Are we really having this debate?

I am listening to this story in Chicago with rapt attention - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081208/ap_on_re_us/workers_takeover . Why? Because it shows how little we have learned from this current economic mess.

This is what I mean. Government forced banks and mortgage institutions to lend to people who ultimately could not repay their loans. Even Barney Frank nearly admitted as much recently. So we get the mortgage/housing crisis and subsequent economic slow down we currently find ourselves in. Next up, banks receive funds from a government bailout program known as TARP. The big bailout that everyone was against but passed earlier this year. Bank of America partakes in this funding program. The idea was that these banks would lend money - to people who could pay it back, or so we thought.

Fast forward to this story. Company cannot repay its debt to Bank of America. Bank of America makes a sound business decision to stop lending to company. Company closes its doors. Workers are out in the cold. Company failed to notify workers, company failed to repay loans, company failed to communicate with anyone involved. Bank of America is blamed for said company's woes.

The lesson here is that we got into this mess due to fast money, easy credit, no money down, no income verification, no employment verification lending practices. And when the bank finally makes a smart business move, politicians and activists are all up in arms. If a company makes bad investments, how long do you think it will be around?

It is time for some common sense here folks. The kind that says if you can't repay your debts, you don't get more loans. The kind that says if you want to buy a house or finance a car, you better prove you have a job or income sufficient for the loan. I feel bad for the workers, they got the raw end of the deal, but the blame lies with the company that employed them, not the bank that cut off a credit line that could not be repaid. Where is the common sense?