So the package is more like taking out a mortgage to rebuild your house than running up your credit-card bill.

ECONOMIST: A spending splurge in California

Someone who lost their job some years ago but is now gainfully employed again may be able to resume making payments, but why would they when their credit is already trashed, and the house is worth less than their mortgage?

FORBES: Time To Buy The National Homebuilders

Roughly a year into the subprime mortgage crisis and months after credit markets took a turn for the terrible, the House Financial Services Committee approved a bill late Tuesday increasing government oversight of lenders.

FORBES: Congress Lags The Markets On Mortgage Mess