When big companies look like going under, should governments use tax money to bail them out?

Saturday 20th September, 04:14 PM JST

Latest 15 of 17 Total Comments Show All

rjdsr at 05:54 AM JST - 21st September

rajakumar,

Governments can't even pave roads efficiently. How do you expect them to manage these firms?
Badsey at 06:25 AM JST - 21st September

the Gov should buy all companies and jail all the employees or indict forced labor policies = this is the duty of any good socialist country.

-North Korea (role model) -China -Russia
Farmboy at 07:36 AM JST - 21st September

In general, no. Governments, as rjdsr pointed out, don't know squat about running businesses. When there is a systemic risk for the world markets, though, as was the case with AIG, providing credit with some controls may be necessary. World markets may go over the edge anyway, but some attempt should be made to prevent that.
Farmboy at 08:11 AM JST - 21st September

Just want to add that I just read a story about a proposed $700 billion bailout of mortgage securities, more than has been spent on the Iraq war. I think we're in trouble. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21cong.html?partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss
mechadamuramu at 10:13 AM JST - 21st September

I said no because no company should ever be too big or too essential to fail. That being said, American Republicans pushed an over laxed market where companies were able to lie and cheat and manipulate the market, thereby presenting a false sense of security. Under this system some companies did become too big to fail, and so the government bailout is smart justified, if its accompanied by more regulation.
mareo2 at 08:23 PM JST - 21st September

Why taxpayers have to pay for the mistakes of businessmans that keep asking for less regulations when they make money and ask for protection when they lose money? The message that the gov send is ‘‘You can take great risks, taxpayers pay for all if you fail.’’
buddha4brains at 08:42 PM JST - 21st September

Why socialize capitalism? Socialized health care, fire departments, police, roads I can understand, but socialized business I cannot agree with. Remember USSR?
nisegaijin at 09:21 AM JST - 22nd September

Socialism failed. Miserably! Why we are going back there?
EurajReturns at 12:09 AM JST - 23rd September

What an awfully nebulous question.
rjdsr at 01:29 PM JST - 23rd September

The US is going more towards communism than socialism
moonbeams at 04:42 PM JST - 23rd September

I voted yes to secure the jobs of the employees.

The leadership should also be removed. Without pay.
KitsuneYoukai at 11:48 PM JST - 23rd September

This is not a yes or no answer. It depends and there should be criteria that mustbe met. Remeber that these companies have a lot of people working for them so, letting them go under jsut like that is placing people in unemployment status. It is a spiraling affect; the heads of these companies are not he only ones that pay here.
mareo2 at 12:44 AM JST - 24th September

Is the point is help the employes, I think that the gob can help with money to the new unemployed and still save a lot of money.
helloklitty at 12:15 AM JST - 25th September

There will be some pain, but letting the crisis burn itself out is the right thing to do.

How many of you know really rich kids? Were they decent people? Probably a few, but most get pretty lazy. Not much incentive to do otherwise.

Another question which could be posed: Should we let the FED continue? They are like this drug dealer who says, "I'm not making people use drugs." Well, they sure are facilitating it. That's why we have all this negative equity in the U.S.
realist at 01:42 AM JST - 26th September

Let these stupid bankers go bust. Tax-payers money should not be used to bail out these morons.