What About Main Street?

Now that JPMorganChase has raised its bid for Bear Stearns, angry shareholders seemed to have calmed down and Wall Street isn't as worried that the investment bank's problems will drag down the rest of the financial markets.

But among people who've been dealing for a long time with the fallout from the kind of subprime loans Bear Stearns aggressively pursued and profited from, emotions are running high.

They're stunned that the Federal Reserve Bank stepped in to engineer the deal and to provide $30 billion in guarantees, considering consumer advocates have badgered the Fed repeatedly for years to curb subprime lending, to no avail. They can't believe that the Fed demanded nothing in return from the banks -- like accepting more lending oversight or modifying high-rate mortgages. They find it hard to sympathize with reports of billionaire shareholders losing money or Bear Stearns employees crying in their offices while selling off their wine collections. Mostly, they can't believe the question of fairness surrounding the deal isn't being debated more during a heated presidential campaign.

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