Debt so toxic the government won't touch it.

[Joe Fields]

So, today old Hank Paulson tells America that the facts have changed, that things are worse than the government figured, and instead of buying up toxic bundled mortgages, they decided to just invest in banks.

You all do realize, don't you, that the promise of buying the toxic debt instruments was one of the only ways that troubled home owners could get their mortgages re-written and stay in their homes?

It looks to me like the government just bailed on bailing out the home owners in this country.

Why am I not surprised?

[ContinentalOp]

1. Why was that one of the only ways?

Was rewriting mortgages even part of the bailout plan? Why can't we have another, non-wallstreet-bailout plan to help struggling homeowners?

[Why Syzygy]

2. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

are going to renegotiate thousands of loans themselves. I don't know how that ties into the toxic loans. I cannot wait for Obama to take the lead.

[Joe Fields]

3. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the government told us

that we must spend 700 billion on a bailout, that the toxic instruments would be purchased. My guess is that they took a look around, found that no one was interested in purchasing these debt instruments and bailed on the original bailout, leaving foreclosed homeowners twisting slowly in the wind again.