In a market capitalist system, investors invest money in corporations and businesses. They do in return receive the profits of the corporations and businesses they chose to invest in, and they do on the other hand risk to lose their investment if the respective corporations and businesses fail.
The market capitalist system (if properly regulated) has served the welfare of the people well, better than any other system mankind had invented until this day. It sets the frame for the best possible informed investment decisionmaking and optimizes ressource allocation in the economy.
Period.
In this late summer of 2008, we find major corporations and businesses in the US financial industry on the brink of failure, because they had negligently bought too many dubious assets.
In the name of the common good, it appears sensible and responsible policy not to let these aforementioned failing corporations and businesses cause catastrophic turmoil while disappearing in bankrupcy proceedings. It does make sense to step in to protect the institutional existence and solvency of these corporations and businesses.
Period.
However, there is no reason whatsoever to "bail out" the investors in these failing institutions, their shareholders. If Henry Merritt Paulson Jr., former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs, Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain now want to give taxpayers' money to these shareholders free of any common good reason, they perform an act of corruption.
If taxpayers' money is needed to "bail out" some failing corporations and businesses in the US financial industry, the guiding principle and bottom line must be that the value of shares in these institutions now is zero.
I call upon every decent man and woman in America to resist the use of any taxpayers' money to "rescue" shareholders of a risk that is inherent in any investment decision, namely to lose your money if corporations and businesses you have invested in happen to fail.