I wouldn't assume that, we never got a chance to see the down side of letting these various agencies fail. I don't see a correlation between unemployment and letting them fail, which would surely have caused even more massive unemployment. Stabilizing them, at least gives us some "hope" that employment has a future.
It is a very good question though, one that has always been overlooked. Not just here on CC but in the news in general.
WHY couldn't we let these companies fail? WHAT actually does it mean when people say the "collapse" of our economic system? What would the real world results be? Apparently it's a very ugly picture, if the Nations primary economists are to be believed?
I know for sure the immediate impact would be NO MONEY for loans, period. Our Nation run's on credit, that issue alone may be the critical issue as it concerns "economic collapse". Someone building his new Cobra would be forced to stop right in his tracks. No more credit, no more parts! Housing likewise, investments tied up. Inflation would...? Dollar value would...?