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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Paulson asks for the rest of the TARP money

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson may request the remaining $350 billion semi approved in the TARP program.

What's Paulson's credibility right now?

4 Comments:

  • Barney Frank must be having a fit...

    By Blogger -epm, at 9:21 AM  

  • I haven't seen any reaction yet.

    If I understand the construction of the TARP bill, the next $350 does require some sort of approval from Congress, although I'm not sure of the form.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:35 AM  

  • Yes. The next release of funds requires congressional approval.

    Because I listen to the Boston NPR affiliate (WBUR) I get to hear Barney Frank interviewed more than most. Frank has been very disappointed with Paulson's, shall we say, stewardship of the bailout money. He's already hinted (bluffed?) that he would oppose further distribution of TARP funds, given Paulson's management to date.

    However, Paulson seems as facile as a dead flounder when it comes to staking out a position. So it's quite possible that Paulson's latest stated goals in applying the fed money may actually be in line with Frank's thinking. If that's the case then Frank may be more amenable... If he trusts Paulson to actually, you know, stick to a plan.

    By Blogger -epm, at 10:43 AM  

  • It's very interesting to me the level of criticism coming at Paulson from all sides.

    Again, I'm not an economics guy at all, so I can't judge for myself, but the multi-sided criticism does seem to say he's doing a mediocre to poor job.

    And, Thanks for the Barney Frank answer. That's one of those really cool things about running this blog.

    During the primaries, Matt from Iowa and EPM from NH were giving on the ground, one of the commenters is actually involved in the Minnesota recount, one was involved in the South Dakota abortion battle in 2006.

    And now we have a question about Barney Frank and there you are.

    Pretty cool. Thanks.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:53 AM  

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