The New York Times reports that the Obama Administration is encouraging top investment banks to create and market the financial-crisis equivalent of war bonds: Bailout funds. The idea is to "give ordinary Americans a chance to profit from the bailouts that are being financed by their tax dollars.

But there is another, deeply political motivation: To quiet accusations that all of these giant bailouts will benefit only Wall Street plutocrats. The danger here is that these investments will tank in value, and then the banks start suggesting that they created them at the behest of the administration. I wouldn't limit the securities to accredited investors. But the risks need to be spelled out. It all comes down to the marketing and disclosure. This perhaps really isn't the product for people with limited funds. 

For more:
- here's the article

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