What would have happened if the banks hadn't have been bailed out?

1. 59

   turnup4thebooksposted 15 years ago

   What would have happened if the banks hadn't have been bailed out?
   
   Commentators say there would have been 'Financial Meltdown'. What would be the mechanics and chronology of this breakdown? What would have been the long term effects? Is there an argument to say that it would have been better to let the banks go to the wall?

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2. 59

   commisionerposted 15 years ago

   in the past, some banks have fallen by the wayside due to bad luck or bad management, yet we survived.other banks normally pick up the slack and fill those voids. some people lose money and some actually gain money from all these problems. when a bank fails, it is an opportunity for other banks to pick up more customers. a bank or any business with sound financial practices will always survive even the toughest of times. it does not matter how much they pay their employees or top execs. as long as they do things right it will keep them going. when forced by the government to make bad choices, like giving loans to those who cannot pay, down they go. if your bank decided on their own to give out loans for homes to people without jobs or very low paying jobs and told all it's members about it, what would you do?? stay with that bank and say " boy these guys are nice" or would you take your money and go to a more sound bank? well that's what happened with the banking industry except we weren't told. the government forced them into the loans, then had to bail them out when the policies failed, WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS!!! now my great grandchildren will be paying for the mortgages that people today can't afford. if left alone, most banks would have been fine and the few who failed would have been taken up by the strong ones

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3. 59

   dabeanerposted 15 years ago

   If a company is "too big to fail", it is too big, and should be allowed to fail.  Encouraged to fail.  Bailing out these mega-corporations just accelerates and cements the taking over of the country/world by the corporations.  Benito Mussolini, of 1930s fascist Italy, called it "corporatism".

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4. 60

   Stump Parrishposted 14 years ago

   Bush and Cheney would have won. the country would have collapsed and been sold off in pieces to their buddies in Saudi Arabia. Ok, I'm better now.
   
   The belief that any business is to big to fail simply allows for more reckless behavior from the management team. Why worry about your future if the country will bail your sorry ass out everytime you get a little too greedy.

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5. 60

   BobMongerposted 12 years ago

   Open your wallet. See those pieces of paper in there, the ones with the dead presidents on them? They would now be completely worthless: literally not worth the paper they were printed on.  No other country would accept our credit nor would we or could we accept theirs. If we had done nothing the collapse would have made the fall of Rome look like a walk in the park.

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