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Indeed. Bailouts were loans, not free money. The US government made money on those loans due to interest.

• nonrandomstring 4y ago
  That's a nice comforting story to believe in. I hope for you it's true. Over here the bailouts were a massive transfer of public to private wealth that led to a decade of "austerity", closed hospitals, collapsed pension schemes and general misery for the poorest people in society.
  • cercatrova 4y ago
    > Early estimates for the bailout's risk cost were as much as $700 billion; however, TARP recovered $441.7 billion from $426.4 billion invested, earning a $15.3 billion profit or an annualized rate of return of 0.6%, and perhaps a loss when adjusted for inflation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Economic_Stabilization_Act_of_2008 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Economic_Stabilizati... Where is "over here," Europe?
  • vorpalhex 4y ago
    Belittling someone - especially over a fact that has a clear true/false outcome - is silly. At best it makes you look like a jerk. At least google the fact before doubting it.
    • nonrandomstring 4y ago
      I'll stick with my own lived experiences and first-hand observations thank you.
      • vorpalhex 4y ago
        So do you not believe in exo-planets since you haven't observed them? Macro-economics? Are foreign countries you've never visited real? What about subatomic particles and radio waves? Do you have germ theory as part of your "own lived experiences"? Wait, am I real under this model? What about the HN server?