This week’s poll called while you were out. It said to tell you to come on over and vote already.

This week’s topic is today’s announcement that the federal government has taken control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The question is no longer whether a government bailout was necessary. As Treasury Secretary Paulson himself said in his announcement of the takeover:

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and so interwoven in our financial system that a failure of either of them would cause great turmoil in our financial markets here at home and around the globe. This turmoil would directly and negatively impact household wealth: from family budgets, to home values, to savings for college and retirement. A failure would affect the ability of Americans to get home loans, auto loans and other consumer credit and business finance. And a failure would be harmful to economic growth and job creation.

No, now there are lots of new questions and one of them is how this major move will affect the current, ailing housing market. Several people, including Paulson, say that it will help, since government regulation will ease investor fears, which will ultimately result in lower interest rates. Others say it won’t help at all, since the housing market won’t recover until we get rid of excess inventory and prices finally bottom out. What do you think? Will it help, hurt or not matter much at all? Cast your vote and let your voice be heard.

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photo credit: Shiny Things