What was true then......

"If the banks are bad, they will certainly continue bad and will probably become worse if the Government sustains and encourages them. The cardinal maxim is, that any aid to a present bad Bank is the surest mode of preventing the establishment of a future good Bank."

These words were written in 1873 by the English financial expert Walter Bagehot in his classic work Lombard Street. During his time Bagehot was the editor-in-chief of The Economist and one of the most respected financial minds and writers of the day.

How easily could you change the last sentence of the above quote to read: "The cardinal maxim is, that any aid to a present bad car company is the surest mode of preventing the establishment of a future good car company."

What was true in 1873 is just as true 136 years later.