Originally Posted by goober

Desperate times require desperate measures.
Bear Stearns stock was at 171 a year ago, the $2 price represented about a 99% loss to the owners of the company.
So it's not like we are making the fat cat owners whole.
The Fed is trying to prevent a panic which would destroy the entire banking system, and cost far more than the money they are throwing at the market now.
Unwinding the mortgage mess is going to be a messy costly affair, no matter how it is done, I would rather see the government take action rather than sit on the sidelines and watch the whole thing come tumbling down.
If they do it right, the taxpayer actually makes out.
When Clinton and Ruben stayed up til 4 am working out the Mexican bailout, the taxpayers actually made $100 million dollars.
Unfortunately, the caliber of people in those positions isn't what it used to be, but that is the cost of democracy.