My Proposal for Debt Relief

All this talk about bailing out wall street, insurance companies, banks, etc. has left a sour taste in many Americans' mouths. Therefore, I would like to propose the following debt relieve package:

Every American tax payer would be eligible to apply for up to $10 thousand in debt relief. This could be applied to the following costs: credit card debt, mortgages (home ownership), health care costs or education. Verification of the debt would be mandatory and the payments would be made directly to the institutions holding the debt. Tax paying Americans not in debt would receive $10 thousand in government bonds, with a ten to thirty year maturity date depending on age. Furthermore, households with dependent children under the age of 18 would receive an additional $5 thousand per child (up to two children...capped at $10 thousand). If the family does not qualify for debt relief, the dependent money would be applied to college funds in the states where they live.

Not only would this provide debt relief for millions of Americans who have suffered through difficult financial times, it would stimulate the economy and ensure remuneration to the companies in possession of the consumer debt. It would also stimulate families to invest in their children's education, secure home ownership and...it would all cost much less than the $700 billion bail out of wall street.

OK - on this last statement I'm not entirely sure...but on the surface it seems to be the case. I will leave it to you number crunchers to prove me wrong. Needless to say, this is somewhat tongue in cheek...I'm not an economist, nor do I play one on TV. The practicality of such a proposal is negligible...but it underscores my belief that social welfare is preferable to corporate welfare. If we are going to bail out business for making bad decisions, why not accord citizens the same?