I'm all for root cause analysis. A big part of that is that large companies become extremely risk-tolerant because history has shown there is little to no downside to their actions. If the government always bails you out, what incentive is there to be prudent? You may as well fly close to the Sun and pay out big bonuses now. Insolvency is a "next quarter" problem.
I'm aware that TARP funds were repaid. Still, a bunch of that money went straight into bonuses [1]. Honestly, I'd rather the company be seized, restructured and sold.
You know who ends up making sacrifices to keep a company afloat? The labor force. After 2008, auto workers took voluntary pay cuts, gave up benefits and otherwise did what they could to keep the company afloat, benefits it took them ~15 years to fight to get back. In a just world, executive compensation would go down to $1 until such a time that labor sacrifices are repaid.
I'm aware that TARP funds were repaid. Still, a bunch of that money went straight into bonuses [1]. Honestly, I'd rather the company be seized, restructured and sold.
You know who ends up making sacrifices to keep a company afloat? The labor force. After 2008, auto workers took voluntary pay cuts, gave up benefits and otherwise did what they could to keep the company afloat, benefits it took them ~15 years to fight to get back. In a just world, executive compensation would go down to $1 until such a time that labor sacrifices are repaid.
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/jul/30/bank-bonuse...