No matter how low the Fed keeps interest rates it's clear that banks aren't lending and big businesses aren't spending. Rather than continuing to prop up "too big to fail" organizations we should be looking at creative ways to enable individuals and smaller organizations to help themselves.
Current tax liabilities for early withdrawals include a 10% penalty plus income taxes for the current tax year. This is just throwing salt on an open wound for folks desperate enough to dip into their retirement in order to weather the current economic climate.
Waiving tax penalties so people can more easily tap retirement accounts seems like a simple way to help capitalize struggling small businesses and individuals.