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Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
There's a lot of irrationality among rich and poor alike, but ordinary people are not that hard to figure out. They want ordinary things, like jobs and schools and roads and healthcare and a local sportsball team that wins more than average.
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They also want people they think are less deserving not to get those things, or things that they perceive themselves either to be paying for or not getting. Note that is is unrelated to whether they actually are paying for or getting those things.
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I think our government is pretty excellent, in a world historical sense. Most of the time, it succeeds in resolving disputes between people without violence or oppression. (Cue Adder.)
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In a world historical sense, I do not disagree. But yeah, we're still arresting black men who racist white ladies don't want in their store, so...
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Agreed. (I think you're saying, we could save the banks without saving their investors.)
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I actually don't agree. Or, mostly, I do not think it was possible, even if preferable. No one had the authority to impose the nationalization of a huge chunk of the financial system, nor were there ever going to be enough votes available in congress. Even if congress could eventually have been convinced to act, you cannot afford to wait in the face of a bank run. With the tools available at the time, there was no realistic other choice.
The good news is that we've put in place the right tools for next time. Oh. Wait.
