Uncle, can you spare a dime?

I notice these stories only seem to appear in the business press, even though the trend is accelerating:

Banks borrowed a record amount of funds from the Federal Reserve in the latest week as the year old credit crisis took a persistent toll, while the commercial paper market continued to contract, signaling tough conditions for short term borrowers.

Banks' primary credit borrowings averaged $17.45 billion per day in the latest week, the second straight week this had hit a record and up from $16.38 billion the previous week, Fed data showed on Thursday.

Why are there tough credit conditions? Because the market's having to fall back to reality after quite a ride in the fantasy sphere, lending to anyone with a pulse. Make no mistake: allowing banks to borrow such enormous sums of taxpayer-backed money ensures they will learn nothing, nada, zilch, about the serious errors in their business models. Thus, the average American will continue to subsidize the arrogant Armani-wearing financial mogul right up to the point the economy is unable to sustain even the fascade of solvency anymore.

It's time we quit expecting government to prevent the consequences of bad decisions, whether personal or professional. The school of hard knocks has high tuition sometimes, but it teaches the lessons society seems to have to relearn every generation or so. Nanny states raise ignoramuses--useful in servants, but hardly the credentials for a free citizenry.