European Union Leaders Grapple With Debt Crisis

European officials were meeting all weekend long to discuss bailout plans –  not only for debt-ridden nations in the euro zone but also for specific banks affected by the debt crisis. The European taxpayers paying for these bailouts are concerned about how this money will be used. Perhaps American tax payers should be too. Two weeks ago, the Belgian-French bank Dexia became the first bank to get a bailout this year. While reporting on Dexia’s bailout for  The New York Times,  Louise Story uncovered that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs –  and other large American institutions –  were among Dexia’s trading partners. Those relationships raise questions about the not-so-transparent connections between big banks in the global economy –  and where bailout money ultimately ends up.