to anyone who really wants to learn alot more about our ....goverment.....

[PatrickH]

It is my understanding that banks have paid most of it back already, and that GM is seeking to pay theirs back as well. Also, since these are loans that bear interest, when its all said and done the Gov't will have made a return on their money. I'm not saying I approve of this corporate welfare, but its really not the big deal its made out to be by the wingnuts.

You're not looking at the big picture. What this has done is changed the game. It's now accepted that if you're a big corporation you can make bad decisions that hurt everyone and the taxpayers will bail you out. We basically just subsidized failure. This in turn, encourages more failure. It's the same thing we've been doing to our children for years. "It's okay little Billy. You're still a good little boy despite failing your classes, throwing temper tantrums, etc. If you fail high school you can just live with mommy."

[bu villain]

This whole economic downfall just shows how brutal free market capitalism can be. Bailouts or not, we would still be in a messed up situation right now. The question is which is the lesser of two evils?

[youngpre]

You're not looking at the big picture. What this has done is changed the game. It's now accepted that if you're a big corporation you can make bad decisions that hurt everyone and the taxpayers will bail you out. We basically just subsidized failure. This in turn, encourages more failure. It's the same thing we've been doing to our children for years. "It's okay little Billy. You're still a good little boy despite failing your classes, throwing temper tantrums, etc. If you fail high school you can just live with mommy."

While I do very much agree with this setting a very bad precedent, you also have to look at the implications of letting all of those corporations fail simultaneously. The situation could have, and likely would have, turned from bad to worse very quickly