Stunning reason why this isn't a "bail out"

[Christian30]

My coworker is dating a managing director at Oppenheimer. Yesterday, we were discussing the current financial crisis. Well, my coworker said: "Boyfriend, says this isn't a real bailout."

I said, "$700 billion in taxpayer money to one industry isn't a bail out???"

He said, "Boyfriend says that in a true bailout all the investors would have been paid back what they lost in the market."

My head nearly exploded. I said, "The market has lost more tahn $1 trillion. Add that to the $700 billion and the $630 billion from the Fed, and we're looking at $2 trillion in taxpayer money."

The conversation devolved from there, but it reaffirmed for me that these Wall Street types truly do think that they should keep their profits and socialize their losses.

[lostnotforgotten]

1. Bingo - They Want Us To Subsidize Their Gambling!

eom

[ixion]

2. "privatize the profit, socialize the risk" is the attitude of a child, IMO

Everything is all well and good when it's going you're way, but as soon as it gets tough, you run to mommy and daddy to clean up the mess.

I think part of the problem is that most of our society never develops beyond this point. Instead, it takes root in the adult life as an unconscious operating motive.

[Robbien]

3. It is not a bailout because bailouts are by definition supposed to solve the problem

Bailouts makes everyone whole and resets the system. This $700B does not do that.

[Roland99]

5. It's a bailout for a select few.

How democratic, eh?

[HamdenRice]

4. I think you missed boyfriend's point, which is that many wealthy owners were wiped out

which actually is fair. The executives of Bear Stearns, Merrill, Lehman, and the shareholders of Wamu were essentially wiped out. Their ownership shares, which were collectively in the hundreds of billions are gone.

So then what is this money? It's a liquidity facility, not an attempt to address the solvency of the banks.

[Two Americas]

6. all right

Liquidity problem - people not willing to loan - businesses starved for operating capital - jobs lost - economic meltdown - dogs and cats living together.

Same situation faced by farmers in the 30's. Government steps in and guarantees and regulates the capital need to keep the farmers going and stabilizes markets. Food produced, people eat, people work, wealth recreated, confidence returns, liquidity problem solved.

Would that problem have been solved by taking care of the banks first, by continuing to give them license to speculate on farm land, then make good on their losses, and the Hell with the farmers?

If this is a crisis in confidence, maybe there is a good reason for that. Maybe people running the financial institutions are not trust worthy.

Confidence is gone because trust has broken down, and that has happened because too many people in business have been lying and cheating and stealing, in the unregulated anything goes corporate culture of greed that encourages and rewards just that. Regulate their asses, and restore the protections the public needs to be safe from their shenanigans.