Robert Kuttner makes the argument:
The U.S. Treasury, at taxpayer expense, is pumping out an initial $124 billion in bailout money to 24 of America's biggest banks, in hope of getting them to start lending again. But many of these banks are so traumatized that they're reluctant to lend.So why waste the money on them? If the government took over a failed bank outright, instead of throwing money at banks that it can't or won't control, government could do the job properly.
--The Editors
