bailout
if i offered you $1000, would you take it? you'd be suspicious you're doing something illegal. but it's all perfectly square. maybe you would take it. maybe not. if i offered your business $1 million, would you take it? you don't need it. so no, why would you? because i offer the same deal to your competitor. if you don't take my money they will have an advantage. it's crazy but that's the position people found themselves in. ford honda toyota for example, didn't need bailout cash. yet since gm did, they had to sign up for the free money too. lotta banks were in the same position. and of course to get the free money they had to present their financial health in the worst possible way. which made the situation look completely dire. *everybody* and their brother is broke. the economy is gonna tank. these are the end of days. yeah, the economy slowed down. mostly because people believed the situation was far more dire than it really was. things are picking up again. which unfortunately means the pro-bailout folks are all taking credit for their brilliant intervention. meanwhile the bailed-out folks are looking at their mountains of cash and nodding their heads. oh yeah. it worked great.