Mark Schmitt on Bear Sterns, BP, and the reason “bailout” has become the defining word of the era:
The last decade has been defined by the challenge of reacting to institutional failures. In the early 2000s, we worried about failed states, like Somalia and Afghanistan; now it’s failed companies, failed public agencies, and failed governing systems that pose the greatest dangers. Bear Stearns, General Motors, American International Group, Fannie Mae, the city of Detroit, perhaps the state of California, countless schools and state agencies, and most recently even Arlington National Cemetery — there is a reason “bailout” has become the defining word of the era. And while incidents like Tony Hayward’s trip to the yacht race might seem like ham-handed PR, such self-indulgence often signals institutional collapse — consider, for example, that the leaders of Bear Stearns were participating in bridge tournaments, with their cell phones shut off, at several key moments in the firm’s collapse.