I'm not as down on the banks or the bailouts as some. To me if you let the banks fail and don't have any government intervention (quoting Ben Bernanke) "they won't call the it the great depression anymore, because this would be so much worse", and after looking at all the toxic assets banks had on their balance sheets I can't help but agree.
The system is broken for sure but it can be fixed. Bank bailouts have been going on for centuries and will continue on for centuries. If you look at the state some of the big banks are in (Citi, BoA) you could make a strong case for just nationalizing them. In fact if it was anywhere but the US I would bet the IMF would already have made them do it. Problem is bank nationalization is like patio chips, you can't have just one, once the big guys get taken down it can create a domino effect, and you're taking out some of the biggest buyers in the market once you re-privatize.
Anyway at the end of the day people need someone to blame for what's wrong with the US, and largely the world. Elite bankers are an easy target, people can claim they're the ones who got everyone into this mess and than took the money and ran. And while that is somewhat true Bankers are only a part of the equation. The entire system needs fixing, the government, the bankers, the rest of the private sector, the citizens of the US, and the major stakeholders of the global economy. All of them want more than what's attainable, or sustainable.
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