With the U.S. government looking to spend $700 billion to save companies that acted stupidly, let me present some recommendations from “we the people” who ultimately will foot the bill.  Oh, and this should include all companies already saved from their own mismanagement…

1. We the taxpayers should gain ownership in any company saved to the tune of whatever investment it takes to salvage said entities from the ignorance that put them in jeopardy.  That means the federal government should gain stock in the amount of all moneys spent to purchase the bad investments these companies made; that ownership should then be passed on to the citizens who find themselves carrying this debt.
2. All executives (any CxO) in companies saved at the taxpayers’ expense should have their salaries halted until the public debt is paid.  I mean all executives should receive absolutely no compensation until the little people are paid back the totality of funds necessary to keep their organizations from going under.  Call it a learning experience for those bigwigs who expect us average folk to lose our tax investments on their behalf.
3. Mortgages acquired by the government should fall under different foreclosure rules than those still owned by the financial companies involved.  And any organization which sells mortgage-backed investments to the government should lose any and all claims to those loans.
4. The American people who pay for this bailout should be the first and only people in line for recompense once the market stabilizes and funds become available to the government.  No company or executive should have any claim whatsoever to any refunds or disbursements made available by the government as this charity is paid off.
5. Vigorous and demanding oversight should be included for the entire financial services sector.  Call it “square-headlights-required regulation” if you will, but it goes without saying that Wall Street acts with contemptuous disregard for Main Street, and then it pretends Main Street owes it something when the cards are on the table.  So be it, but let that include Main Street having final say in what Wall Street does.
6. All boards involved should be summarily terminated and replaced by a majority-controlled public board, which consists of those paying this unbelievably enormous bill.  Controlling interests in all companies involved failed to act early or late, yet now they look for a handout from the tax-payinig public.  To me that means they don’t deserve the stewardship with which they were charged.
7. The entire program should last no more than twelve months.  It should also have a cap placed on all investments made prior to the enactment of the bill and including nothing thereafter.  This would stop the selfish ignorance that got us into this mess by ensuring no one tries to slip in a little illegal profit moving forward.