Now We Need A Bailout For The Bailout
The new loans push the government’s planned investments under the financial rescue beyond the $350 billion that Congress has authorized; in order to make all the investments that Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. has agreed to, Congress would need to approve a second $350 billion infusion into the so-called Troubled Asset Relief Program.
A Treasury official said last night that the government has not committed all of the money in the $250 billion pot set aside to make investments in financial institutions, so the Treasury has leeway to direct some of that cash to GMAC.
“It’s not fair to say we’ve overcommitted,” said the official, adding that many of the expected bank investments are still being reviewed by bank regulators.
Let’s keep in mind that when the Treasury got its bailout slush fund from Congress it was intended for the financial industry. Now we’re bailing out the auto industry too, and more.
To suggest that this isn’t an overcommitment is just not true.
At some point the folks in Washington are going to have to realize that the fix for the economy isn’t printing money and then spending it.
