So...let's get this straight. Banks sell people bad loans they *know* them peoples probably can't afford. Then when the peoples can't afford them, the banks run out of money cause no one's paying them back. So, the Wall Street Suckas, Banker Bums, and Crummy CEO types, the one's with all the money, pull their money out of the banks cause their freaked out about losing their horde--and let's be clear--that's what happened here. It wasn't the little guys. This was the big dogs, the owner's. They could pull that much that quick. So then, when they do, and the government bails out the banks, the little guys--you know, the ones losing their homes--are left to pay for it. Talk about getting screwed both ways.

Anyway.

According to the Daily Kos:

According to Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D) (PA-11), in mid-September of 2008, the United States of America came just three hours away from the collapse of the entire economy. In a span of 2 hours, $550 billion was drawn out of money market accounts in an electronic run on the banks.

Rep. Kanjorski: "It would have been the end of our economic system and our political system as we know it."

Kanjorski's bombshell begins to detonate at roughly 2:10 into the video.

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Yowza!

In my honest opinion, I believe this whole situation could have been avoided if the banks had allowed people to readjust their mortgages to allow them to keep their homes if they were able to maintain the payments they were making before their ARMs ballooned. I had a brief stint in the mortgage industry 10 years. I never understood how this shit was not gonna hit the fan.

The power brokers in suits simply didn't care. They got greedy. So, I'm not really in favor of the bailout.

But I am in favor of Barney Frank. This was another great Barney Frank moment.

But it got me thinking, what if this bail-out was indeed done by people offering micro-loans in the amount and manner of their choosing, with a high rate of interest return. You know, like Kiva for our country.