During the bust in the housing market we (the people) could have given "bailout" money to homeowners caught up in the housing bubble. Mortgages would have been payed and thus financial institutions would not have been holding "toxic" assets that they had given AAA ratings to. The money would have "trickled up" so to speak.
But we didn't.
We started at the top and gave money to those who had the biggest lobbyists. The financial industry was, in theory, suppose to trickle this down. With some gratitude banks were to have helped Americans stay in their homes. Loan modifications are not happening and home owners are still drowning.
We all had a hand in the melt down. We are not asking for a free ride just a thank you to tax payers in the form of loan modifications.