$700 billion

$700 billion is a tremendous amount of money. The issue is complicated because the economy is complicated.

It is frustrating that businesses would speculate on the home mortgage market to engage in such a risk. Sure for awhile there were buyers who would buy the home when the mortgage owner could no longer support the mortgage payments.

But that speculation keeps growing upward and begets itsself. Houses became more expensive, the mortgages became more riskier but on the thought that if the house was sold, then the money could be recovered.

By taking over the morgages, can the government survive? We cannot sell these mortgages to some holding company on the stock market. Will the government still foreclose?

What a vicous cycle. The equity in the homes, based on a perceived value of the home, is invested in consumable goods - people bought things with the money instead of long-term investments.

Sure homeowners could stop buying consumable goods - which isn't healthy for our nations' retailers. So we are going back to being broke all over again.

The fix is temporary and arbitrary. There are deeper issues that we as a nation must take care of. $700 billion is a lot of money - we could be investing in things instead of homes. We don't have to take care of the foreigh companies that are providing the real capital, do we?

We do need jobs...so will the $700 billion go towards creating and keeping jobs? No, not really. What would happen if we invested that $700 billion in jobs? Public works? We all could use a mass transit system. It will provide jobs and income for people, who would then buy a house that they can afford, instead of speculating. They will buy goods that they need, not just what they want.