Business Roundtable: Taking Stock

Democracy, and Everyday Life" Of course Fannie and Freddie are getting bailed out. They're Bear Stearns to the 10th degree—way too big to fail, especially with the rest of the Street in turmoil. And of course taxpayers get stuck with the tab. What worries me is the complete lack of accountability by Fannie's and Freddie's executives, as well as Wall Street investment bankers also now being insured by taxpayers. We've created the worst form of socialized capitalism—private gains combined with public losses. These executives and bankers are among the best paid in all of corporate America. Their organizations are treated as if they're giant investor-driven private sector entities as long as they're healthy. But when they start to go down the tubes they become public entities with public responsibilities, and the rest of us have... [read full story]