I’m mixed on the subject. The reason we got here in the first place was because of government forcing lenders to lend to people who they knew couldn’t pay it back.
Government caused the problem, so part of me wants to say that government should fix it. The other (smarter) part of me says that government has never fixed anything, so why trust them now.
I do believe that the government has a role in the solution to this mess, but only because there is already a role model for the insurance plan in the federal system, the FDIC (give credit where credit is due). The Federal government cannot, however, bankroll the recovery like this bailout bill proposed. The American free market is the only economic engine in the history of the world capable of dealing with this soon-to-be worldwide financial crisis. I'm not saying we'll have to bail out the world, but it is absolutely vital we show the rest of the world how to do it without resorting to government. Government can provide the framework and the infrastructure for a solution, but at all costs, including the total collapse of the stock market, we must protect the American free market engine. No matter how bad it gets, we will get out of it if we protect the free market. That means we need to find solutions that cycle money back around in our economy without going through the government first.
The FDIC is a good intermediary between private and public realms, at least as far as I understand the system. Beyond that, however, all efforts should be focused on keeping government out of this process as much as possible, excepting where regulations need to be rewritten or removed (Sarbane-Oxley, taxes, etc.).
And keep this in mind. This is a practice run for how to deal with a massive financial crisis. We need to pay close attention to learn from any victories and mistakes here; for in the coming decades we'll have to deal with Social Security.