Robert P. Murphy, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism, has written new article on Mises.org explaining the bailout that failed yesterday and will probably be attempted again on Thursday in a slightly altered form. The conclusion of his article expresses the main problems with the bailout:

The Paulson Plan is a heist. It is a grand scheme in which the public will end up owing hundreds of billions of dollars to holders of new debt claims issued by the US Treasury. The plan won’t “prop up” asset values and it won’t provide any real stimulus to the economy.

Despite the dire warnings — coming from the same folks who brought you the Iraq invasion to remove WMD — there is no threat of a financial meltdown. If Goldman Sachs failed, the sun would still rise the next morning.

Far from providing stability and confidence, the Fed, Treasury, and SEC’s recent moves have ensured that US capital markets will now function with the same efficiency as public education in this country. The Paulson Plan is one more step in the socialization of America, but it is also a great bank robbery.

You can go to The Great Bank Robbery of 2008 to read the entire argument and to understand more fully why the government wants to do this and what they hope to accomplish.