> also, isn't buying stakes in the banks much more "socialist" than the
> bailout plan? or did i miss something?
Could be, though Paulson did it in a very hands-off way, explicitly opting for nonvoting stock. That may change with a new admin. I see they've been talking about some sort of czar to oversee the remaking of the U.S. car industry, which is a lot more activist. Circs may force these guys to be a lot more interventionist than Goolsbee would like.
Shouldn't there be some sort of minor revolt, of the kind that killed the first bailout plan, to demand more for our money? It would be nice for the government here to function as a kind of anti-IMF (a Social Monetary Fund?), demanding the kind of restructuring the population would directly benefit from: instead of dumping workers, hire them - WPA or CCC-style?
At least the Big Three ought to "diversify", right? Part of the deal could be investing in public transportation, instead of fighting it, for example?
Ricky Baldwin