…here’s ABC’s Dan Arnall on whether there has been, as he puts it, a “Great TARP Bait & Switch”.
No Troubled Asset Purchases? Then what are they doing with that $700 billion blank check? They are buying bank stock, not troubled assets. We probably shouldn’t call it the TARP anymore. Instead, they are focused on a capital purchase plan (CPP) which is the widely reported $250 billion plan to use taxpayer money to purchase a stake in banks. “By October 26th we had $115 billion out the door to eight large institutions,” said Paulson. “In Washington that is a land-speed record from announcing a program to getting funds out the door. We now have approved dozens of additional applications, and investments are being made in approved institutions.” When we’ll get a list of those dozens of additional applicants which will be getting a piece of the $125 billion in remaining taxpayer case remains to be seen. The original CPP participants were told about the program at a closed-door meeting at Treasury and no minutes have been released on what was said during the meeting.
So, is this the biggest bait and switch in American history?
Both parties are responsible for this garbage. And we have handed Obama and the Democrats a blank check! Folks we are in this together. We need to pull back and see what is going on and we may need to consider getting rid of both parties because both are complicite.
Slightly edited by Elf
The Bush administration has been from the beginning one of the biggest and most successful bait and switch operations in history.
I don’t know, Dan. I think Barney Frank and Chris Dodd can give Bush a run for his money!
Is Bush insane or just stupid? The national government is about to be handed over to his and his party’s political enemies and he gives them [i]bank stock[/i]?
#2 Dan, There is graph pasted on one of this day’s blog that indicates the business tax rate rose from 25%(1930) to 79% (1940). This was prior to our entry in WWII. The rate went even higher after then. If it had not been for WWII the US would have gone even further down the hole. We could not get out of that hole by taxation then, and in spite of what the President-elect says we still can’t do it now. Let’s hope we don’t get into another WW.