The government has been tossing around an idea of curing the housing crisis by bailing out homeowners who face foreclosure. Where will this money come from? Your tax dollars are already spent before you pay them. The only place this money can come from is through loans from other wealthy countries such as China or Saudi Arabia. Or could it be from the Federal Reserve?

First, the Federal Reserve is no more federal than Federal Express. But it prints money, which it "loans" to the U.S. government. and it is paid back to them with interest. Second, all currency in this country is supposed to be backed by gold. So, just as with a check you write for your groceries, it is only as good as long as the funds are there to back it up. ... How long does the government think it can carry on this facade? Is this bailout an opportunity for the government to acquire these properties since they have invested in them?

So, those receiving economic stimulus checks or who may receive aid to save your home, this money comes with a price tag. Many will spend the stimulus checks to buy products made in China, supporting a foreign government's economy. It is only a Band-Aid on the problem. And who's to say that if you receive aid to save your home and the crisis continues, you won't still lose your home? Will the government be waiting in the wings rubbing its sweaty palms together like the character Henry F. Potter from It's A Wonderful Life ?

Losing a home is never pleasant. But it would be better to lose it to the mortgage company and it become their worry of how to dispose of it, rather than lose it to the government so it can recoup its losses.

Government aid or printing money on your PC, it still amounts to one thing: counterfeiting.

Rick James, Wagener, S.C.