Barry Ritholtz, Columnist

Who Really Benefits From Bailouts?

Financial rescues aren't meant to help average people.

July 31, 2015 at 2:53 PM UTC

Barry Ritholtz is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and was previously chief market strategist at Maxim Group. He is the author of “Bailout Nation.”

At the ready.
Photographer: Werner Otto/Ullstein Bild/Getty Images

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I always find it amusing whenever someone expresses surprise that the financial bailouts for Greece haven't benefited Greek citizens. "Bailout Money Goes to Greece, Only to Flow Out Again" in the New York Times is just the latest example. "The cash exodus is a small piece of a bigger puzzle over why — despite two major international bailouts — the Greek economy is in worse shape and more deeply in debt."

Unfortunately, this is a feature of bailout, not a bug.