news-record.com

Agreed .. but if you accept "The TARP legislation was established on Oct. 3, 2008, three-and-a-half months before Obama was inaugurated." then you must also accept the $800-Billion portion of the current deficit - which we constantly hear is SOOO much higher under Obama - also belongs to Bushie.

Here's my take (stolen from elsewhere): 37% due to economic cycles, 33% due to Bush policies, 20% due to Obama's decision to continue Bush policies, and 10% from Pure Obama policies. So, it's roughly 1/3 for everybody - Bush, Obama and the economy.

If anyone cares to read this letter it was 12-11-2009.
Bush is no longer president.
The liberals are in full charge, it's their ball game.
I expect you will see the same results you have in Raleigh
A total screwed up mess.
I just wish we would wake up and kick all of them out.
Brad Miller voted with out fan fare to take your tax dollars and fund abortions.
My tax dollars for someone else abortion, complete BS.
No one paid for my dentist this week. Nor do I expect them to!
Kay Hagan just vote a trillion dollars of your tax money, in a bill that has over 5000 pork projects in it.
Seems this paper missed it.
They to busy telling us all the world problems were caused by Palin and the tea party people.
Of course if you wait for something negative in this paper about liberals,
You will be waiting to hell freeze over.
Once again working folks in my opinion should set their goal to vote them all out.
If not for us, for our children, and grandchildren.
Now I have to go out and feed some real dogs.
Of course they do their job!

"George Bush deserves credit for TARP bailout"

Yes but BOA paid back the $ on zero's watch. This is what sparked the celebration amongst liberals, Mr. Robinson.

I say let them bask in the glow, no matter how artificial, because God knows they have little else to toot their horns about.

One would think all or at least some of the unallocated and paid back TARP money would be used to pay down the deficit, but of course not. Nancy Pelosi has her eyes on it to "create jobs". Wasn't the stimulus supposed to create jobs? Stimulus II?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/04/AR200912...

In addition to Bank of America's recent repayment, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will be repaying the TARP loans. The taxpayer made money on these. Under the Bush Administration, Secretary Paulson, former head of the New York Fed (now Secy Treasury) Tim Geitner, and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke deserve credit. Their actions helped stabilize the financial system. The intrusion was designed to be targeted and temporary. AIG remains problematic but improving.

The Obama administrations plans are different: how do we use taxpayer money to reward supporters.

“If truth be told, President Obama should not be credited with this financial rescue.” If I follow Mr. Robinson’s logic, if he wants Pres. Bush to be given credit for the rescue, shouldn’t Pres. Bush also take responsibility for the things that led to these institutions needing rescue? It amazes me that Bush supporters (sans Dan), omit the eight years that led up unto this point. It’s as if the George W. Bush presidency never happened. During the Bush years, at some point, 5 ex-CEOs had served in his cabinet and three of the five served as Treasury secretary. And throw in Mr. Bush’s MBA from Harvard, and you mean to tell me that with all of this “knowledge” that some of the current economic misery could not have been avoided. The Bush supporters want to white-out the negatives and focus on the positives.

Mr. Robinson, if you want me to give Pres. Bush credit for TARP, I will. But, I will also give him the culpability for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I will also blame him (the CEO president – his words) for not being prescient enough over his eight year term to have curtailed some of the bleeding that is now going on. If you want the kudos, you have to accept the brickbats.

The Bob Carter letter which this letter addresses was that favorite call to action for our usual suspects towards the right of this blog, i.e. an essentially dumb and inaccurate point from their left. "Conservatives" mount your horses -- CHARGE!!! No just at poor Mr. Carter, but ALL liberals everywhere -- for a whole bunch of stuff that pisses you off, not just the TARP money for gosh sakes! This is no time to focus but a time to pile it all on -- abortion, Kay Hagan, taxes -- nothing's off limits -- no ref's whistle --- just pile on!

Oh, what fun!

I do blame Bush for the " TARP bailout", it should have never happened. How much has it helped the American people? Not much that I can see, big bankers, that's a different story.
With that said, now the money that is being paid back (which should pay off debt) is being eyed for more political pay back and pork. Those clowns in DC just can not stand for any piles of taxpayer money to go unspent.
They will talk theirselves into pissing it away very soon.

You forget about something important in all of this: the Feds still own warrants to purchase additional stock in big banks at a premium even after the TARP funds are paid back. In the case of BOA, the Fed received its $45B in repayment, plus $190M in accrued dividends and STILL holds warrants to buy buying millions if not billions more in BOA stock at a strike price that should present even more taxpayer profits in the future. These warrants- not just with Bank of America, but the other banks as well- give the Fed a vested interest in the way banks operate going forward, just as they would a private investor.
So, whoever gets credit for it, the TARP, which had been vilified as an irresponsible government handout, produced not only the essential liquidity that was missing in the 1929 crash, thus providing stability in a crisis, but has also proved to be a damned good use of taxpayer funds as an investment.

If I loan you money and you pay me back all the money back in less than a year plus an additional 190 million dollars in dividends and warrants to purchase stock in you for less than your present value, yes, I'd say that's a good investment.