Written by Simon Johnson @The Baseline Scenario
February 22, 2009 at 3:55 pm
In major every crisis you have a choice. You cannot choose between inaction and action, because ultimately you will be forced to act. You do not really choose between bailout and no bailout, because very soon you find that all the reasonable options involve some sort of bailout for some people (and not for others). And, try as you might, there is no way to choose to let your neighbors fail completely – because that failure has such awful consequences for their citizens and, in all likelihood, for your banks, that you finally come across with the money.
But you do have a choice on when to come to help your neighbors and your friends, and you can definitely choose the form of this assistance. if you come in earlier and in a more systematic fashion, the cost for everyone is lower and the chances of a fast recovery are stronger. Link to full article
