Government Investing In Banks Bold, But Not Totally New

The high-stakes program is intended to halt the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. If successful, it could long be studied by historians as a textbook case of the emergency role that government can play to rescue a teetering economy.

"It is profound, and it is something of a shift back to the state," said Adam S. Posen, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "But is this a recasting of capitalism? I think what we'll see is that the government acts as a silent partner and gets out as soon as it can."

Indeed, they say, many questions remain. Is the government picking winners in a plan that initially seems tilted toward the nation's largest banks? What strings are attached to the investment in matters like executive pay? Will the move presage a more forceful government hand to control financial markets or will it be a brief stint as capitalism's protector?

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