I think you'll find that's already the case. MC/VISA would have an implicit underwriting by the US govt should they ever be in extreme strife. We've already seen this happen before, the UK govt bailed out RBS, largely because of things like being responsible for 1/3 of all transactions that happened in Europe at the time.

Various airlines were also bailed out over the COVID period. So I'd say that it already exists, except the public sees no benefit.

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phyzix5761 2 days ago | parent [-]

I agree that governments shouldn't provide bailouts without receiving equity for that compensation. The idea that any company is too big to fail undermines the smaller competitors who are making better decisions and have a strategic advantage in surviving economic challenges.

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bfg_9k 2 days ago | parent [-]

Absolutely. But on the flip side I can also recognise that frankly, governments are terrible at running things. I think a Singapore style model is best - a giant holding company like Temasek that is wholly government funded and owned, but companies owned by the holding company are still beholden to the free market forces, are the best way to go for things like payment processors, airlines, utilities, etc.

	▲	phyzix5761 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		As long as the public gets to benefit from the profits these companies make just like any other shareholder. It could be a nice solution to the deficit problem.