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The Propublica link includes both TARP and the government's investments in Fannie/Freddie, which provided heavy dividends and is where a large portion of the pr
by rcar 7y ago
The Propublica link includes both TARP and the government's investments in Fannie/Freddie, which provided heavy dividends and is where a large portion of the profits have come from.
That aside, the common misperception of TARP is that the government gave away $400+B of taxpayer money, which is a very, very far cry from a small inflation-adjusted loss.
- spaced-out 7y ago>the common misperception of TARP is that the government gave away $400+B of taxpayer money I don't think this is a common misconception, I think it's a strawman argument to deflect criticism of the bailouts. Regardless of whether or not the government made money, we created a massive moral hazard by allowing banks to engage in shady behavior, avoid any criminal prosecution, get below-rate loans to avoid the market consequences of their actions, and left the common people out in the cold. On top of that, we supposedly fixed the problem by expanding banks' reserve requirements, but when they got into trouble in the repo market, the FED runs to their rescue with even more below-market-rate loans, which seem to get larger and larger by the week.