For those wondering whether the $700 billion bailout plan will provide an effective, long-term solution to our nation's economic crisis, my advice is to take a look at Addie Polk.

Last week, Polk, a 90-year-old retiree living in Akron, Ohio, shot herself in the chest as sheriff's deputies tried to evict her from her foreclosed home.

Now, if that sounds a bit extreme to you, you're absolutely right -- because it was extremely effective.

"We're going to forgive whatever outstanding balance she had on the loan and give her the house," Brian Faith, a spokesman for Fannie Mae, announced while Polk received treatment at Akron General Medical Center on Friday.

Talk about a bailout plan that works!

Most residents living in Polk's neighborhood probably thought the most valuable asset time afforded her over the years was a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. But leave it to an elderly midwestern woman to remind the rest of the country that you don't need a $700 billion handout from the government when you've already got balls.

Think about it.

At age 90, Polk has seen firsthand the effects of two world wars, the Great Depression, Vietnam, the Civil Rights movement and the New Kids on the Block comeback tour. But after nearly a century of being an eyewitness to history, she picked last week to apparently pull a handgun out of her knitting basket and say, "We're all screwed!"

Not the greatest business move on Fannie Mae's part, either.

After such a speedy decision to release the gun-toting geriatric from her debts in the wake of her over-the-top protest, the lender may only have encouraged similar behavior from other armed-and-desperate homeowners throughout the country.

Of course, we shouldn't be too surprised. After all, this is the same organization that bought up Polk's 30-year, $45,000 mortgage, issued to her in 2004 -- when she was 86 years old. I mean, did they honestly think that she would be around to sign over that last check at the ripe old age of 116?

No matter how you categorize her actions, however, by responding the way they did, Fannie Mae officials unwittingly set the bar for those who don't have enough time or faith in the government to let the bailout kick in as planned.

And since it takes about 30 days for most mortgage-related paperwork to be processed -- the same amount of time it takes to register a shiny new handgun -- I guess we'll see whether trend continues in about three weeks.

Until then, it will be interesting to see whether Polk decides to address the public as she continues to recover. I would be especially interested in hearing how she intends to cast her vote in the upcoming election.

Let's just hope she goes to the polls in order to do so -- I wouldn't want her to be too close to that knitting basket if the mail-in ballot gets lost in the mail.