Pols: Govt here to help, not bail out

Selling Housing Aid Proposals in Washington Means Staying Out of Bailout Neighborhood

ALAN ZIBEL
AP News

Mar 02, 2008 16:07 EST

Bailout is a dirty word in the nation's capital. Lately, efforts by both Democrats and Republicans to clean up the housing mess are getting sullied with the b-word.

An inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars is what President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson call some plans in Congress to aid homeowners stung by the mortgage market mess. For their part, Democrats say the Bush administration is more interested in bailing out Wall Street than Main Street.