It's Worse Than You Think

More and more I'm thinking there is no need for a bailout. The one bank which actually failed, WaMu, appears to have had it's doors closed by banking regulators. That's an oversimplification, but demonstrates my non-nuanced view.

What is important and absolutely straightforward is that it was gobbled up by Chase. What would a bailout do for such institutions? Provide extra incentive for the surviving predators, thus reducing competition while greatly increasing their power over our leaders. If there is a bailout, it must have a stipulation the institution cannot not then be absorbed by a bigger one without repaying the taxpayers with interest -- the same level as applied to credit cards for the poor. I don't see the risk as being any different.

Local WaMu employees are getting axed, Chase is now even bigger and more influential and will drive government policy even more than in the past. We need to be regulating these big boys out of business. If we are to survive, if our government is ever going to govern corporations instead of the reverse we need to go back to trust busting. Now!