???? The rescue package has got to be one of the most peculiar things to
come out of the Bush Administration. At least the Brits had the smarts to
take a stake in the banks so that their government can later sell the
stake and recover some of the cost to the taxpayers when the good times
come again. In the US that money seems to just be a donation from the
taxpayers. The Bristih move is definitely a socialist startegy whereas the
US one is pure capitalism. As a taxpayer, I know I'd prefer the British
model any day.

I agree that it is peculiar. I think a certain amount of crash and burn
should be allowed to happen. If a company can't meet its payroll without
borrowing money, payday after payday, they deserve to go belly up. If a city
can't run their busses without borrowing money, they should shut them down.
The current financial "crisis" in the USA will pass, and as a result the
weaker businesses will be gone. You don't shoot the Doctor because you loose
a patient. And you don't scrap capitalism because it hiccups. I say keep the
government out of it. It will recover, the stock market will recover, and
America will be stronger because of it.

I've always been an advocate for government taking on the role of an
educator, not an enforcer. Educated people tend to make better decisions. A
lot of people took out a mortgage that was a really stupid idea, and didn't
know better. I have a close relative in bankruptcy right now because he
bought a house on an interest only loan, and now he couldn't afford the
payments. Duh! A little education about home loans and mortgages could have
prevented a lot of this.