Socialize losses, privatize profits
A blast from the past
That pretty much sums up the playbook for champions of unfettered capitalism. And right in the middle of a global financial meltdown, that creed seems more alive than ever. Now, don’t get me wrong: I don't inherently object to the state stepping in to bail out battered banks before the whole house of cards collapses, even if it means sloshing taxpayer money around with a watering can. What I seriously doubt, however, is that the public will ever see an honest return on that investment. In the best-case scenario, we prevent a few more bank runs and barely dodge absolute disaster one more time. But eventually, the banks will dust themselves off, find their feet, and the reckless high-stakes gambling on international stock markets will cheerfully roll right on. Of course, alongside the rescue packages, there’s plenty of talk about partial nationalization and state stakes in these institutio…
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