too big to fail

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich argues that if a company is "too big to fail," it's just too big:

We seem to have forgotten that the original purpose of antitrust law was also to prevent companies from becoming too powerful. Too powerful in that so many other companies depended on them, so many jobs turned on them, and so many consumers or investors or depositors needed them – that the economy as a whole would be endangered if they failed. Too powerful in that they could wield inordinate political influence – of a sort that might gain them extra favors from Washington.

Favors like, maybe, a $700 billion bailout package?

The whole article can be found here.