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Bailouts are public failures, not private failures. Businesses are doing what they should in fighting tooth and nail to survive. The market is doing what it sho

Bailouts are public failures, not private failures. Businesses are doing what they should in fighting tooth and nail to survive. The market is doing what it should in killing businesses too stupid or greedy to survive. It is the government doing the wrong thing by saving the incompetent. If the government bails out idiots, what's the point in being smart?

Ygg2 7y ago
Bailouts are public. But that doesn't mean there aren't bailouts of private sector. If government doesn't bailout idiots like e.g. private banks, their entire economy can collapse. That means no pensions, no jobs, and destroyed economy.
- kwhitefoot 7y ago
  Governments could bail out the victims instead, that is the pensioners, the employees.
  - Ygg2 7y ago
    That's true, however it's both easier and politicaly good move to bail out banks. Easier because you don't have to see who had which plan and how to bail out each person on it. Plus banks are both more powerful and easier to return the favor than the victims.
domador 7y ago
Are airlines idiots? Aren't they more like victims of extremely unfortunate circumstances? Do we want to lose commercial air travel for a few years? If airlines are worth helping out and saving, then maybe so are certain other businesses. While we're at it, let's work on toning down the greed part, which as it is was already destroying society even before this crisis.
- AbrahamParangi 7y ago
  What makes you think that allowing the holders of airline bonds and equity to take a bath will result in commercial air travel disappearing? Edit: I should be clear. Yes they're idiots. There is no reward without risk. Stock buybacks make businesses fragile. They're functionally equivalent to selling insurance. They provide predictable returns with high probability and absolute ruin with low probability. They've been playing Russian Roulette for years and it turned out a bullet was in the chamber this time.

Ygg2 7y ago

Bailouts are public. But that doesn't mean there aren't bailouts of private sector. If government doesn't bailout idiots like e.g. private banks, their entire economy can collapse. That means no pensions, no jobs, and destroyed economy.

kwhitefoot 7y ago
Governments could bail out the victims instead, that is the pensioners, the employees.
- Ygg2 7y ago
  That's true, however it's both easier and politicaly good move to bail out banks. Easier because you don't have to see who had which plan and how to bail out each person on it. Plus banks are both more powerful and easier to return the favor than the victims.

domador 7y ago

Are airlines idiots? Aren't they more like victims of extremely unfortunate circumstances? Do we want to lose commercial air travel for a few years? If airlines are worth helping out and saving, then maybe so are certain other businesses. While we're at it, let's work on toning down the greed part, which as it is was already destroying society even before this crisis.

AbrahamParangi 7y ago
What makes you think that allowing the holders of airline bonds and equity to take a bath will result in commercial air travel disappearing? Edit: I should be clear. Yes they're idiots. There is no reward without risk. Stock buybacks make businesses fragile. They're functionally equivalent to selling insurance. They provide predictable returns with high probability and absolute ruin with low probability. They've been playing Russian Roulette for years and it turned out a bullet was in the chamber this time.