President George W. Bush on Tuesday warned of "painful and lasting" economic hardship that will impact "the financial security of every American" if Congress does not act to rescue troubled banks.

That may be so, but millions of people in the United States are already feeling the pinch, prompting many to question why lawmakers haven't done more to help them.

Some 2.3 million homes have been foreclosed upon so far this year and 605,000 people have lost their jobs.

Nearly 47 million are without health insurance while those who are lucky enough to be insured have seen their premiums rise an average of 1,400 dollars since 2000.

Gas and groceries cost more and record-high heating bills are expected this winter.

"Tipping has gotten slower, and people are eating out less frequently, so it is trickling down" said Richard Ng, co-owner of Bo Ling's Chinese Restaurants in Kansas City, Missouri.

Of course, things can always get worse.

The financial meltdown has tightened an already severe credit crunch, and auto dealers, already facing an 11 percent drop in sales this year, are starting to turn customers away because they can't get car loans.

National fast food chain Sonic was told by one of its main lenders Thursday that loans would no longer be extended to its franchises.

And some companies will not be able to pay their workers because banks have withdrawn their short-term credit lines, according to analyst Frederic Dickson of D.A. Davidson.

"The credit crunch at America's banks is now hitting home with full impact on Main Street," he wrote in a report Tuesday.

It is also hitting people directly.

Students are having trouble getting loans to pay for books, tuition and rent, forcing colleges like the Milwaukee Area Technical College to come up with emergency lending.

Even people with good credit are having problems getting approved for mortgages and those trying to sell their homes are having trouble finding buyers -- even after they slash their asking price.

And with nearly half of US households invested in the stock market -- many in mutual funds used for their retirement savings -- the trillion dollars in equity erased on Monday is not just hurting bankers and billionaires.

But while the 700-billion-dollar bailout of overextended banks may be necessary to stabilize finance markets, lawmakers are having trouble convincing voters that taxpayers should be forced to foot the bill.

Scattered protests broke out across the country in the days after the bailout was announced and lawmakers reported receiving thousands of calls and e-mails from angry constituents.

"We should be bailing out the American people," Wendy Coriell told the Green Bay Press Gazette as she stood outside a Wisconsin county courthouse Saturday with about a dozen protestors holding signs saying "Bailout is robbery" and "No banker left behind."

"It's our tax money, not theirs," she said.

The bailout proposal would grant the Treasury secretary authority to buy up toxic mortgage-related assets in troubled banks in hopes of easing the flow of credit and reviving the moribund housing market.

In scenes of suspense and shock rarely seen on the House floor, Republican conservatives and rebel Democrats, many fearing a vote for the bailout could cost them their seats, combined to doom the bill Monday by 228 votes to 205.

Republican Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia compared the bill to a "huge cow patty with a marshmallow stuck in the middle of it."

Elijah Cummings, a Democrat from a predominantly black Baltimore district said he voted no in response to voter frustration: "People see their tax dollars spent bailing out financial institutions, and they themselves are not doing well."

Congress has agreed to take another look at the bailout this week, and lawmakers hope that new provisions to protect Main Street -- like increasing federal deposit insurance for families and small businesses with money saved in US banks -- will help get it passed.