Day: March 16, 2008

Oh, those capitalist risk-takers! They sure hate government intervention… until they’re in trouble, as victims of their own greed. Now that the Fed has agreed to back a loan to keep Bear Stearns afloat, what about every other large financial institution that runs into trouble?

[Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson would not discuss what would have happened if the government didn’t extend a financial lifeline to Bear Stearns. “I’m not going to speculate about what ifs,” he said.

This is a ridiculous statement! The Fed and Treasury wouldn’t have acted unless they had an idea of what would happen if Bear Stearns went under. Bailing out Bear Stearns may be reassuring to Wall Street, but I think it’s scaring Main Street.