Reply #13: If 70% of all banks fail (which is Citigroup, B of A, and Wells Fargo represent), then

[beachmom]

there is NO WAY the 30% left can extend that kind of credit. Furthermore, I would explain it this way:

Big financial institutions failing (like we saw with Lehman Bros.) led directly to a total freeze in the credit markets. NOBODY lent to ANYONE. That is what happened, with catastrophic consequences to our economy.

We cannot afford another Lehman Brothers. Sorry, if the Left and Right don't like it, but that is why the Bailout Regime should and will stay in place. It is the worst form of policy, except the alternative.