CLARKONOMICS: Treasury Secretary Paulson is still trying to recover credibility after the Bear Stearns debacle. Now he's launched a campaign to reorganize who's regulated by the government and how they're regulated. Bear Stearns and others were using borrowed money to make bets that brought in huge profits during prior years. Then when the bets failed, they whimpered like hurt animals and went running to Uncle Sam. After all, there were the costs of yacht rentals, vacation home mortgages and country club memberships to pay…boo hoo!

The problem is that Bear Stearns was bailed out with taxpayer money. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has been lowering interest rates unconscionably, which destroys the value of our dollar and our financial status in the world. We'll be paying for years to come for the excesses of the banks, brokerage house, et al. Next up, look for the push and shove on Capitol Hill as our elected officials tackle the issue of moral equivalency in deciding whether or not to offer bailouts to ordinary homeowners.

But where there's distress, there's also opportunity. Have you heard about the foreclosure tourists in Southeastern Florida? These are mostly European investors who are flying over here and hopping on buses to go around looking at foreclosures. If they see something they like, they use their strong Euro currency to get a steal of a deal. This is also going on in the Washington, D.C., market. Clark does not believe we should use taxpayer money to bailout those who are facing foreclosure. Meanwhile, this trend of foreclosure tourism underscores the fact that there's real opportunity in the second home market. The National Association of Realtors corroborates with news that vacation home sales are down by a third.