(Source: The Decatur Daily)
By The Decatur Daily, Ala.
Oct. 12--Most Americans ended the week feeling far less well off financially and anxious about their investments and savings.
The stock market sank to a five-year low and the Dow Jones industrial averages had their second worst one-day drop ever. People's retirement savings, in some cases, are down 50 percent.
Many people are opposed to the $700 billion government bailout of financial institutions; still they showed disappointment at Friday's market closings because the massive infusion of tax dollars had not stabilized the economy.
People who have been retired for years are inquiring about re-entering the workforce. Homeowners are frightened they may lose their homes and their jobs.
None of us, of course, has the answer to the economic problems, but most of us have ideas we think make sense.
One is for the government to spend a chunk of the $700 billion to refinance Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages into 30-year fixed loans.
That suggestion comes from former White House economist Glenn Hubbard whose strategy might address the mortgage-based securities problem from a different and more productive angle.
Americans need to see tangible help and they need to see it quickly. The government's strategy is for financial help to trickle down from the failed financial institutions and that requires time and often goes to the wrong people.
Refinancing homes at lower monthly payments and putting in place an agency to clean up the mess would give consumers greater confidence, and that is what the nation needs in large doses.
After all, the housing bubble that burst started this crisis, experts say.
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