The bailout could not happen in the Ohio Republic

Aside from hostile public opinion (evidenced by the mail and e-mails sent to Ohio's Congressmen and Senators), the bailout would be a violation of the Ohio Constitution (Article VIII, Section 4):

CREDIT OF STATE; THE STATE SHALL NOT BECOME JOINT OWNER OR STOCKHOLDER.
§4 The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state, or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever. (1851)

Clarification: A commenter to this post noted that the Ohio Department of Development does issues loans to small businesses, in apparent violation of this section. Further research has shown that §§13-15 of Article VIII* specify that §4 is to be ignored in carrying out the purposes of those sections. Those sections authorize the State to issue bonds for the purposes of economic development, housing, and coal technology; and were adopted by the people between 1974 and 1985. Loans to small businesses would appear to comply with §13, but I may not be construing the section correctly.

My point about the bailout remains valid to the extent that the bonds authorized by §§13-15 of Article VIII can only be used for capital improvements; whereas the Wall St. bailout is intended to support the regular operations of the firms being assisted.

* See pp. 52-53 of the Ohio Constitution.