The Great Bailout
The AIG moment was the first time that the US threw any pretense of real capitalism out the window. Bear Stearns at least was done by JPM with government help. Fannie and Freddie were taken over, but they were always quasi government entities. It was AIG that was truly special. The government didn't even attempt to see if the banks had managed their exposures at all. The government didn't even care if they had. They panicked and saved the banks from their own folly - they didn't give capitalism a chance. The US has never truly recovered from that. The entire system looks to government support more and more. Since AIG the Fed has been running at least one massive easing program or another constantly. The government is lurching from spending program to spending program to keep the economy churning.
At the first signs of weakness we beg for the FED or ECB or the government to do something big and fast. The European credit crisis seemed a final chance to put some capitalism back into capitalism. To allow dumb decisions to pay the price for failure. To reward the institutions that had properly navigated through the risks. There was even a brief moment when it looked like Germany would do that - would force those who failed to pay the price and support those who had taken the best steps. But now with Dexia bailed out and some super SIV on the way, it looks like we are once again heading down a path of not allowing failure - in fact we are once again rewarding failure and living beyond your means. It isn't communism, but it certainly doesn't fit any classic definition of capitalism.
