Bailing Out

There seems to be much confusion, and I am among the confused, about what the Government's role is vis-à-vis these companies we are bailing out. If we are giving them money, we surely have no say over what they do with it. If we are lending them money, then we expect eventually to get it back, with interest. But, if we are investing in them, we are buying ownership proportional to our investment, and you don't own something without having control over it. Why, therefore, is the US Government not insisting on putting it's own people on their boards of directors? You may be sure that if China is allowed to go ahead with its intended investment in Rio Tinto, there will soon be a sizeable number of new Chinese directors on Rio Tinto's board. So far, I have heard no discussion of this issue.