TARP

And that bad advice is all the help states can expect from Patty:

McHenry criticized states for not preparing better for the end of the 2009 stimulus funding that the federal government poured into state budgets in the past two years.

"The era of the bailout is over," McHenry said.

More nonsense from the king of nonsense. This bankruptcy "solution" will erode states' abilities to prepare better, by making one of their tools (borrowing) harder to access and more expensive. But that second thing might be exactly what McHenry is trying to bring about:

Bail out the people, not the banks:

The Obama administration plans to send $600 million to help unemployed homeowners avoid foreclosure in five states: North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina. The states estimate their efforts could help up to 50,000 homeowners. The initiative will be financed through the government's Troubled Assets Relief Program.

North Carolina is set to receive $159 million to test new approaches to helping borrowers save their homes from foreclosure.

I wish they had done this sooner, but better late than never.

And is still working.

The stimulus package, flaws and all, deserves a big heaping of credit. “It prevented things from getting much worse than they otherwise would have been,” Nariman Behravesh, Global Insight’s chief economist, says. “I think everyone would have to acknowledge that’s a good thing.”

Remember when Bank of America was NCNB? Remember when your teller and branch manager new your name? Remember when the bank would only give you a loan if you had good credit, good collateral or a cosigner who was good for it - not only because it was the right thing for the bank, but because it was the right thing for you? Remember when the bank paid your checks from the smallest amount to the largest amount so if your math wasn't quite right in your register you might only have one to two checks in overdraft instead of five to six? Remember when your overdraft fee was a reasonable amount instead of a day's pay?

Earlier I suggested that Senator Kay Hagan is fighting mad. Today, she again proved she is not all talk. Hagan has signed on as a cosponsor of Senator Claire McCaskill's bill to limit compensation for executives of those companies receiving bailout money from TARP.

Upon review of how the first installment of emergency TARP funding was spent, we learned that the banks receiving funds paid their top executives an average of $2.6 million in salary and bonuses,” said Sen. Hagan. “This is a slap in the face to millions of Americans who can’t understand why the same companies who sought out taxpayer dollars to bail them out were in turn paying their top executives more money than many folks will make in a lifetime. It’s unacceptable, it’s unconscionable, and by co-sponsorsing this measure, I’m joining the chorus of Americans who have said, “Enough.” The CEO Pay Act is common sense reform with a straightforward principle – if a company is receiving taxpayer dollars, that company cannot pay their top executives more than the top executive officer of the federal government.

Thank you, Kay.

I don't know Senator Hagan that well, but I remember the sound of her voice when she spoke after former Senator Dole questioned her faith. I don't think this quite reaches that level of fury, but she sure doesn't sound happy.

The AP report that U.S. banks increased their applications to hire foreign workers for high-paying jobs in positions such as senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists, at the same time they were announcing massive layoffs, is a cause for concern. Based on the unfortunate layoffs we have seen week-after-week in the banking industry, it stands to reason that American banks should not have trouble finding experienced, well-qualified American workers.

Amen!

The federal bailout of banks and other financial institutions has received bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition. There are many who are displeased with how it was carried out,even among those who support it. Bush may have asked for the money but it was the leadership of both parties in the House and the Senate who pushed the legislation in its current form and accepted the refusal of particpating institutions to accept oversight or conditions. Members of the House and Senate worked last week to fix what is wrong with TARP. The work continues this week as the 15 day waiting period ends and the money is released.

This week Rep. Sue Myrick, NC-09, proposed an amendment to the TARP bill when debate was triggered by the request for the second half of the money by the Obama administration.  As I was listening to her, I thought her amendment sounded quite reasonable.  Barney Frank agreed.  He also hinted at a bit of hypocrisy.

The more I learn about how the banking industry is screwing taxpayers by siphoning off TARP funds, the madder I get. For example, we discovered today that more than $1.6 billion of those funds have gone to executive compensation at major financial institutions. It is truly mind-boggling that this crappy legislation was rammed through Congress by a Democratic majority earlier this year.