For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Premature nationalization?
U.S. regulators led by the Treasury Department announced today that the government stands ready to take bigger bank stakes in the form of shares that “would be converted only as needed over time.” To analysts including Paul Miller of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc., nationalization of some of the nation’s largest lenders appears well under way. The government already holds $52 billion of preferred shares in Citigroup, five times the bank’s market value as of Feb. 20.
Is a complete government takeover of some of the country's largest banks inevitable even though it's a slippery slope to full-scale socialism? If accomplished, will this be the short-term fix the Administration suggests, or the end of private banking as we know it?
