And what did you libs think of that when Reagan did it?
Only speaking for myself - Same thing I think of it now, it sucks that it has come to this. I don't like that it is being done, but if we allow these companies to simply fail it will cause catastrophic job losses and can wipe out the financial base of entire communities. I hear a lot of talk about just letting these companies fail, but all of them have long-reaching ties to other businesses and investors that would be hurt by the companies collapse, not to mention the thousands of employees directly affected by the company's closure. In addition, there are local companies and small businesses that are dependent upon these larger businesses for much of their business. If the large business closes its doors, the smaller business is affected too. It effects the spending habits of its employees which in turn effects the revenues of the other businesses in the area. It also effects a city's tax revenues. Look at some of the towns where Maytag closed its doors.
I'm not in favor of government controlled enterprise, but there are some instances where I think it is necessary to keep a financial structure from collapsing. I don't see it as a protection for the company, but as a protection for Joe Sixpack and the rest of the employees who are dependent upon that company to survive. Sure, there's going to be people that game the system, there always are. But it's like that saying about the baby and the bath water.
In the end, Continental Illinois was eventually bought by Bank of America and many of its employees were able to keep their jobs and maintain their livelihoods. So it worked out. Hopefully, this will too. We can only wait and see.
