That's what has turned the banking system on its ear. And we can blame the federal government, which doesn't have the vaguest idea of what they are doing with all their bloated programs and regulations meant to stabilize the economy and revitalize the banking system.

America is in the mess in which we find ourselves thanks to the federal government, which forced banks to lend vast amounts of money to people who could not hope to repay the loans or even make the required monthly payments.

This same government is now in the process of once again telling banks what they must do with their money, and the results will be identical to what they were in its last attempt to force banks to do its will.

The American economy depends on the ability of buyers to obtain credit to finance their purchases. Like it or not, without a source to provide credit, the economy sinks out of sight. It's simple: no auto loans, no new car purchases.

And where do we go to get credit? To the banks, because that's where the money is. Only thanks to government meddling with the economy, we can't get our hands on the money. The banks are afraid to lend it.

Now President Obama has announced his $75 billion mortgage bailout program and he is repeating the previous error -- this time forcing banks to lend money to people who have no equity in their homes, which are now worth less than the money they owe.

According to Moody's Economy.com, about 13.8 million mortgagees -- nearly 27 percent of all homeowners -- owe more on their mortgage than their house is now worth.

"All of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis," Obama said.

He failed to mention that the crisis is the result of federal government meddling with the banking system, and now he's promising more of the same.

And they are going to put Ponzi-scheme crook Bernard Madoff in jail for doing essentially the same thing.