Banks across the country came hat in hand, accepting wads of hot sweaty cash from the Federal Reserve, with still over $300 billion to go.  And what are they doing with it?  Why - sitting on it, of course.  And paying out massive bonuses to the very execs who helped drive the economy to the brink of disaster.  And HUD's voluntary program languishes.

In a short term measure, the Federal Reserve will be taking some of the heat off the very banks which helped create the foreclosure crisis hitting the United States.

The Federal Reserve Bank is set next week to further reduce interest rates for banks – the very banks that are looking to continue tightening the reins on granting credit. The Federal Reserve by all current wisdom would seem to be powerless to do anything but effect interest rates – but that is not the case.