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As someone who leans heavily free markets, even I buy the argument that it's not wise to let every airline in the country fail simultaneously, regardless of fau
by anm89 7y ago
As someone who leans heavily free markets, even I buy the argument that it's not wise to let every airline in the country fail simultaneously, regardless of fault.
Here's the thing, there is nothing unfree market about demanding terms for those bailouts, it should be a negotiation, not an ultimatum from the airline industry. So for example, if you enforced all bonuses to be canceled for the next three years and retroactively fined for the last three years, set executive pay at a max of $50k for the next three years (and banned any new stock incentives during that time), fined the executives equal to 125% of capital gains they made on stock incentives, during the stock buyback period, and made all bailouts loans not grants at above market rates, you could ostensibly let them decide how much bailout they wanted without continuing this endless cycle of letting them run at losses knowing the public will foot the bill. And if they don't take it, then let them die.
Basically the end result of the bailout has to be drastically net negative over the last 3-5 years for every airline executive for this not to create moral hazard. I think that is achievable.
Unfortunately well probably just hand them $50 billion and make poor people pay for it.
- fgonzag 7y agoThe shareholders who invested in companies also need to feel the effect of moral hazard. They need to be wiped. I say so as someone with 80% of my assets in the market. If we keep bailing them out, they will keep doing the same. The business is dead. Shareholders would be wiped without the bailout. Nationalize the airlines that need money, fix em up new management, new charter and mission, and IPO them immediately after the crisis ends. Investors need to think about the long term risks of the companies they are investing in, and face the consequences of those risks. Because why wouldn't you invest in airlines if you know they will do a ton of buy backs and will get bailed out at the slightest hint of trouble?