iReporters: Who's bailing us out?

(CNN) -- Congress is scrambling to approve a bailout plan to save a financial system reportedly on the brink of collapse, but iReporters aren't buying it.

Though polls since last week show varying degrees of support for the rescue plan, iReporters believe their money is being used to help the people who caused the crisis in the first place.

A recurring question among iReporters is: Why does the government rush to help Wall Street fat cats with taxpayer money when regular citizens are defaulting on mortgages and struggling to buy gas and food?

Here is a smattering of Monday iReports from around the nation. Some iReporters spoke to CNN after submitting their comments. Some remarks have been edited for content and length.

Melodie Starkey, of Aurora, Illinois: "In September I lost half of my remaining child support, and my 12-year-old Saturn needed $3,000 of suspension work, and the house had some can't-put-this-off-any-longer repairs estimated at $12,000-plus. Can't be done. I can't even make the $2,100 mortgage payment on it any more.

"Everyone tells me to stay put -- it will take the bank months to foreclose and I can just save the money. I guess I have more ethics than the government. I am giving the house back with a deed in lieu, and moving into one that isn't much larger than the master bedroom of the current one. We are leaving behind everything that is not essential. We are leaving behind everything that is left of our family.
iReport.com: See a snowman in front of the house during happier times

"So what do I think of my tax dollars bailing out the corrupt people...? Some days I want to call down hellfire and brimstone on their heads. Other days I don't have the strength." Watch a lawmaker call for bipartisan bailout support »

Starkey added during a phone interview that she will lose her house Wednesday. While moving out, her son Stephen, 16, said, "Everything seems to echo in here, even the light switch." Starkey's sister replied, "It's the sound of a house un-becoming your childhood home."

Rick Smith, of Farmers Branch, Texas: Maybe we, the people of this country, are getting what we deserve. We are apathetic and a not caring country, who have become lazy and distracted by selfish feelings. Sadly, I'm INCLUDED with that group of people."

"I'm heavily in debt, have lost a lot of income and could use some financial help. But I'm reaping what I've sowed at this point, and if the government of this country is going to 'bail' somebody out, then it should be the American individual and not businesses."
iReport.com: "My congressman didn't ask me"

Fred Pulver of Carbondale, Colorado: "Restoring the banks' ability to make more loans that people cannot service is simply going to put more people into bankruptcy court and further depress the economy, requiring further bailouts and increasing the debt load until it will be apparent that the USA can no longer service its debt obligations. Then, heaven help us, we will finally have reached the bottom of the barrel and will become a depressed and destitute nation in a world of depressed and destitute nations."
iReport.com: Watch Pulver discuss his feelings about bailout plans

Adam Ranski, of Port St. Lucie, Florida: "Give each American taxpayer $500,000 to pay off their loans. Then, with that extra money each month they can pay off bills and may not have to file bankruptcies and lose their homes! The banks will get their money and people will spend money getting the economy going. Bailing out Wall Street does not help me. With fuel and food prices going up, I still have a tough time paying bills."

Ranski added during a phone interview, "Until the people rise and really raise hell, everybody in Washington can do what they want."
iReport.com: Browse the reader reaction to Ranski's commentary

Joe Vignolo, of Derry, New Hampshire: "This bailout reminds me of 'The Three Stooges' episode when they were in a leaky rowboat that was sinking and they tried to keep it afloat by drilling holes in the bottom of the boat to let the water out. Why would anyone think that you can solve a problem by doing more of what's causing your problem in first place? The main difference now is that we seem to be dealing with a lot more than just three stooges."
iReport.com: Are you reminded of Larry, Curly and Moe?

Uberman: "So, I guess the lesson here is that those who make stupid financial mistakes -- whether it is banks making risky loans or people buying houses they know they cannot afford -- are the ones who win in this life? Is that the lesson we're teaching our children? I've never missed a mortgage payment in 10 years, yet how do I benefit from this bailout plan? I don't. It's my tax dollars that are going to bail out the stupid people in this country."

"This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen the U.S. government do. Justice -- or, more importantly, fairness -- is just a myth in this country. I recommend you do what I am going to do in November: Vote out all incumbents, regardless of their party affiliation. It's the only way to get them to listen to us again."
iReport.com: See reader Gerald Dimmitt's video commentary on the bailout

farhibide: "What I don't understand is that I see a lot of people on here whining and complaining about this bailout deal, about their credit and mortgage troubles, and how they don't want $700 billion to go toward aiding bankers who squandered their first chance. So far, it's all talk and no action.

"Why not channel some of this anger into something constructive, like actually using your constitutional RIGHTS to rein in an out-of-control government? Protest. Stand up and be heard. WE are the checks and balances! How do you expect to be heard if you don't speak up?"

ccantwell6: "We are working families who did not sign up for this. Any elected official that considers socializing private companies' losses with taxpayer dollars is NOT interested in protecting the taxpayer!"

"Why would anyone continue to pay their mortgage payments? If our tax dollars are being used, all we need in return is a receipt, to show our mortgage company that our home is now free and clear."

MikeHouston: "Well, (hell) no! It is not NEEDED. It is certainly DESIRED by the very perpetrators of the crime and their friends, but it is not needed. What is needed is precisely the opposite: Troubled financial institutions must be left to fail, because they are unfit in today's environment. Those institutions that survive deserve to pick up the slack, offer loans in the future and grow."

BoSoxGuy: "This is the worst piece of legislation perpetrated against U.S. taxpayers in history. But now we must live with it. Every time the government has come up with a plan that involves giving money away, con men and crooks have come out of the woodwork, and ultimately found ways to get themselves a piece of the pie. This will be no different."

robsanderson: "If an hourly worker or middle management does not get the results that they are expected to achieve, they are given the boot and usually with very little compensation. I do think that the bailout plan is needed; however, I just believe that there needs to be some type of measurement that verifies the effectiveness of the decisions that are made with our money."

CatherineLL: "Why can't we let the CEOs and the other people who are going to lose money see how the other half lives? Why do we need to give them money to maintain their unreasonable and selfish lifestyles? They had their chance. Give the $700,000,000,000 to us so we can have ours."

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