From the Department of the Obvious Department Obvious, er... something
From the
New York Times:
Taxpayers May Lose Out in TARP Paybacks
Americans were promised a reward for rescuing the nation�s banks. In return for all those bailouts, the banks essentially granted stock options to the government � a potential jackpot for taxpayers once the crisis blew over.
But now banks, eager to get Washington out of their hair, are pushing to undo those investments as quickly � and cheaply � as possible. If the Obama administration acquiesces, billions of taxpayer dollars could be left on the table, The New York Times� Eric Dash writes.
At issue are so-called warrants that the government received from the banks last autumn, when the financial world was teetering. Like options, warrants give their owners the right to buy stock at a set price over a certain period of time, in this case, 10 years.
Now, with many banks itching to return their bailout money, the warrants are raising some thorny questions. What are these investments worth? Should the government drive a hard bargain, or let the banks off easy? Should it maximize profit for taxpayers, or minimize pain for banks?
DOH! This is so stupidly obvious it should not even be brought up -- the people who are going to profit are the political insiders; the people who have steadily and regularly contributed to the campaigns of the various corrupt congress-critters and as a result, benefit from the pork.
2010 -- we might not be
getting into space as much as we would like but I would not mind a certain Odyssey from the other Washington...
Posted by DaveH at May 19, 2009 7:33 PM