I am told my bank owns some of the subprime mortgages that the government intends to buy. The bank’s stock (of which I own none) recently dropped 32%. I have had my mortgage with the bank for years and have never missed or been late with a payment. Ok, as I understand it, some of my tax dollars will be used to buy those mortgages from my bank. The bank’s stock I assume will go up. My mortgage will remain the same. How exactly do I benefit from this? Short answer is that I don’t. I guess the “thinking” is that this is for the “greater good.” Now I guess after the bailout, my bank can now lend the money paid to it for the “bad” mortgages (prudently I hope) to a customer. That benefits them. How does that benefit me? Not sure that it does. I guess the borrower could use the loan to open a store. I might shop at that store sometime in the future. Maybe the owner of the store will hire me to do some work for the store. I guess that benefits me …. if it happens. Is that the “greater good” they are talking about? Maybe so.