[dougweltman]

When they get bailed out, what do you think happens to the shares they hold?

Company is worth $100, has 100 shares. You own 1 share, worth $1.

Company takes $100 from Gov't, not a handout but rather in exchange for stock. Now it's worth $200, there are 200 shares, 100 owned by the government, 99 by other shareholders and 1 by you.

In this situation, you're back where you started.

[dariusj18]

The math there doesn't work out. There aren't magically 100 more shares. Either the stock has to split (reducing the value of each share by half) or there are enough shares withstanding to sell.