Tell you what, let’s take care of a little business this morning, OK? Pull out the checkbook or log on to your bank’s Web site and make your house payment. Pay it in full.

Do it now. I’ll wait.

There. Don’t you feel better? I know I do, because I don’t want my tax money being used to pay your mortgage, and that’s a strong possibility given the plunging stock value of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae is actually the Federal National Mortgage Association, while Freddie Mac is the nickname of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Both were created by the federal government, but are private corporations that sell shares of stock. Basically, both companies either lend money to purchase a home or guarantee the loans of other mortgages companies.

Remember that check you just signed? Chances are it was paid to the order of a subsidiary of one of those two companies. Or one of the two has guaranteed that if you default on your mortgage, either Fannie or Freddie will pay it.

Given our crappy economy and a record number of real-estate foreclosures lately, it’s a risky business.

Lately the stock of both corporations has plummeted because both are expected to suffer huge losses. A story in the Los Angeles Times said “the companies ended Friday with a combined stock market value of $15 billion, down $12.7 billion in five days.”

These days, people are struggling to put gas in their cars and food on the table, let alone make house payments or keep the lights on. And apparently, more than a few are choosing the gasoline and meatloaf.

Speculation arose last week that, if both corporations keep struggling, the federal government would have to jump in and take over both or at least bail them out.

Let’s hope neither of those options is necessary.

The problem is that we always turn to the federal government to bail out struggling industries. It started with giving Chrysler about a billion dollars back in the late 1970s and continues through the Federal Reserve Bank’s attempted bailout last spring of investment bank Bear Stearns.

The federal government can’t keep jumping to rescue struggling companies or industries. We either have a free-market economy or we don’t. We’re either responsible for our choices or we’re not.

I’m not sure what universities are teaching in business management classes these days, but on Day 1, the lesson should be: If you make wise choices, you’ll make money. Make bad choices and you’ll lose your butt.

That’s what happened in the real estate market. At some point, lenders decided to go ahead and lend money to people who wanted to buy houses they really couldn’t afford. Or, they offered adjustable interest rates that were sooo low that people couldn’t resist refinancing or taking out a second mortgage. Or they loaned money to borrowers who had marginal credit histories.

Gosh, why would lenders do that, you ask.

Well, greed.

Make the loan and charge closing costs and fees. In a few months, sell the mortgage to some other company and make even more cash. Plus, there was no risk because Fannie and Freddie were there to either buy the mortgage or — for a fat fee — guarantee that if the borrower defaulted, they’d pay off the loan.

But chickens always come home to roost. Gas prices skyrocketed. Food prices increased. Jobs were eliminated or taken “off-shore.” Those adjustable interest rates started to rise, and house payments grew by hundreds of dollars. All of a sudden, a bunch of people couldn’t pay their mortgages. And guess who got stuck holding the bag? That’s right, Fannie and Freddie.

Of course, it might not stop there.

If the federal government decides to bail out Fannie and Freddie, we’ll foot the bill.

Now, I don’t want to seem cruel here and definitely don’t want to see people lose their homes but, I’m sorry, I didn’t make those loans and I don’t want my money spent on bailing out the companies that did.

So, pull out that checkbook again next month and make another house payment. You might be poorer after the transaction, but I’ll feel a lot better.

Steve Booher’s column runs on Mondays.