Popular Questions http://askyourlawmaker.org/questions/popular/%2A/236/%2A/%2A a view of questions order by popularity en When is Congress finally going to take on the big credit card companies for charging usurious rates? http://askyourlawmaker.org/questions/when-congress-finally-going-take-big-credit-card-companies-charging-usurious-rates%3F http://askyourlawmaker.org/questions/when-congress-finally-going-take-big-credit-card-companies-charging-usurious-rates%3F#comments bailout bill Congress credit cards debt economy recession Economy Regulation Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:34:23 -0500 DogLogic 1705 at http://askyourlawmaker.org Paulson's sketchy notes so far say that besides actual distressed loans, the Treasury may buy CDO's. "Cash CDO's" are directly collateralized by real assets, but 3rd party credit default swaps are just a kind of betting for "fatcats". Can you guarantee we won't become the "Casino of Last Resort" on the taxpayers' dime? http://askyourlawmaker.org/questions/paulson%2526%2523039%3Bs-sketchy-notes-so-far-say-besides-actual-distressed-loans%2C-treasury-may-buy- <p>Third party CDS's are bets between two "counterparties" that some other party will or won't default on a debt. They have been described as similar to "insurance", but they are more like under-the-counter options. The holder of the contract does not have to have ANY connection to the debt described in the swap. <span class='read-more'><a href="http://askyourlawmaker.org/questions/paulson%2526%2523039%3Bs-sketchy-notes-so-far-say-besides-actual-distressed-loans%2C-treasury-may-buy-">&nbsp;read&nbsp;more&nbsp;&raquo;</a></span></p> http://askyourlawmaker.org/questions/paulson%2526%2523039%3Bs-sketchy-notes-so-far-say-besides-actual-distressed-loans%2C-treasury-may-buy-#comments Bailout economy Paulson Taxpayer Economy Money &amp; Politics Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:52:02 -0500 1686 at http://askyourlawmaker.org