I think many lawmakers and citizens are missing the point. It is not a $700 billion blank check. It is up to $700 billion, and it is being administered by one of the smartest investment bankers ever, Henry “Hank” Paulson. Also, he is not charged with making money for Goldman Sachs or himself. He will be using his prowess to make money for the American populace. How will he do this? The same way entrepreneurs have made money since the beginning of our great nation: by buying undervalued assets, putting them into new products, cutting them into pieces or bundling them together, then selling these pieces to buyers at a profit. The problem is not whether these securities will be purchased. The real problem is by whom and for how much will they be purchased. If we let the mortgage-backed securities get cheap enough because the banks holding them go under, there will be buyers and they will make trillions of dollars. (Yes, I said trillions). The buyers will be foreign governments with long-time horizons. They will own one of the things we hold most dear: our homes and our land. I would not want them holding my mortgage because that gives them rights to help set the value of my property. Lawmakers, let’s keep our mortgage-backed securities in the hands of the U.S. government or U.S. companies. It is far from perfect, but it is the best option we have. Let’s clean up this mess and move forward.
$700 Billion Dollar Bailout?
