Talk to me in 8-10 years if another bubble doesn’t burst. Pieces of the market must be allowed to fail. BTW... TARP was a good thing? Now that we’ve given the government money, they are playing a shell game and spending it elsewhere. That’s a good thing?
Yes TARP was a very good thing. The banking system remained open and you can shop at the grocery store with your wallet, rather than an M-16.
Should congress used repaid TARP proceeds just to reduce the deficit? Absolutely. That has everything to do with the present congress and nothing to do with TARP, which worked. TARP didn't "give the government money" and it doesn't need to first be given it to play with it. Congress has the power of the purse. It needs to reauthorize any spending of repaid TARP funds, just as it needs to authorize any spending period. And can, without any reference to its prior acts. Any time it wants, to any amount it wants. That is why our representatives are called "our" representatives, and answer to us at election time. Granted, many of them suck, but that is because many of our neighbors are irresponsible idiots who vote for them. Democratic congressmen being idiots will not, however, make TARP a failure.
In case everybody forgot, TARP was recommended by the Bush administration and passed with support of both parties at a time of intense popular scrutiny and pressure. After the fact, everyone and his brother is trying to pretend that they had nothing to do with it and it was all somebody else's idea, because the populace thinks it was a give away to the hated rich at a time of popular pain. In fact, it benefited said populace and the entire country. But you will no more hear that *fact* from the media than hear them celebrate US victory in Iraq. Why? George W.
Uh...last I checked, we didn’t ‘give’ the government money.
They TOOK it. From us, from our children, and from our children’s children, etc.
Time to take America back.