What does it feel like? Credit score 690's and above !

Isn't it frustrating that those of us who have "excellent" credit ratings, and continuously pay all of our bills on time, acting fiscally responsible month after month, year after year, get no kind of relief whatsoever when there is a financial crisis in our capital markets. Keeping in mind that we as individual, credit worthy contributors had absolutely no hand in creating the crisis. Instead we get strained, even further

Has anyone ever thought about the simple concept of rewarding good behavior to generate more good behavior...rather than focusing on the negative, with reactive punishment or "adjustment" that doesn't change long term bad behavior. Think about the impact on credit risk, if we instituted a 2% decrease in your interest rate on a commercial or home loan if you paid on time every month for 10 years...Yes the bank would make less of a margin on your loan over the life of the loan, but more loans would be active and healthy, which lowers the overall risk that the bank/government has to carry, and if amortized over the life of the loan would only result in a marginal loss of margin. Hello - many businesses across a variety of categories, weather profit margin shifts much more drastic than "marginal" in a given quarter....Don't you think the average consumer or business owner would consider this to be a significant financial gain, and thus try hard to achieve it? The only relief a good credit rating receives today is the "ability" to get a loan at an advantageous rate. This is reasonable, but why not continue to recognize that stability with ongoing "financial perks" so that it further perpetuates on time credit payments.

Unfortunately, our financial health is getting dangerously close to collapse, so some kind of a taxpayer sponsored bailout was necessary, but instead of using the $700-$840 billion to write down bad debt, that the fiscally responsible taxpayer will have to pay back, why don't we use it to reduce principals in home loans across the board, so that even those that are paying on time, but likely struggling to some degree, like that small sector of the taxpayer base called "The Middle Class", get some relief? How about that for a concept. The percentage decrease overall would be lower for everyone, but it may fuel spending by the middle class, who have the largest impact on the health of the economy. And it might weed out those "dead beat" borrowers that will never be able to be current on the debt they have acquired. Why should we exclusively aid this segment of the economic base - they will never be able to generate enough positive fiscal activity to impact the economic health of the country, one way or the other.

I am not advocating that we ignore this sector, they deserve assistance, because they have been taken advantage of, by the wealthy corporations who are nothing more than self serving. But if we want to stimulate the economy, we should think about deploying some level of relief to the group that can actually move the market as well as materially assisting those that are working 3 jobs and still can't cover their obligations. At some point doesn't it stand to reason, that you can only push the American worker so far until they give up, and are forced into the welfare system, further straining the taxpayer base.

I mean think about it, the bailout will reward bad fiscal, even predatory behavior that the Bush administration (and those before - generally beginning with Reagan) has allowed wall street to legally conduct, through massive and irresponsible deregulation. And the reward is at the taxpayers expense - entirely...And to throw salt in the wound, the deal on the table will impact executive compensation packages moving forward...only impacting new employment contracts. It requires that all current contracts be honored as written. So - all of those fat cats on wall street that have been revered, and generously compensated, while playing with our money, have no consequence for loosing the game. It is a high stakes game, consequences for loosing should be as significant as the rewards for winning have been. And to further enrage, it is apparent now that wall street has had to cheat, to win. Another example of the elite protecting the elite.

This whole thing makes me sick. I feel like defaulting on my mortgage so that I can get my principal reduced. Seriously, I am sitting in my office working - but asking myself what the heck am I working for. I will never be able to amass enough cash to afford to live, once I am too old to work - so why not spend my time figuring out how I can take advantage of credit issued to me so that I can live on credit for the next 40 years. It seems that growth within our capital markets comes from issuing more credit, fictitiously backed, rather than retiring it. I might as well join that dysfunctional crowd.