A crazy idea to save the banks and ourselves

What if, instead of sending cash to the banks and hoping they use it in ways that will help the people of the USA, why not pass a "bailout bill" for credit card debt? We could use government funds to go directly to cutting all credit card balances in half. Oh, I know, the cuts would only help people who've been irresponsible, sick, unlucky, overly optimistic about the future, etc. But so many of us have credit card debt, and even though the banks now borrow money from the Fed at 0% interest rates, few have seen cuts in credit card and consumer rates.

So along with the tightening of credit standards and credit lines, which was probably long overdue, we could maintain those standards while helping both the banks (at-risk balances reduced) and consumers (their own daunting high interest balances reduced), knowing that federal money would actually accomplish something.

And if ordinary people's debt loads and monthly payments decreased, wouldn't they have more money every month to create the economic activity we're trying to "stimulate"?

Along with debt load reduction, government could also mandate a decrease in credit card interest rates, returning to the caps of olden days, at say, 15%. That, too, would reduce debt, increase spending, and, as long as lending and credit guidelines remain tight, should not lead to an expansion of irresponsibility and all the alleged evils that saddled us all with so much of a problem.

A modest post from outside the beltway (well, I'm half a mile outside...)