Why can't Congress enact a "Bottom-Up" Bailout Plan?

I've got a better idea. (I'm sure I'm not alone, am I?): namely, rescue the citizens, not the fat cats!

The source of economic turmoil seems to be rooted in defaulting mortgages, many subprime, some resetting ARMs, some general economic distress.

The solution seems to be, restore the affordability of those mortgages!

What would it cost to buy down those resets, and shave a few interest points, to reduce or nearly eliminate the defaults? Wouldn't it cost much less than $700bn to keep the majority of homeowners in their homes, making payments they can afford, and consequently resubstantiating all the financial instruments depending upon them?

Surely $700bn, or even much less, would go a long way to keeping tax-paying home owners in their homes and paying their mortgages.

In other words, we should use taxpayer money to help other taxpayers, not finance CEOs.

Get mortgage payers paying mortgages again, and economic lifeblood will start flowing again, too!

Best hopes,
--
Pete Klammer, P.E. / ACM(1970), IEEE, ICCP(CCP), NSPE(PE), NACSE(NSNE)
Wheat Ridge, Colorado