How are they being punished? What is going on now is a market correction, pure and simple. Let's list the reasons. 1. People defaulting on their mortgages 2. A ever increasing inventory 3. Credit has tightened 4. Other economic factors like unemployement. Now, let's look at the main reasons for each of these factors. 1. People over-extended themselves. 2. Builders were racing each other before the bubble (remember this word!) burst. 3. Lenders greed has led to a huge crisis and credit has dried up. 4. Unemployment is up in part because consumer and business credit is maxed out or unavailable.
Now.... looking at all these reason what can you tell me? All of them were human errors that were foreseeable and predictable, yet it seems to be a shock to people that this was happening. People and Businesses didn't live within their means, and now themselves and some unfortunate victims are paying the price. This is market correction.. you lived outside the capacity of your ecosystem and now it's time for things to correct. So why should our government come in and "fix" this. The reality is anything they do is temporary and superficial, and we will wind up in a similar mess in a few years unless this is allowed to naturally play out.
Corporate welfare is just an extension of entitlement programs on a macro-scale. The more Americans turn to government as a safety net for all problems the more we can expect to see manifestations of the 'moral hazard' philosophy both from individuals and corporations. The wet slippery slope has iced over.