Of course, once you’re bailing out banks and automakers, there will be no justification for excluding other big businesses from feeding at the taxpayer trough. Airlines, hotels, construction, computers — all these industries are hurting as consumption retracts, and all of them have just as good a case that they need to be bailed out to protect jobs as the auto industry. Then there are the spendthrift states like California and New York that all want federal money not to mention all the major U.S. cities who are equally deserving. The bailout parade has no end.

"We must recognize that government intervention is not a cure-all" ... "Our aim should not be more government," ... "It should be smarter government."

[...]

"In the wake of the financial crisis, voices from the left and right are equating the free enterprise system with greed, exploitation and failure," Bush said.

"It is true that this crisis included failures, by leaders and borrowers, by financial firms, by governments and independent regulators," Bush said. "But the crisis was not a failure of the free market system. And the answer is not to try to reinvent that system."

"At its most basic level, capitalism offers people the freedom to choose where they work and what they do ... the dignity that comes with profiting from their talent and hard work. ... The free-market system also provides the incentives that lead to prosperity — the incentive to work, to innovate, to save and invest wisely, and to create jobs for others."

[...]

"Free-market capitalism is far more than an economic theory. It is the engine of social mobility — the highway to the American dream. And it is what transformed America from a rugged frontier to the greatest economic power in history ...

All of these bailouts come at a heavy cost, and not just to the American taxpayer. Just like the mafia that wants to “wet its beak,” government money comes with government interference. Hence Obama’s promise that any money for automakers comes with an auto czar “who would have the authority to push for reforms.” With liberals in power in Washington, bureaucrats will be able to decide what kind of car you drive, how much you should pay for your house, and what medical procedures you can and can not have. What’s the difference between us and China again?

Three big city mayors asked the federal government Friday to use a portion of the $700 billion financial bailout to assist struggling cities.

They sought help with the pension costs, infrastructure investment and cash-flow problems stemming from the global financial crisis.

The mayors _ Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, Shirley Franklin of Atlanta and Phil Gordon of Phoenix _ made their request in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

[...]

The three mayors proposed providing loans to help cities pay pension costs. They also want $50 billion in loans for investment in infrastructure, and additional one-year loans to cities unable to borrow cash because of the tight credit markets.