Is the cause of the current financial crisis lack of regulation (listen to this guy) or too much government inter-meddling with the market (read this guy and these guys).  This is a question that I am sure will be debated for many years to come.  I remain unconvinced of either position, but am leaning toward the latter. In any case, I am highly suspicious of the alleged necessity of using public funds to bail out wealthy corporations that made bad investments.  Someone coined the phrase "socialism for the rich", and I think it applies (loosely) here.  Treasury Secretary Paulson, a former investment banker with Goldman Sachs, and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke are steamrolling congress into passing this legislation, which calls for the expenditure of around $700 Billion - more than the to date cost of the Iraq War.  The congress doesn't know its ass from its elbow with respect to monetary policy and is simply scared straight.  Perhaps, rather than panicking, our elected leaders should make a more reasoned and through analysis of the situation before screwing the taxpayers by borrowing more money from China, raising taxes, and/or weakening the dollar through inflation (where does the $700 billion come from?).  Besides, so long as these gamblers think there is a good chance they will be bailed out if their bets fail, they will continue betting.  Next question: Might a "collapse" actually be a good thing?  Are we living beyond our means?