Banks fail. When they do, those who stand to lose scream for a state rescue. If the threatened costs are big enough, they will succeed. This is how, crisis by crisis, we have created a banking sector that is in theory private, but in practice a ward of the state. The latter in turn attempts to curb the desire of shareholders and management to exploit the safety nets they enjoy. The result is a system that is essential to the functioning of the market economy but does not operate in accordance with its rules. This is a mess.
銀行是會倒閉的。當它們倒閉時,那些將會損失慘重的人就吵著要國家救援。如果銀行倒閉勢必造成的代價足夠大,他們就會得逞。這就是我們如何在一場又一場危機中,創造出一個理論上屬于私營、但實際上受國家保護的銀行業。而國家反過來又試圖遏制銀行股東和管理層想要利用他們所享有的這張安全網的欲望。其結果是,一個對市場經濟運行至關重要的體系,卻沒有按照市場經濟的規則運行。這真是一團糟。