for this meltdown.

So, I am asking, what is the solution? Let the bailout fail and the economy fail along with it?

The "bailout" is being portrayed as a $700 billion infusion of credit. Actually, the number is an estimate based on the number of variable rate mortgages that could end up in default over the next couple of years, and probably multiplied by a factor of 2.1 to 2.7.

What's most interesting here is that not all variable rate mortgages are infinitely variable ~ a significant percentage of them have a "cap" ~ usually 2%, where the change in any one year cannot exceed that amount.

This Fall those rates are DECLINING. I don't think anyone has tallied up the difference this makes but it could be hundreds of billions of dollars.

One of the problems in dealing with this problem is that the "best minds" are working for companies/banks that are under such severe pressure that they may go out of business. That's just the sort of thing to put those "best minds" in a state of panic ~ since they face loss of their retirement, their personal fortunes (to the extent that sort of thing is tied up in the products they manage), and their current income.

I'd suggest we might get better work out of the CPAs and rate analysts at the Postal Service ~ in fact, I know we'd get better work out of them since they'll still have jobs no matter what happens.

Wouldn't be the first time government agencies "borrowed" those guys.