Puppets Talk Current Events

Financial Annalist Puppet (F): Yes?

Doggy (D): So what is this bailout thing?

F: Oh well the financial institutions made too many risky loans (with bad terms for the borrowers, which made things worse) and so they are collapsing due to a low loan re-payment rate. On top of that insurance companies that insured the loans are having problems because of the high default rate.

D: So what does the bailout plan do?

F: Well, they are still ironing it out, but it seems that the institutions want the government to buy their bad debts, and take the risk from them, so that they can keep their businesses operating.

D: But what about the people who have mortgages they can’t pay?

F: In the government’s (and the big business’s) theory by saving these institutions they can save the economy from collapsing, and keep people from losing their jobs. This doesn’t solve the bad mortgages problem though. It still means that people have ridiculous mortgages at outrageous terms. I think that if the government, instead of bailing out the huge companies that caused this mess, went in and regulated the mortgages better, and created new, fixed terms for people it would actually allow more people to keep their homes. Especially if the government also put more public money and effort into public works projects that would benefit everybody. You know… hospitals, schools, roads, affordable higher education, green energy, and the arts: things that actually create jobs.

D: That sounds like a much better use of 700 billion dollars. A long-term use!
F: Wouldn’t that be nice.

(sounds ideas: News sounds, bus sounds, animal sounds, something unsettling, but hopeful.)