America is learning in no short order that the ‘free market’ cannot always inflate itself past market failure. The massive economic bailout now toppling almost $850B with corporate tax credits appended to make it more ‘palatable’ is touted to save us, the little people. Even after this total economic meltdown, the very architects that engineered the collapse are insisting that buying bad debt from the banks will somehow trickle down profits to the public.
Recapitalization has always been the responsibility of shareholders. Prudent business management dictates some respectable percentage of the enormous profits gained by these risky ventures have been put aside for just such ‘rainy days’. Alas, the uneven-handedness of the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) is obvious. It protects Wall Street at the expense of Main Street and argues gains of the former benefit the economy while the losses of the latter have no impact on the economy.
If the investors that grew fat off the housing bubble believe the plan to buy toxic assets would turn a profit, or at least make sound economic sense, believe me they would be funding this bailout themselves. Clearly they have no faith in the very ‘free market’ they espouse or they wouldn’t demand it be ‘risk free’ and guaranteed by public money.
Now, it seems that the restrictions limiting participating banks from distributing exorbitant bonuses to the very executives that so badly mismanaged their shareholders’ money are turning up their noses at the bailout.
Referring to the newly passed bill, one Wall Street analyst noted, ” One of the least attractive elements is a section designed to curb executive pay at banks that participate in the bail-out package. These include limiting stock-related pay and banning ‘golden parachutes’ for executives.”
Honestly, what hubris. Destroy the economy and then complain because the taxpayers want something in return for their money. Prudent money managers these people may not be but no one can accuse them of not having chutzpah.

Dennis Kucinich calls these ballsy bankers, crooks aided and abetted by our pitiful, gutless, impotent Congress. From Chris Hedges

“This was the largest single act of class warfare in the modern history of this country,” Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who led the fight in the House against the bailout, told me by phone from Cleveland. “It is a direct attack on the American people’s ability to be able to stabilize their homes and their neighborhoods. This single vote will define the careers of everyone. We are back to taxation without representation, to markets that are openly rigged.”