Explain to me: Federal Bank Bailout

[asterroc]

Oh wise LJ-friends, explain to me this Feds bailing out / buying out the banks thing. Preferably in 3 sentences or less (so as to boil it down to what's most important).

I really do appreciate y'all's ability to boil down these topics I find remarkably complex and filled with too many details for me to grasp, into simple "here's what's important about the thing, and here's what you can ignore" sort of summaries. And I've a tag for them too.

So. Fannie May, Freddie Mac (what's with the names anyway?), and AIG. Three sentences. Go!

Comments

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

I agree that people are greedy and ignorant, but the fact remains that if the collapse of financial institutions in america keeps going unchecked we're heading for another depression. Hopefully after this has gotten under control the SEC will make regulations that will reduce the chances of this happening again.