>>>>>>Awe saw the downside of unrestrained capitalism just two years ago.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>If you think the current economic crisis is due to "unrestrained capitalism", then you have a very poor understanding of what got us into this mess.
>>>>>
>>>>>Unrestrained capitalism would have forced all the bailout babies to now be bankrupt, and unrestrained capitalism would have replacements stand and take the lead. Then we would have seen real change.
>>>>
>>>>Whiich is exactly what should have happened ... survival of the fittest and all..
>>>
>>>Another POV might be that this is exactly what is happening:
>>>survival of those fittest in changing colours and asking for handouts...
>>>depends on how the niche is defined
>>
>>All companies operate in an environment of laws and regulations, but I think the distinction still needs to be drawn between companies that nominally survive on their own merits vs. those that survive essentially by fiat.
>
>Definatly agree, but a case can be made that actively finding and utilizing those handouts common from governments to satisfify some "public need" is at least a useful strategy in todays world. Doubt that anybody will argue against such behaviour being at at least a successful tactical option....

Well, if one is a company officer and the government dangles a handout/bailout in front of you, I suppose it's one's duty to at least take a look at it - and/or milk it for all it's worth. The jury is still out on whether many of these deals add long-term (strategic) value as opposed to just offering short-term (tactical) pain avoidance.