These days you hear a lot about the $700 Billion Bailout Plan. Actually, I just heard that is has been renamed to "Rescue Plan" or "Economic Stabilization Plan". You can't escape the discussion: It's all over the news, the internet and you might even receive emails asking you to contact your representative to vote for or against it. It's getting confusing, and many people wonder if investing $700 billion to rescue the US Financial System and ultimately economy is really a good idea.

Let me put it in perspective:

$700 Billion sounds a lot, but in 2008 the US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve already committed more than $900 billion dollar to bailouts, but since they occurred throughout the year you might not have noticed the magnitude.

Here's the list:

• The Federal Reserve will loan $85 billion to Insurer AIG.
• $200 billion go to Fannie Mae and Freddie Max; $100 billion each.
• $300 billion for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to refinance failing mortgages.
• $4 billion for local communities to help them buy and repair foreclosed homes.
• $87 billion to JPMorgan Chase & Co to help them bailing out Lehman Brothers.
• $29 billion to JPMorgan Chase's for the buyout of Bear Stearns & Co in March.
• $200 billion of loans to various banks issued through the Fed's Term Auction Facility.

There are reports that over the past 3 years these bailouts have exceeded a total of $4,000 billion. But most of the deals are either unnoticed or you might have forgotten about them already.

I think it is a good idea to itemize and summarize all outstanding bailouts and consolidate them into ONE solid plan. This will make it easier to manage the huge amount of money that needs to be committed.

And let's face it: These bailouts will happen anyway, whether the Senate and the House of Representatives approve the bill or not. The only difference: It will happen behind the scenes and in smaller portions, and we might not even notice it.

I for one would like to have more transparency, and a consolidated plan is one way to achieve it.

However, before committing ANY money certain key people need to be held responsible for their actions. It's great to say that the money will not be used for "Golden Parachutes". But in my opinion first some people need to be fired or even put in jail. Don't give the bailout money to the same people who created this mess.

What do YOU think? - Leave a comment.