[quote=justme]
I don’t understand where the meme is coming from that bailout==regulation. Bailout is the socialization of loss, after having privatized all the profits. Bailout is the polar opposite of regulation.[/quote]
Perhaps regulation is not the right term – “manipulation” is better.
The opposite of unfettered, which is to set free or keep free from restrictions or bonds.
The point was that the prior poster claimed we have had “unfettered capitalism.” i.e. suggesting that it was free-market capitalism that caused the financial messes we are in. However, the fact of the matter is that the messes were created, in large part, by the fed’s rate policies. Thus, you can’t really say it was unfettered capitalism.
The bailout may not be regulation, but it is definitely manipulation – as you said – socialization of the loss. Not something I’m looking forward to, unlike Mark Holmes:
[quote=Mark Holmes]
Personally, after watching for the last decade what completlely unfettered capitalism brought us in the mortgage and financial markets, I’ll be welcoming a little socialism.
[/quote]
But you can see the result of the mess being blamed on “unfettered capitalism” is giving more control to the Fed, which caused the problem in the first place by its manipulation of the capitalistic envirnoment.
That is, at this point, we should allow unfettered capitalism and let the banks suffer for their terrible decisions. But people like Mark are looking forward to socialism, even though it means bailing out the banks at our expense.
Why? Because they don’t understand that it was manipluated capitalism, not unfettered capitalism that made the mess.
