At least it's not socialism...

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f3bc75b2-2...44feabdc0.html

Strong banks will be allowed to repay bail-out funds they received from the US government but only if such a move passes a test to determine whether it is in the national economic interest, a senior administration official has told the Financial Times.

“Our general objective is going to be what is good for the system,” the senior official said. “We want the system to have enough capital.”

...

“Not surprisingly different banks are in different situations; they are going need different levels of assistance of taxpayers,” Mr Obama told a press conference at a summit in Trinidad on Sunday, while promising: “I’m not going to simply put taxpayer money into a black hole.”

Understand this; It was a titanic mistake to bail anyone out in the first place. Government can ONLY play a regulatory role in business IF the goal is to have a free market economy. However, if the goal is to socialize the economy...

When a business is in trouble it needs operating capital to keep moving, not so much money that all motivation to fix it's problems disappears. The banks never needed operating capital. They did not have a profit/loss problem, they had an asset/liability problem.

It's one thing to bail out the economy (you and me) specifically, housing. Then, banks, and all other business's, can go do what they do, compete for those dollars. That's bad enough, yet it does address THE problem.

It's another thing when the government is trying to get the banks they've stuff with our money to lend it. Well, if you were on the verge of losing everything and someone gave you billions of dollars, you going to work today? Or you gonna sit on the money and kinda take your sweet time seeing where to wanna make loans?

Same with auto's. They'll make the changes they have to make...if they have to make them.

The bail outs were a terrible, titanic mistake for obvious and simple reasons.