I know I'm not an economist but...

The headline for this article in the NYTimes is "Fed to Lend $200 Billion More to Ease Market Strain ":

Scrambling to ease the strain on the credit market, the Federal Reserve announced a $200 billion program on Tuesday that would allow financial institutions, including the nation’s major investment banks, to borrow ultra-safe Treasury money by using some of their riskiest investments as collateral.

I have to admit that while I think I have a better grasp on the subprime loan crisis than most people, I don't fully understand it enough to teach a class on it. But doesn't this seem bad?

Funnily enough, the responses to the emails we sent out on mortgage lending reform were all about how we shouldn't bail out people who aren't smart enough to make good decisions. People don't realize that even if they have good credit, they're going to be affected by this. The interest rate on their savings is going down, their 401(k) is dwindling, the value of their homes will go down as well. I'm not sure how else to make the issue more personal. Meanwhile, in the latest in a long series of bailouts, the government is bailing out these big companies (ostensibly to shore up the stock market and help the economy- here's where my understanding gets fuzzy), and no one is screaming that they should fend for themselves.