In yet another blow to the American economy, news reports indicate that Lehman Brothers will file for bankruptcy protection.

How a 158 year old company can go from a high flyer to a dud is simply unbelievable.  The greed that has gripped this country, the corporations, and the politicians, has reached an all time high.  Without the help of taxpayers, this country would be facing certain economic collapse.

Fortunately for taxpayers, the government (actually our tax dollars) will not bail out Lehman Brothers.  This is a good thing.  In a free marketplace, there needs to be failure which allows the marketplace to shift and fill in the void.  Unfortunately though, taxpayers are still on the hook for billions of dollars because of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts.

But this is not the only damaging financial news to hit before the opening bell Monday morning.  Apparently Bank of America is going to purchase Merrill Lynch.  Merrill Lynch is another “crash and burn” company that made massive profits from the mortgage industry.  Now that these loans have turned sour, these well known financial businesses are dropping like flies.

Also on tap for Monday morning are reports about AIG, the largest insurance company in the world, being forced to restructure.  Apparently they are falling prey to the credit crisis that intensifies each week.

There is a lot of press covering the demise of these companies, but make no mistake about it.  The reason why these companies are doing poorly is because ordinary people are doing even worse.  And political solutions appear to be geared toward protecting these businesses, while ordinary families are suffering far greater hardships.

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