"Ok, our FIRST bright idea didn't work: here's ANOTHER bright idea!"
WASHINGTON — Having tried without success to unlock frozen credit markets, the Treasury Department is considering taking ownership stakes in many United States banks to try to restore confidence in the financial system, according to government officials.
Treasury officials say the just-passed $700 billion bailout bill gives them the authority to inject cash directly into banks that request it. Such a move would quickly strengthen banks’ balance sheets and, officials hope, persuade them to resume lending. In return, the law gives the Treasury the right to take ownership positions in banks, including healthy ones.
I had no idea that the panic-driven rape of the American taxpayer allowed the Government to simply take over banks as they saw fit, OR allowed them to just hand banks our money whenever the banks asked them to.
How convenient.
1 comment:
While I agree with your sentiment, that the bailout is total bunk, I disagree that ownership stake is a bad thing in the banks. From a taxpayers standpoint ownership in the banks is the only sensible solution. We just put up 700 Billion to take bad investments off of the banks books. The least they can offer us in return is some ownership. With ownership we can force lending to take place and regulate that lending. Without ownership the banks are free to repeat the foolish and predatory lending, knowing all the while that the government/taxpayer will cover them again if the screw up.
My two cents...for what its worth.
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