Bailouts and Faux Capitalism

Here's a good piece by Reihan Salam, from Forbes.com:

Bailout capitalism is crony capitalism: the marriage of the socialization of risk and the privatization of profit. In this upside-down world, the taxpayer bears the brunt of failed decisions while crony capitalists make billions when times are flush. Notice what has happened since the bailout of the financial sector. While some have condemned it as a massive giveaway, others have decided that they too are deserving of federal largess. This is a mentality that will sap our economic vitality and, as melodramatic as this might sound, undermine our democracy. We badly need politicians who are willing to apply the same set of rules to big guys and to little guys. If Republicans are ever going to make a comeback, they need to make the case against never-ending bailouts of the rich and connected.

http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/11/23/auto-bailout-obama-oped-cx_rs_1124salam.html