Political chatter is all about whether the drastic step of nationalization of some of the country’s banks puts us officially in the company of South American juntas, failed Eastern European regimes and, of course, current Communist countries.
But it seems to some that this is all semantics. We “nationalize” banks all the time. Those that failed are taken over by the U.S. government until they can be righted and sold back to the private sector or orderly liquidated, all the while, of course, protecting depositors under the FDIC limits. Wasn’t the resolution Trust simply temporarily “nationalizing” the savings and loans?
But those who support bailing out the banks without demanding scalps and accountability seem to want to suggest that “nationalization” will lead to gulags and communes.