In other news the expected TARP shortfall is still expected to be around $120bn - and that's assuming there's no double dip.
Perhaps you consider a government handout of $120bn 'full repayment'?
Most of the money sent to the banks has come back. And the discount window is not a new idea. If you are going to be shocked that the banking system depends on government, I'm afraid I cannot affect surprise but I should note that it is also true that the rich receive favorable tax and legal treatment!
You are entirely correct of course that banking systems depend on state support and that the rich get better tax and legal treatment in general
The problem is that a certain party in the US was elected on a change programme, and a large part of that change was expected to come from changing certain economic relationships and structures the near impossibility of which it's probably safe to say neither you nor I are surprised to see. Were expectations absurdly high given the structure of economic and political power in the US? Probably. But, that doesn't change the dynamic of disappointment. In any event, in other parts of the developed world, the fact a system of generating credit depends on a state charter necessarily pre-supposes the state ensure that said credit is efficiently allocated and the practises of credit institutions properly regulated.
(And, not being surprised does not mean not being disgusted, as I think you will agree.) Fai de bèn a Bertrand, te lou rendra en cagant
When we've seen reform of any sort, (and I have my doubts that we'll see any such thing, partially because of the Obama administration's tactical miscalculations) we can debate what all of this means. Fai de bèn a Bertrand, te lou rendra en cagant
I'm certainly not as impressed as you seem to be of his current financial reforms proposals. Geithner being against them isn't enough for me to be for them (though it is a good sign.) In fact though, very few people are impressed, and if you can link to an independent, favorable review of what is currently proposed, I'd surely like to see it.
He may have wanted to be a mild reformer but, if that's all he is about now, he will be a failed President like Clinton was. And, he won't have the magic of a bubble market to cover up the mess like Clinton had. Fai de bèn a Bertrand, te lou rendra en cagant
