Politics aside, there simply is no other solution than to help our sick financial institutions free up the credit markets. The alternative of letting these banks fail, while it may seem to be a satisfying comeuppance to companies that gambled and lost, will surely lead us into the black hole of a depression.

Businesses who employ many of us, will have no access to credit which will cause many to fail, and lay off their employees. This domino effect will prevent those newly uneployed people from being consumers, and merely try to survive. New cars, computers as well as other consumer products will stay in the showrooms. Companies who manufacture these products will..., well you get the picture. It is a disturbing pattern that happened in the 1930's and is not one anyone wants to repeat.

The big question is, what is the best plan to bail out Wall Street? The Government purchasing the bad debt, and negotiating better loan terms for the millions who are caught under the weight of double digit interest rates for a home that has dropped in value is one solution. This will allow many to stay in their homes, and fight through the tough times while paying taxpayers back. The downside is the question, is this something the Government can do? Giving the money to the private sector that caused the crisis to handle the job is also dicey.

There is also the question of executive compensation. Many of the institutions that failed gave enormous severance packages to the executives that caused this mess. There are no means of recapturing those dollars, but capping the compensation of the executives of any firm seeking taxpayer money seems like a no brainer.

Government intervention into the financial markets is a drastic measure, which should only be used in the most extraordinary circumstances. sadly, todays circumstances warrat these actions. lets hope our leaders do the right thing.