There was a time, before the Federal Reserve, when banks were not rescued, but failed. In the 19th century banks failed and there were panics and depressions e

There was a time, before the Federal Reserve, when banks were not rescued, but failed. In the 19th century banks failed and there were panics and depressions every decade or two. What we have now is way better. The problem now is that banks can reliably depend on being rescued every decade or so. In the 70's it was loans to SA dictators, in the 80's it was the savings and loan crisis. the it was devaluation of the ruble which took out Long Term Capital Management, then the current mess of housing mortgages and derivatives. At one time there were $60 trillion of worthless paper sailing through the system. The problem in the rescue this time is that the TARP money went to rescue the banks, not to the middle class that needed it. The "too big to fail" banks got bigger. Glass-Stegall was not restored. The Republicans stonewalled any meaningful regulation. And of course Congress was bought and sold. Capitalism is the economic engine of our society, but it cannot be allowed to complete freedom without being regulated to conform to the economic and social needs.