WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The massive rescue plan for U.S. banks rubs against the country's dedication to free enterprise, but it is not unprecedented, analysts said.
Washington took over railroads in 1917 to ensure shipping during World War I, The New York Times recalled Tuesday. During World War II, the government nationalized railroads, mines and, for a time, Montgomery Ward department stores.
But, analysts are asking how long the government plans to hold equity in the nation's banks and how far it will go.
"Where do you stop?" asked Robert Bruner, a finance expert at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. "The auto industry is in dire straits and the airline industry is in trouble, for example."
The current bailout is "profound," said Adam Posen, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. However, "I think what we'll see is that the government acts as a silent partner and gets out as soon as it can," he said.
"The goal is to get the engine of capitalism going as productively as possible," said Nancy Koehn, a historian at the Harvard Business School.
"Ideology is a luxury good in times of crisis," she said.
