Credit crunch: crisis or crock?

Was there any justification for the Fed’s guarantee of Bear Stearns’ bad debt? Will the government be doing this for other distressed financial institutions? Beacon Economics’ Christopher Thornberg and the Center for Responsible Lending’s Ginna Green debate.

Should lenders and debt holders be required to renegotiate mortgages for borrowers in default? How much money should they be required to lose in order to do this? How do they provide this relief without punishing the vast majority of mortgagees who are still paying their bills? Paul Leonard and Christopher Thornberg debate.

Do government efforts to curtail payday lending help the poor or merely reduce their financial options? Christopher Thornberg and Paul Leonard debate.

According to recent polls, barely 25% of Americans favor a bailout for people in danger of foreclosure, and a mere 20% favor a foreclosure moratorium. Is the majority wrong to oppose assistance? Are politicians right to promote plans like these in spite of public opinion? Are the polls themselves wrong? Paul Leonard and Chris Thornberg debate.