Decius wrote:

This, however, is communist.

I certainly don't think it's communist but just as the UK had a mixed ecoonomy post WW2 now you have one.

but that aside

I was watching the news on Monday night and was listening to one economist talk about Andrew William Mellon Secretary of the Treasury from March 4, 1921 until February 12, 1932.

Mellon became unpopular with the onset of the Great Depression. Many economists today (such as Milton Friedman and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, to give two prominent examples) partially attribute the collapse of the American banking industry to the popularity among Federal Reserve leadership of Mellon's infamous "liquidationist" thesis: weeding out "weak" banks was seen as a harsh but necessary prerequisite to the recovery of the banking system. This "weeding out" was accomplished through refusing to lend cash to banks (taking loans and other investments as collateral), and by refusing to put more cash in circulation. He advocated spending cuts to keep the Federal budget balanced, and opposed measures for relief of public suffering. In 1929-31, he spent much of the time overseas, negotiating for repayment of European war debts from World War I. In February 1932, Mellon left the Treasury Department and accepted the post of U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He served for one year and then retired to private life.

I think this was the smart move rather than let the global economy go to the wall.

Decius wrote:

Never has the idea of progressive taxation seemed more just.

For the record I've always believed in progressive taxation.

RE: Fed’s $85 Billion Loan Rescues Insurer - NYTimes.com