When the US government bails out those airlines, they're using taxpayer moneys to do so. To be fair, if this bailout does result in a return, then you could vie

When the US government bails out those airlines, they're using taxpayer moneys to do so. To be fair, if this bailout does result in a return, then you could view it as a government investing its tax revenues in profitable investments, sort of like a sovereign wealth fund. However, this viewpoint requires a level of trust in the government to act as a responsible steward of its tax coffers for the betterment of its people which frankly isn't there in today's political climate. With the level of mistrust towards the US government and megacorps, any bailout seems like the elites using taxpayer money to build a safety net for themselves that the average citizen doesn't have. It ultimately isn't a problem with the numbers in the books, but with pent up discontent in the minds of the public over these past decades about how society just doesn't seem to be in their best interests anymore. If you yourself aren't helped by the government when hard times hit, why should the elites get any help, regardless of whether benefits will trickle down to you?