But at What Cost?

Yes the markets would eventually sort themselves out but at what cost? In a "Darwinian economic" sense, this is a good thing if it eliminates a weak bank and makes room for better, stronger banks. The big difference that people don't get, and this can not be stressed enough, is that we are not talking about one or two banks. We are talking about entire financial markets. If the markets fail, and again this cannot be stressed enough, everyone, including you and me, suffers greatly. If markets fail, businesses can not function and this means people lose jobs. If markets fail, people lose their economic power and this means people can not buy houses, cars, college educations, etc. If markets fail, people lose retirement plans. If markets fail, everyone suffers direct and devastating economic consequences. This is what people don't get and why it is necessary to take distasteful measures to make sure that does not happen. When the "victory" in letting banks suffer their due consequences and fail means that we lose jobs, houses, retirements, and personal wealth, that is not a Phyrric victory we can afford.