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Comment by timy2shoes | Hacker News Reader

We can't have large investors losing money on any of their (inherently risky) investments. How will the market work if investors can lose money?

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They bail out mom and pop, too. They bailed out hunrdreds of thousands of people who thought they could make money flipping condos during the 2008 housing bubble.

Weren’t they just bailing the banks servicing the debt and not the borrowers?

They excused the income tax on forgiven debt, they handed out "first time home buyers" tax credits, they excused tax on "imputed income" from living without mortgage payment for years in foreclosed houses while evictions were held back in court, etc.

Some of the largest investors in the world are pension funds and no we can't let those fall.

This has always been this way. Major investors will not plunge into some big investment without some kind of support from governments. The difference is that now we see this support given after the fact.

Major investors used to risk capital on large assets, but government backstops have really changed the game. Perceived risks have gone down, as have returns.

Many people cite the 1984 bailout of Continental Illinois as a turning point, but there are many examples before and after that.[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailout#Examples

socialize losses, privatize gains. :\

Lemon Socialism

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_socialism

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