So here’s the key question….

Partisan political rhetoric aside, what has really happened in our nation over the past few years is that some banks have gotten greedy and lent more money to some people than they can pay back. Some of these borrowers were trying to make a quick buck on rising housing prices, some were sold a bill of goods by their lenders, and some were just ignorant about money matters. Under normal circumstances, banks would be expected to be careful not to loan money to people with poor credit or insufficient income. But bank executives got greedy – banks made lots of instant money from the fees associated with placing the loans and yet more money from the higher interest rates they charged for these loans, and that looked good on their balance sheets and justified big executive salaries.

Now the mess has come home to roost, requiring a massive government bailout that apparently will top a trillion dollars of taxpayer money by the time we are done with the Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac bailout, the AGI bailout, and now the 700 billion dollar proposal to buy up all those bad mortgages and loans.

So here is my question: if this bailout goes through, will any of the people who caused this mess in the first place be carrying any of the cost?

Are the highly-paid bank executives who pushed these loans paying anything? Are the investors who greedily bought up these higher-interest-rate loans as “securitized” packages paying anything? Are the borrowers who imprudently took on loans they couldn’t pay back paying anything? Are the Freddie Mac and Fannie May executives who bought up these loans paying anything? Are the SEC executives who allowed this to go on paying anything? Are the officials in the administration and Congress who allowed this mess to develop paying anything?

Is the president taking a pay cut in his $400,000 annual salary because of this? Are members of Congress taking a pay cut in their $169,300 salary because of this, or forgoing their annual increase (2.5% last year), or giving up any of their exceedingly generous benefits? Are either of the Presidential candidates (both members of the Congress that allowed this to happen) taking a pay cut because of this? Is SEC chairman Chris Cox taking a pay cut in his $191,300 annual salary? Is any bank executive giving back any of his/her massive salary and bonuses from recent years because of this? Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron made nearly $19.8 million in salary and bonuses in 2007. Fannie May CEO Daniel Mudd made $8.4 million in 2007-- his predecessor Franklin Raines got $52 million in bonuses as he was fired in 2004. AIG CEO Martin Sullivan has an annual income of $2.1 million. Are any of them returning any of this? Are borrowers who imprudently borrowed more than they can afford being required to sacrifice anything?

Are any of these people even going to offer a public apology?

I thought not. We the taxpayers will be the only ones who pay, in higher taxes and less government services now or in the future. The old adage “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” applies once again.