Fannie and Freddie, the doomed American couple

This has been a huge part of the news cycle for the past few weeks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been in trouble and the government is going to step in and help. The official word for their plan of action is a "bail-out". Within the last few days the situation has worsened and the government has "taken over" the helm of these two giants. The cost of this government help is unknown but is speculated to be in the billions. Lest we forget, the government has no money in and of itself. All of the money the government has comes from the people. To put this bluntly, our money, your money is going to bail-out other people from their own foolish decisions.
My problem with this comes from the issue of accountability. Am I, are you, or should we, be held accountable for the mistakes of others? If your neighbor makes a bad decision, should you be punished for it? That is the question that I put to everyone. Or do I have it all wrong? Please comment and tell me your feelings.

As a side note, the two main political candidates are in support of this course of action, so if you are not, shop elsewhere this election.