Some discussion here, with links.

In his testimony, Kuttner makes an excellent point that I've thought about before. If an industry is protected by the government (taxpayer) from its failures, how is regulation of that industry at the front end any different from a moral and philosophical standpoint?

You can't make a philosophical case for privatizing success and socializing failure.

If the Feds are bailing out financial industries left and right (again) because they screwed up, I'm certainly not going to go to the barricades to protect the industry from new regulations, or bringing back old ones.

Take the safety nets away and make them deal with the consequences--it would be rough, but the economy would eventually come out healthier. But if they get to keep the nets, the net guys should get to make some of the rules.

You might recall that I've stated my support for nuclear power being heavily regulated. The forces involved go so far beyond the industry itself that it's almost like saying I should have a right to manufacture high explosives by the ton in my back yard.

I'm not a Wall Street expert, but when we're throwing money around in the trillion-dollar range, some sectors of the financial industry probably fall into the same category.