I don't agree with what is going on here, but at the same time, what do business leaders expect when things go this wrong? People are angry and are willing to do anything to get back at those who have hurt them. Should the government do this? Well, if you're going to take my tax dollars then yes, I think you have to accept any pay regulation the government wants to put on your business. So here's a solution, do the moral thing and either pick yourself up, get some morality and run a decent, responsible business. If you can't handle that, close down, its as simple as that.

I'm not saying that any body should or should not force big business to do anything, I am simply saying that in this current economic crisis, Big Business, specifically, Big Finance is the problem because no one was holding them accountable.

Also, our founders based our founding documents on the writings of John Locke. As most people know, Locke's main thesis was that the purpose of government is to protect the property of its citizens. At the time when Locke and our founders were writing, joint stock companies were a new and novel invention. They simply could not have imagined this current crisis ever arising. Somehow I think Locke would have approved of regulation of business, because regulation does not take a business's property, it is law, and law is given to prevent humans from harming one another and each other's property.

The failure of these large businesses have hurt many American's lives, liberty, and property. Isn't being laid off an attack against all three, especially when one cannot easily get a new job? The point of regulation is to ensure business does the right thing by its employees and customers. By failing, big business essentially takes the future property of those it lays off, especially when those people must rely on the government.

What I want is true accountability, and I have not seen big business held accountable. I don't want to destroy big business, but I also don't want them to act immorally toward their employees. What I want is proper regulation and proper prosecution based on this regulation.

Are you really sure we have enough controls? If we do then why are we in this financial crisis? Isn't the point of controls to prevent the natural greed inherent in capitalism from damaging people's lives? While its nice to say that free market capitalism is the answer, lets be honest, it has brought a lot of bad with the good. Ask the workers in Andrew Carnegie's steel mills, or those who worked in the meat packing facilities of Chicago at the turn of the century. I'm sure they would tell you that free market capitalism is nothing short of terrible. It is for this reason that we have regulation, to prevent something like a communist revolution.

True Marxists hate regulation, because regulation quiets the masses and prevents what they see as the inevitable revolution from happening. Yes, regulation does hamper business, but sometimes business needs to be hampered. Why? Because it has been proven time and time again not to be trust worthy. Yes there are thousands of fantastic businesses out there that do the right thing. But there are also those that are run nothing short of immorally. This is what regulation is there to take care of.

Humans are imperfect creatures, and the purpose of government is to prevent us from hurting and killing each other. In the realm of economics, the government must also prevent us from hurting each other, hence regulation.

I wish humans were perfect and we didn't need regulation. I wish we could fully unleash the economic potential of this country. But lets be honest, when that has happened historically, people have been hurt.

I agree, big government is not the solution to this problem. However, neither is big business. Bigness in general is the problem. If one has had any education in Microeconomics, one learns that markets break down in complex conditions. The problem with American capitalism is bigness and complexity. What I propose is that we allow big business to simply die out. Capitalism is about competition. The more competitors there are, the better capitalism is. Big business by its very nature is not competitive.

What I'm saying is that conservatives need to rethink their values when it comes to capitalism. Big Business, like Big Government is not the solution. True innovation and dynamism comes from the interaction of many firms in competition. Its time for Americans to abandon the failed logic of Bigness, whether in government or business.

American Capitalism is broken. Company leaders no longer have any sense of responsibility to their employees or their buyers. Instead, Capitalism has become about making money, pure greed. Capitalism should be about providing a service or product for people, enhancing their lives while giving the workers a good living. Companies are responsible to their workers, and when CEOs focus on their own material gain, it is nothing short of being immoral. Greed as I remember is a sin, not a virtue, and business leaders in today's American Capitalism are nothing short of greedy.

Support your local small businesses. Small business gets it, they understand their responsibility to their employees and their customers. Small business is what made this nation great, not multinational corporations. These corporations are the reason we are in this mess, its time to stop defending and supporting them. The people of this country need to abandon irresponsible big business/big finance capitalism and embrace the true nature of American Capitalism, the little guy. Let these corporations rot, they're the problem not the solution.

Here's the issue. GM is a major American company. When a company gets to the size GM is, employs the number of people GM does, and has a large number of investors, it has a responsibility to do well, anything less is simply immoral. Large multinational corporations must play by different rules than smaller companies simply because they have so many people depending on them. The purpose of a company is not to make money, it is not to make some top executives rich, it is to provide a service to people and thus provide a living for those who provide the service. GM has failed in this basic element of business, thus forcing thousands of those who depend on the work it provides out of a job.

I feel no pity for any executive who can't run a company that gets forced out. Executives have a moral duty to provide for the good of their employees and the longstanding security of their enterprise. This is what I detest about modern American Capitalism, the entire system is now about getting rich without regard for those who make the company work. Some would say that my dissatisfaction with this sort of Capitalism makes me a socialist. I am not, socialism is just as bad for the same reason, it has historically made the government officials who run the government and the economy rich.

I am a proponent of small scale capitalism, the kind of capitalism that existed at the time of Adam Smith and the founding of this nation. Small businesses get it. They understand their responsibility to their workers and community. Big Business does not, Big Business and Big Finance's greed got us into this mess, so why are all of you conservatives backing them? They are inherently immoral, last I checked, greed was a sin, not a virtue. If we really want to revitalize America, we need to do what American's have always done, support the little guy, the underdog. Let GM rot, let all of the multinationals die. They are the problem, wake up and embrace true, responsible capitalism. Support your local businessman.

Dear L1M89,
What's wrong with studying the works of Marx along with those of the founding fathers? Shouldn't you know the theories and ideas of your ideological opponent first hand rather than through someone else? If you did indeed read Marx (which I have along with much of what the founders have written) you would find that his ideas are not what you believe them to be.

I could go on about this, but let me make this point, if Marx were alive today, he would simply see the US government's reaction to this crisis as a way for the bourgeois to hold on to their power and prevent what he saw as an unstoppable revolution. So according to Marx himself, what the Obama team is doing is exactly what will prevent the uprising of the Proletariate.

For the record, I'm not a Marxist and I don't agree with his theories (though I do agree with many elements of his criticism of capitalism). All I'm saying is that you need to read both the founding fathers, those who they based their ideas on (eg. Locke and Montesquieu) and Marx's writings. Without this knowledge, you are ill equipped to fight an ideological battle. You can't convince people of the rightness of your arguments unless you truly know what they believe.

Oh, and long live the constitution of the United States, as it was written in 1787. It is, without a doubt, the greatest political document ever created.

I agree with robert, these institutions have the nation's money supply on their books. Any failure on their part puts the entire money supply of the United States in jeopardy. Besides, laissez faire capitalism is a known failure. Capitalists are inherently greedy people today. Rather than banking and investing being about creating sustainable, long term growth that benefits all involved, our capitalist system has become one big get rich quick scheme. The financial markets have been irresponsible with the freedom and power they have been given. They have not proved that they don't need regulation.

Unfortunately our economic system is based on greed, and last time I checked greed was a bad thing. Greed hurts innocent people. If these financial corporations can't be responsible for themselves, then the body politick needs to make them responsible. This is a legitimate job of the government in the economy, you're right to make money ends when you hurt people. These large corporations don't understand that, and thus they have lost the collective trust of America. WIth great power comes great responsibility.

I completely agree. Remember those nice ancient Greeks who invented Democracy? Many of them weren't such big fans of it, and for the philosophers (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle) Democracy was one of the three worst forms of government (Along with Tyranny and Oligarchy). We have a good frame of government in this Republic, the problem is our leadership. If you don't like them, vote them out, convince people that they're doing the wrong thing. Our form of government has survived through far more difficult crises than the one we currently face (eg. The War Between the States), and it will survive this.

So, about this, as I remember, there's a little saying in Matthew 11:36 that states no one knows when the last days will occur and that know one except God can know. If this is true, then what is the point of trying to guess who the Anti-Christ is? For perspective, lets try to remember how many "Anti-Christ" figures we have had throughout history. I can think of several off the top of my head, Nero, Domition, Wilhelm II (emperor of Germany in World War I), and Hitler. There are of course more, but I think I've made my point.

As Christians, why should we worry about who is and who isn't the Anti-Christ, after all, the point of the book of Revelation is that God wins in the end. Instead, shouldn't we be reaping the harvest while there is still time (Jesus said that one too). Let me tell you one thing, nothing turns non-Christians off to Christianity more than when we Christians go apocalyptic and start trying to predict the end of the world. If anything, this kind of living hurts our witness.

In conclusion, yes, live your life as if we are in the end times, be a witness to your friends and neighbors, by all means bring them to Christ. Please don't lose sight of what is important! It isn't important whether or not Barak is the Anti-Christ, it's important to show those around you the Truth of Christ through your words and life.