Letter to the editor in Barron's.

It is five years since the 2006 peak of the great housing bubble and time to re-state the repetitive lessons of financial history. Our recent financial adventures are memorable, but will they be sufficiently remembered?

There are dilemmas when public money is used to offset the losses of banks in the name of economic and social stability.

Only more capital can solve a capital problem.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program should be run like a business with a goal of returning as much of the involuntary investment as possible to its owners--the taxpayers--along with a reasonable overall profit.

Even with its status as a "program," we should insist on appropriate and regular accounting for TARP to ensure financial responsibility.

The costs of government assistance to banks depend on the way rescues are managed.

Bold action can be designed with lower costs to taxpayers, while accomplishing the goals Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has laid out.