The plan, which would place the companies into a conservatorship, was outlined in separate meetings with the chief executives at the office of the companies’ new regulator. The executives were told that, under the plan, they and their boards would be replaced and shareholders would be virtually wiped out, but that the companies would be able to continue functioning with the government generally standing behind their debt, people briefed on the discussions said.

It is not possible to calculate the cost of any government bailout, but the huge potential liabilities of the companies could cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and make any rescue among the largest in the nation’s history.

Let rich ceo's gamble the money of the wealthy, and then use tax money to bail them out when their big bets go bad. Sounds like corporate welfare to me. Is this really necessary to stop a chain reaction of bad shenanigans in the economy?