Remember how mad everyone got at the bank bailout? “I hate you banks!” people yelled, and, “I don’t like bailouts!” and, “We shouldn’t provide tax money to you, given the role you played in the financial crisis!” That last one was a very popular chant at Occupy Wall Street.
Well, gang, it could have been far, far worse.
The Japanese utility that operates the nuclear power plant sent into meltdown by last year’s tsunami received a trillion yen ($12.8 billion) public bailout Tuesday, effectively putting it under government control.
Ha ha. Can you imagine? Imagine if the banks had not only contributed to a massive implosion of the economy, but also, through their own ineptitude, left huge portions of America uninhabitable. And then the government was like, It’s cool. We’ll help you out. Talk about toxic assets! (Please go click this button.)
The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, now proudly owned by the Japanese government.
The government didn’t really have much choice, of course. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) owes huge amounts of money in compensation to those displaced — not to mention the expense of permanently shutting down and properly disposing of the still-dangerous Fukushima generating facility. And this bailout is far less expensive than the one the banks got.
TEPCO also has a message for the people of Japan: Sorry! Making even TEPCO more sympathetic than Morgan Stanley.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. apologized for the “inconvenience and anxiety” from the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in northeastern Japan, and for raising electricity charges to cover the costs of dealing with the crisis.
Aw, it’s OK, guys. Who could stay mad at a giant, faceless corporation that ruined part of your country and then needs your tax money to clean it up? No one, that’s who.
