The Freedom to Fail

What do you guys think of the many bailouts that are happening or are being proposed? The prevailing wisdom is that the pain of an AIG tanking would be worse than the pain of bailing them out. I am not so sure. If these companies have mad decisions that should cause collapse, maybe they should be allowed to die. Newer companies will step in and will grow - if the need is there. What I fear is that the bail out occurs and then after consuming millions in taxpayer bailout money, the company dies anyway. What I fear is that a brief jab of pain is going to be prolonged into a long dull throbbing agony. Our markets are an exercise in faith. - There is nothing concrete that can be pointed to as an indicator of value. No currency is tied to a metal or a concrete valuable. So, once the faith is shaken, it takes awhile for that faith to return. If a firm dies naturally, it is over - done. If that firm is bailed out and dies a longer death, it can deal more damage to the collective financial faith than if it had died the natural death it had earned.