You can argue about semantics, but providing something below market cost in a competitive market is a gift of money. Let's call a spade a spade.
At the time of the bailouts, I agreed with you statement that they were the least-bad alternative. Now I am far from sure. The terms of the deal were so generous that they no only did nothing to alleviate the problem, they actually made the underlying structural issues worse. They also served to reinforce the cultural problems within the finance industry, namely that the people there really do think they are doing God's work and should be compensated accordingly. (Yes, I do think that this level of permanent-vacation-from-reality arrogance among leaders is inherently dangerous.) The combination of these two factors means that a repeat performance is simply a matter of time. And the problems associated with living beyond ones means get harder to deal with the longer we put off doing so.
no subject
At the time of the bailouts, I agreed with you statement that they were the least-bad alternative. Now I am far from sure. The terms of the deal were so generous that they no only did nothing to alleviate the problem, they actually made the underlying structural issues worse. They also served to reinforce the cultural problems within the finance industry, namely that the people there really do think they are doing God's work and should be compensated accordingly. (Yes, I do think that this level of permanent-vacation-from-reality arrogance among leaders is inherently dangerous.) The combination of these two factors means that a repeat performance is simply a matter of time. And the problems associated with living beyond ones means get harder to deal with the longer we put off doing so.