Submitted by Kyrel Zantonavitch, Sep 17, 2008 13:44

I, for one, think all this government intervention in the financial markets -- all these bail-outs, rescues, and "back-stops" in the past month -- is making things noticeably worse. It seems like this is exactly what happened to create the 1930s Great Depression! Some natural and/or government-created economic decline, which might have lasted a year or so in the 1930s, was extended to a full decade of economic pain due to non-stop government "help." Now we seem to have the same situation. I tend to think the government artificially created low interest rates to fuel the housing boom of 2000-2006, and now we seem to have to pay the price with a one or two year recession. But with all this government "help" in the past month or so, we seem positively headed over a cliff! Would the economy really have a "melt-down" if Bear Stearns, Shearson Lehman, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, AIG, and all the rest were allowed to go bankrupt? Would there really be a systemic collapse? I don't believe it. These bad companies would just be sold off to good companies. Maybe they would then only be worth 75 cents on the dollar or so -- but the problem would be solved! The housing market seems to be almost the only difficulty here, and it's merely going to fall 30% or thereabout (still somewhat above pre-housing bubble 2000 price levels). So I say: Let it! Our policy should be "Hands off!" and "Laissez-faire!" We really need some competent economists here -- if we can find them! I understand only a little of what's going on today economically and macro-financially but I have a sick feeling inside that neither does anybody else. Especially not President George Bush, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The anti-free market Three Stooges seem like they're gonna kill us. Help!

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