Like 99.9999% of the rest of the world, I don't know the details of Wall Street's financial problems, but it sounds like it's all about home prices and loans. Well, I don't have a home. I've been renting my entire adult life, including 8 years of marriage, and guess why. We haven't been able to afford it! We've scrimped and saved this whole time to get ourselves in a position where we are now: prospective home buyers and probably now in the top 5-10% of wage earners, thanks to my wife's 5 years in grad school. So now, at the cusp of settling down and working hard for the next 40 years, we are being asked to fix America's economy with our taxes. Well, that pisses me off, and I'm going to raise hell to stop it.
Be forewarned before continuing; unless you personally were lied to by a loan agent about your rates, I have no sympathy for your troubles about your equity loans or losing a home you know you couldn't (or shouldn't) have qualified for. If you didn't have the wits or the money for a real estate lawyer to read the fine print, you screwed up. And that's not my fault. I can understand it if you had health problems (not related to lifestyle) or got laid off and found yourself with no income, but other than that...too bad. That's just life, you took a chance and lost.
I am strongly for personal accountability. I am also for taxes that pay for social programs and services for those who cannot help themselves. Need a heart transplant for a premature baby? Tax me first! Need a heart transplant due to your 2 packs a day for the past 30 years? Forget it! The choices you make in this life have consequences, and just as I would never dream of asking for unemployment compensation as long as I have a functioning body, I expect the same of you.
As I drive aroung the neighborhoods looking for homes, it is striking how many houses I see that are poorly kept, crap in the yard, 5 years overdue on a paint job, and a brand new Mustang, or SUV, or freaking Corevette in the driveway. Are you the ones that took out equity loans and cashed in to get that badass car you always wanted? If not, your priorities are still screwed up and you're not doing your or your neighbors' home values any good. Take some advice please, and get a 2002 minivan or Corolla, and clean up your yard!
Did you cash in to pay for your kids' college? Still not good. Community college and a part time job will teach your kid more than Stanford can. Home improvement loan got you down? Unless you had a hole in your roof or it was sliding down a hill, you took a gamble and lost. I'm sorry for your trouble, but that's too bad, and again, not my fault.
I have not gained a single dollar over the past 15 years that I did not work hard to earn. I lived in crappy apartments with loud neighbors and put up with it because that's all I could afford. And now, with the aiding and abetting of dipshits in Congress you got a wad of cash or a shiny house and you want my help when I finally have a chance to live my dream? Not a dime buddy. Not for you or the banks that gave you the money. That's life.