A “mixed economy” is a society in the process of committing suicide.

If a nation cannot survive half-slave, half-free, consider the condition of a nation in which every social group becomes both the slave and the enslaver of every other group. Ask yourself how long such a condition can last and what is its inevitable outcome.

When government controls are introduced into a free economy, they create economic dislocations, hardships, and problems which, if the controls are not repealed, necessitate still further controls, which necessitate still further controls, etc. Thus a chain reaction is set up: the victimized groups seek redress by imposing controls on the profiteering groups, who retaliate in the same manner, on an ever widening scale.

Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others. By what criterion of justice is a consensus-government to be guided? By the size of the victim’s gang.

Don't worry, we will continue to punish risky behavior practiced by working Americans. We will only reward the billionaires who engage in risky behavior. Rewarding workers would be socialism, and we can't have that.

Thanks Roland, for your perfect sarcasm. I think it's time America realize that hardcore capitalism will reap the same results as hardcore communism. We thumbed our noses at the "socialists" for a long while, and now American greed is the cause of the greatest downfall since the depression.

The conservatives who are saying the US shouldn't do a bail out, are exibiting the same kind of mentality the Soviet leaders that helped to bring them down.

They wouldn't bend to reality. Capitalism is capable of being a great economic engine, but it went against Soviet principals so they refused to adopt it.

They refused to bend to reality.

Conservatives think their principals are more sacred than the well being of the nation, they too are refusing to bend to reality.

Thank goodness president Bush has more sense than to be a purist conservative.

Anyone who thinks that the United States has a "free market" is totally confused about economics. We have had a well regulated economy, until Bush, fell asleep at the switch, standing by as the bankers were allowed to make ridiculous 125% of value, home loans, to anyone with a pulse, in a bubble real estate market.

A lot of the current crisis is also the result of the world's perception of the United States as being run with "no adult supervision." Another tribute to the incompetence of the present lame duck administration.

Hard to believe I would see this day. Nationalization of the economy has worked so well for Venezalia and Cuba and of course South Africa.
Every time the government opens it's mouth with new tickering, the markets fall, as well they should.

I watched Obama tell a plumber who works 10-12 hours a day, "Nobody likes taxes" (So suck it up sucker). Obama "wants to spread the wealth around" to all those Acorn petitioners, I suppose.

Anyone who knows history and understands various economic systems can only mourn for America these days. We are destroyed from within.

I truly hope I am wrong, but with the government forcing its way into yet another private sector, this time one it also regulates, it smacks of the fox minding the hen house. Congress cannot balance its own budget and never has. It will not curb its spending to lift the incredible burden from the backs of the citizens it represents. It has raided the Social Security fund it promised never to touch until there is no fund left to raid. How long will it be before it reaches into yet another pot of cash to slake its never ending thirst for spending. Te day when the joke becomes reality is near upon us. The new IRS 1040: "State your income. Send it in." This seems to be a short step to an impossibly slippery slope.

Let them who have ears to hear...
But, I am afraid the majority have passed the point of hearing. In the raucus din and clamor for Big Brother to save us from ourselves, no one will hear your words. Rather, you, and those who heard you will be shouted down as "fascist, Soviet and antiquated." Unfortunately, the greed of some has created a situation which Lenin parlayed into a revolution which plunged Russia into an abyss of social and financial ruin for nearly eighty years.
Make no mistake, there is greed at both ends of the financial spectrum. Those who have profited insatiably are no uglier than those who have sought who have sought something for nothing. Greed and envy will not be solved by government intervention which will eventually become a billy club for whichever "gang" is strongest.

I cannot defend those who have become drunk with their own lust for wealth, but to Roland Keyser and GeeBee, I would maintain that your bitter envy of the wealthy is no less dangerous. Can you say that, given the opportunity, your alleged altruism would not succumb to the greed that is already apparent in your comments. You pretend to be above those you label, perhaps correctly, as greedy capitalists, but I suspect your envy of their "uberwealth" would quickly turn to the other side, if you had free reign. It is the nature and disposition of almost all men to excersize unrighteous dominion when given the opportunity. Are you different?

So let me see if I get this correctly. The Soviets failed because they refused to adopt capitalism. We are failing because we are refusing to adopt marxist-Lenninism.

Quite a circular logic you have going there.

This mess is one of socialism. If you define socialism as loosly, government intervention in freedom, this is nothing short of that problem.

First part, the Community Reinvestment Act forced banks to make these junk bond/subprime loans in the first place. That is not freedom folks. That is government meddling and cooercion.

Second, the part the governments playing around in fractional banking in the first place. This one goes back to FDR. It allowed banks to play ponzi scheme in the first place. They changed the limits from 10% down to 2.5%.

The answer is NOT to have our entire financial industry run by the government. And now we are reading that they are going to get the Federal Reserve further involved in regulation. Oh this is a horrible idea!

George Bush will go down in history as the worst President in the last 100 years. Maybe our history. He is not a smart man and it is costing us.

I'm a Republican.

To ediddity: No, I am not better or different than the billionaires. If I would have had the chance to make that kind of money I would have seized the opportunity as well. What I'm criticizing is the notion that bailing out billionaires and businesses is not socialism, but that bailing out workers is.

This is the perfect demonstration of the need for fair progressive taxation. Who receives by far the greatest economic benefit from the government? The wealthy and their megacorporations, AIG, Goldman-Sachs, KBR, Halliburton, Exxon-Mobil, Lockheed, etc., etc., that dwarf safety net benefits for the poor. That's what the Obama plan addresses. Of course you are going to have dollar weakening Bush-Bush-Reagan deficits if you try to tax the poor more to subsidize the rich :-) Warren Buffett himself was deeply bothered when he found that he paid by far the lowest portion of his income in taxes of anyone in his office, and he did his own return without anything fancy. That's from an interview with the author of a new authorized biography. If more of the ultrawealthy had their good fortune in the same perspective as Mr. Buffett, we'd be in a much better situation.

@Roland Kayser: Those billionaires did not make that money by chance. That is a significant difference in world view, thinking all outcomes would be equal by chance or that you could have done it too with the right chance. Therefore, you think that political systems would equalize the chances and outcomes. Not so.

Lionheart: Your comment starts out bemoaning bank nationalization than it ends with a childish dig on Obama. It's Bush, the president the majority of Utahans still revere, that make the pitch to buy shares in banks.

Frankly, the ACORN thing smells of republican dirty tricks. There operatives dump off fake from with obviously forged names then, they rat ACRON out.

Look how the GOP tried to turn the Department of Justice in to an election tool.

How could Obama know what someone is doing at ACORN in Las Vegas?

@ Ediddy-
I, unlike Roland, can honestly say I have no such envy towards the wealthy, and quite honestly, I feel more pity towards them than anything else, as their lives usually tend to be rather empty other than all the material goods in the world. Why is it that when the rich are criticised, the critics are labeled as "envious"? It would seem to me that those who would defend the rich in this day and age are probably the more envious ones...

@GeeBee:
Maybe you really are above the almighty dollar, maybe not. Its easy to lambaste what we are not or have not, but it has been my experience that most of us change considerably when presumptions become reality. One thing I know for certain. Whenever money is concerned, the government is quick to assure us of its good intentions and forgetful when its intentions are granted. Ferderal involvement as partners in the banking industry when they are already making the rules is a bad idea.
BTW, I think the bailout ought never to have been passed. I do think those who bonussed out Millions should be forced to return the graft before one dollar of bailout is issued. But the government was wholly complicit in the mortgage collapse, so how are they going to deny a bailout without looking completely foolish. Now paint that picture over the top of the regular banking industry if it ever fails. All I can say is, if we don't learn from past mistakes, we will surely make them again!

I know I am speaking to the wind but on the small chance, anyone who is rational is reading:

The CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) did not require that banks loan to unqualified people; the banks did that ALL on their own.

CRA *did* require however, that banks could not descriminate ("red line") based on location or neighborhood.

The applicant was still required to qualify.

Please look it up, and quit spreading lies.

Obviously, America is not buying it - people have gotten wise about educating themselves - but we need to keep working at it here in Utah.

Lionheart should read `Fooled by Randomness' that makes a very good case that alot of investors did make their fortunes by chance, and, I might add, but warping the playing field in their favor. The arguments that they put greater effort, or pursued greater education, or took greater risks doesn't hold any water, especially now.

When the gubmint starts nationalizing banks, watch out. Americans are generally generous people and we want to take care of those in need, but now too many people want the nanny government to take care of everything for everybody. Who's going to pay for it? Our children and grandchildren will never be able to pay for the debt as it is. We are pretty much a welfare state and I can only see it getting worse.

On CRA: It was a republican controlled congress that changed the CRA to get a veto proof margin on republican senator, Gramns bill to regulate banking. Before this change, the CRA was merely a reporting requirement.

Notice how republicans want to push the blame on to the poor? The poor are being evinced. The wealthy CEO got multimillion dollar bonuses.

There no problem conservatives won't blame the poor, workers or the middle class for. It's never the greedy wealthy who have most the political power in America.

We all should be happy with current events, this is the road to socialism and a one world global gov./mkt. This will be an improvement for most of the world's people.

For the love of David, quit yer bellyaching. We already are socialists. Questar and RMP have monopolies and are doled out money by bought and paid for regulators. The government and in particular the Utah State gov. determines who will be poor or rich by various taxes,incentives, and outright gifts to corporations (look at the UT COEP program and other incentive programs built to bribe businesses to move to UT or the Rio Tinto Stadium spearheaded by that most conservative of state senators, Greg Curtis). When left to its own devices capitalism invariably creates inequality, anarchy and communism. And this editorial is written by board headed by Joe Cannon, who if I am not mistaken, made his money via a government funded bailout of Geneva Steel.

Stop blaming Bush! I don't like him either, but he did not do this to you, your congress did.

Bush diod not increase the pressure to loan to to people who can't qualify, Liberals did!

Bush did not blackmail banks into risky loans, Liberals did!

Bush has been a lousy president, but place the blame where blame is due.

It just shows everyone that we have two groups in theis country who cannot live together, work together, or govern together.

Let's just see how a Polosie/Reed/Obama government tries to govern in their philosiphic utopia. They will do just as poorly, just as biased, and just as egocentric as Bush did.

If Obama is even 1/10th of what you all think his is, lets see he can reach out to the other 45-50% of us. He has not, nor will he.

And that is why he will lose in the next election.

Because there won't be a Bush to blame. Only his own failed policies.

For the Freemarketeers who don't understand, regulation, full disclosure of all information, condition and risks along with equal competence and information on both sides of all trades are required in order to have a true free market.

What we have had has been a rigged market with industry insiders appointed to the regulatory positions where they "chummed" the waters and watched their friends gorge mightily.

Now that house of cards is tumbling, and our government is still trying to force feed the predators instead of helping the tax payers.

Now we find that AIG not only had the $400,000 weekend after the bailout, a second one planned in California, but now we find they also had a bird hunting trip in Great Britain.

The NY Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has filed suit to recovery those mis-spend tax-payer funds while the US Department of Justice fiddles and the Secretary of the Treasury resists do this in the best way for the tax payers.

Regarding the complaints of "nationalization" I find no reasons that the taxpayers should not receive the same return on this investment as Warren Buffet has contracted for. A decent return on investment is clearly different than nationalization.

I hope you all are going to acquire a taste for squirrel,as you may be eating a lot of it in the coming tough years.

@Guarding the Hen House: The market today spoke on how it sees the bailout and government "offer they couldn't refuse" intervention into the banks. Many of those banks do not have liquidity problems. Now is the government going to force them to make more loans to more unqualified people? The market is a truth-teller on the future. Looks like people with money no longer believe in the "American Way" for the future. And Hen House, if you think the Fox (government) is going to get any returns back to the taxpayer, you don't understand government.

There's nothing wrong with rodent stew. Slow cooked for eight hours it's as tender as any other varmint, although a little on the lean side and honest too!

@Roger: The rest of the world was hit much harder than we are, primarily because we dwarf everyone else and they rely on us, now they want us to bail them out too. A world bail out, of course we can just trust everyone to do the right thing, can't we. Welcome to a new world order. The UN, Kyoto, everyone has been trying to get into the American producer taxpayers pocket with one scheme after another, looks like they have found a way, with this huge smoke screen of panic and a rush to action.

are we just going to let all of this blow over without sending someone to prison? Can we start with Barney Frank and the Board of Directors of Fannie and Freddie? I want some satisfaction. No America will just elect a Democrat President and Congress - the same people who caused this whole meltdown. Is anyone ever going to listen to Ron Paul? MAybe when our currency is worthless you'll all remember the one crazy old coot shouting from the rooftop that it was all going to blow up (the currency that is)