>On historical precedent for bailouts, how about the Marshall Plan ? I'd
>add the S &L Crisis and payments to the military industrial complex for
>obsolete forts all across the territory of the U.S. to Doug's list below.
I was talking about failing entities that are "rescued," typically under stringent conditionality, that in the old days would have been allowed to go under (Chysler, about 1,000 S&Ls) or to default outright (New York City in 1975, Mexico in 1982).
>I don't see where the numbers show that private enterprise is more
>efficient than public enterprise.
Even World Bank economists are forced to admit that the data on privatization is at best "mixed." But lots of post-WW II nationalizations were of failing enterprises. Britain nationalized steel and coal, but left the City of London private.
Doug