Readers suggested a topic on goverment housing proposals and self enrichment. "How many Congressfolk would be direct beneficiaries of the Dodd-Frank mortgage rescue?"

Two answers, "'Only 100%.' 'More like 170%. Most would go for second helpings.'"

One looked at the wider trend, "Does anyone see mass debt forgiveness out there on the horizon?"

"I cannot imagine today's young workers willingly paying for boomer pensions, student loans, credit cards, medical care, taxes for social services, inflated housing, food, energy, AND interest on our unfathomable US national debt forever-there's just not enough income to sustain it all and still live a semblance of a life."

"What happens when everyone just says, 'The hell with it. I quit,' and walks away from their credit card debt like they now do their upside down mortgages?"

"We're already seriously considering letting mortgagees off the hook; forgiving student loans is an obvious next step. So after that...? Do we all end up working either for the government or a collection agency? Is The System about to go bye-bye?"

From Portfolio.com. "Two U.S. senators, two former Cabinet members, and a former ambassador to the United Nations received loans from Countrywide Financial through a little-known program that waived points, lender fees, and company borrowing rules for prominent people."

"Senators Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide's 'V.I.P.' program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents and emails and a former employee familiar with the loans."

"Other participants in the V.I.P. program included former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke."

"James Johnson, who had been advising presidential candidate Barack Obama on the selection of a running mate, resigned from the Obama campaign Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that he received Countrywide loans at below-market rates."

"Most of the officials belonged to a group of V.I.P. loan recipients known in company documents and emails as 'F.O.A.'s'-Friends of Angelo, a reference to Countrywide chief executive Angelo Mozilo."

"The V.I.P. loans to public officials in a position to advance Countrywide's interests raise legal and ethical questions. Countrywide's ethics code bars directors, officers and employees from 'improperly influencing the decisions of government employees or contractors by offering or promising to give money, gifts, loans, rewards, favors, or anything else of value.'"

The LA Times. "Conrad got a Countrywide loan on his beach house after talking to Mozilo. Dodd got two loans. California Sen. Barbara Boxer also borrowed from Countrywide on two occasions. All said they believed they received no special treatment."

"Dodd said there was nothing untoward about his dealings with Countrywide. 'When my wife and I refinanced our loans in 2003, we did not seek or expect any favorable treatment. Just like millions of other Americans, we shopped around and received competitive rates,' he said in a statement released Friday."

"A Countrywide spokeswoman declined to comment about VIP loans. In a statement, the company said it was 'very concerned about the improper disclosure of confidential customer information. . . . We regret any impact this may have had on our customers.'"

"The son of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi Jr., has worked as a sales manager and loan officer for Countrywide in the San Francisco Bay Area and received about $1 million in loans from Countrywide on a condo. The younger Pelosi obtained a $916,000 mortgage from Countrywide in 2004 and a $114,500 line of credit the same year."

"He has since paid off the loans, which he said were made at market rates. His mother said through a spokesman that she had no knowledge of her son's mortgages."

"Conrad said Jim Johnson, a former CEO of Fannie Mae who also received VIP loans from Countrywide was the friend who put him together with Mozilo."

"'My memory is that I called Jim' to ask for advice on obtaining a mortgage for the summer house property in Bethany Beach, Del. 'And he said, 'Here's a guy that you should talk to right now.' And he handed the phone over to Angelo Mozilo. That conversation lasted about 30 seconds. I told him what I was looking for and he said, 'We'd be happy to take a look at it,' or something like that.'"

The New York Post. "Others who received 'FOA' loans include Alphonso Jackson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bush who resigned in April, and Donna Shalala, who was secretary of Health and Human Services in the Clinton administration."

"Jackson took out loans totaling $653,331 in 2003 and 2004 while he was deputy HUD secretary, with the latter loan coming through a week before he was named secretary."

From The Hill. "Embattled Rep. Laura Richardson remained mum on Friday following more news about her personal housing crisis. Richardson, who has dodged repeated calls for information regarding her multiple defaults on three home mortgages and her financial disclosure reports, failed to report a heavily indebted mortgage on her initial 2007 financial statement."

"After falling too far behind on mortgage payments on a home she purchased in Sacramento in January 2007, Richardson was forced to watch the home sold at auction last month. In the aftermath, it was revealed that Richardson has defaulted on mortgages for three California homes since 1999."

"According to records pulled from Los Angeles and Sacramento counties, Richardson has defaulted five separate times on her primary residence in Long Beach, a home she purchased in 1999 and refinanced in the summer of 2006 for a new $446,250 mortgage."

"The prior summer, Richardson took out a loan from Wells Fargo, in the amount of $359,000, to purchase a second home in San Pedro."

"After defaulting twice - in September 2007 and again in January - and owing $367,436 on an original loan of $359,000, Richardson received notice from her lender in April that her San Pedro home was going to be sold at auction. According to reports, that auction is scheduled for July 14."

"A senior House Democrat close to leadership on Thursday afternoon said he had spoken to Richardson about the matter and she had assured him that, with regard to her Sacramento home, the 'bank screwed up.'"

"On Wednesday the Los Angeles Times reported that James York, the real estate investor who bought Richardson's Sacramento home at a May 7 auction for $388,000, is now claiming that Richardson's lender, Washington Mutual, reclaimed the property on behalf of Richardson. York had recorded the deed on May 19 and had begun renovations, the Times reported."

"'They took the property back, and they didn't even send back the money,' York was quoted in the Times. 'It's clear what's happening is Ms. Richardson is abusing her political power and using it for her own political needs.'"

The Tauton Call. "U.S. Sen. John Kerry said his Mortgage Revenue Bond Program will provide the state with more than $200 million to help struggling homeowners stave off foreclosure, among other things."

"Kerry, the featured speaker at Pro-Home Inc.'s annual meeting on Friday, May 30, said he has never seen as big a 'disconnect' between what is happening in neighborhoods as a result of the mortgage crisis and what is 'not happening' in Washington D.C. to address it."

"Improving the economy means 'stemming the tide of foreclosures' and helping ordinary people hold onto their homes, Kerry said. 'It shouldn't just be when the pain reaches Bear Stearns and Wall Street that we get a response,' Kerry said."

"In Massachusetts, there has been a 37 percent increase in foreclosures over last year, he said. Meanwhile, home values have fallen 11 percent, the steepest decline since 1990, and sales are down 32 percent since March of last year in the commonwealth, he said."

"Homeownership helps build strong communities and families, he said. 'It's people sharing in the excitement and personal rewards of drawing those lines on the bathroom wall when kids grow older. It's a place to have a barbecue and going home and knowing it's your castle,' he said."

"Pro-Home is a non-profit corporation that helps people 'attain and retain' affordable housing, Pro-Home President Dave Tipping said."

"Kerry said affordable housing is one area where the marketplace is not self-regulating. The reason is that developers can make more profit building luxury housing, so government has to step in to create incentives for them to build moderately priced homes."

"'We always have to try to attract that investment,' Kerry said."

"Economist John W. Bitner, the keynote speaker at the lunch, said he believes the economy is in a mild recession. The term's technical definition is two quarters of negative growth, and that hasn't happened."

"But an alternate definition is a 'significant decrease in economic activity,' and that is occurring, said Bitner. In some places, home prices have plummeted 25 or 30 percent, Bitner said."

"Bitner said part of the problem is that banks gave mortgages to some people who can't afford home ownership. 'It's like giving an alcoholic a drink. It might make them happy, but you're not doing them a favor,' Bitner said."

"It's a vicious cycle, he said. With home prices falling, people aren't buying because they want to wait until the market bottoms out. 'No one wants to catch a falling knife,' Bitner said."

"Kerry and Bitner both said government intervention is necessary to address the housing crisis. 'The free market forces will resolve the issue, but they're vicious and will resolve it in an ugly way,' Bitner said."