What is this Fannie, Freddie Bailout? And does it help me?

First I want to let you know who Fannie and Freddie are:

Fannie was created during the depths of the Great Depression, and Freddie in 1970, to help make mortgages more affordable for homeowners. The companies buy billions of dollars in mortgages each month from commercial lenders. Some are sold to investors as mortgage-backed securities; others are held by the companies in their own investment portfolios. These 2 companies back almost 80% of all mortgages generated so their failure would be catastrophic. Bailing our private companies is not a path I want our government to go down BUT and this is a big BUT not bailing out Fannie and Freddie has a far more negative impact to the global economy than letting them fail. The plan represents a cease-fire in a decades-long ideological battle over the proper role of the companies. Free-market conservatives see the companies as extensions of "big government," while Democrats have protected them as the main vehicle to promote affordable housing for middle- and lower-income people.

Does this bailout help me?

Well the short answer is - Probably, not definitely, but economists and other people with more knowledge than myself say it will and it was necessary to prevent an economic meltdown.

How will it help me?

The government plans to buy significant amounts of their mortgage-backed securities on the open market, beginning with the purchase of $5 billion worth this month. This step, never before undertaken by the government, could begin to restore some confidence in the credit markets and lead to lower interest rates for home mortgages.

Both of these giants, who got too big for OUR good, needed to be bailed out - for the best interest of all of us. Hopefully, the government really cleans their homes out and disciplines the babies for bad behavior!!