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Is Bush's TARP a success? If not then why is Obama ready to steal from it?
Obama is jones-ing for a shopping spree and those darned Chinese seem to have put a hold on his credit card, so now he has a choice to find discipline, start paying back the money he has borrowed or start scrounging for loose change under the sofa cushions. He is going for the latter.
For a year now Obama and his fellow spend-aholics in congress have been pointing the finger at Bush for handing them a a "Huge Deficit". This was intended to deflect blame and basically say "You did it too". The challenge then is what did Bush spend money on and why? How did it work out? Who else was involved? Americans are not against government spending in and of itself, but who spent wisely? Obama's Stimulus package is gaining the reputation as a boondoggle, so who ran up the deficit needlessly?
Let's take a look at Bush's last two years in office under Democratic Rule.
I will not rehash the incredible economic challenges that Bush averted in his first year during the financial disasters that accompanied 911, but much has been made of Clinton handing Bush a Surplus and Bush leaving office with a deficit. Remember Clinton also handed Bush a Recession and through his neglect of foreign policy (especially terrorism) and his "Halfing" of our Military, the post 911 War and its costs were borne by Bush to clean up, much the way Reagan had to deal with foreign policy and economic disasters left by Carter.
Although it is true the Republican congress spent more than most conservatives felt comfortable with, after an initial increase in the deficit, beginning at the end of his first term the deficit began to drop rapidly, until in 2007 it was well with in range of dropping into double digits. Then the Democrats took control.
Although the left would have you believe Bush runs the economy out of his back pocket, the congress is in charge of spending and in this case it is Pelosi and Reid who did not offer Bush a 2009 budget:
Which party was in charge of Congress the last two years of the Bush administration? Why, yes, it was the Democrats. I have no problem blaming Republicans for runaway spending between 2001-6, but 2007-8 belongs to the Democrats, including Steny Hoyer, one of that party’s leaders. For that matter, it also includes then-Senator Barack Obama. Deficits in that period are on their hands.
That’s especially true for the final deficit number. Anticipating a Barack Obama victory in the presidential campaign, Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid never presented George Bush with a budget for FY2009. Congress passed continuing resolutions that funded federal agencies at the FY2008 level until Obama took office in January, and then handed him an omnibus spending plan that boosted federal spending for the remainder of FY2009 — and expanded the deficit. That final deficit number belongs more to Obama than it normally would have in a transition year.
But regardless, when you look at the above graph, how much of that is TARP which was caused by Democrat fiddling with mortgage and financial institutions. Yes, Bush signed TARP, but who's baby was that? On Sept. 25, 2008, when the candidates helicoptered into the White House to discuss TARP, it was reported by all in attendance that Obama represented the majority party who was writing the bill. He did all the talking and McCain, Paulsen and Bush mostly listened to the Oratory of Barack Obama. TARP was being "audibliized" by the Senator from Illinois.
But Obama through his criticism of Bush's deficit spending is being critical of the crown jewel in Bush's "Deficit spending". He is blaming Bush for TARP. He is giving responsibility to Bush for TARP.
But wait....
Suddenly this week, with Obama in search of cash, he finds some free money rolling into the Treasury, but before the money is deposited, he wants to cash those checks. Obama's compliant media is suddenly pointing out how TARP is making money. Banks are paying back early. The Deficit is going to shrink now...right?...but whose Deficit is shrinking, Bush's or Obama's? This report says it is estimated by the end of next year, all but $42 Billion of TARP will have been paid off:
The Treasury Department expects to recover all but $42 billion of the $370 billion it loaned to ailing companies during the financial crisis last year, with the portion loaned to banks showing a slight profit, according to a Treasury report.
The latest assessment of the bailout program, provided by two Treasury officials yesterday ahead of a report to Congress today, is vastly improved from the Obama administration’s estimates last summer of $341 billion in potential losses from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. That estimate anticipated more bank crises.
If as Obama has conveyed that TARP was Bush's baby, then shouldn't the media be giving Bush credit for TARP?
TARP borrowed money from the Chinese, loaned it to American banks, the banks are now paying it back, we no longer owe the Chinese for it, the American Banks move on and grow, Businesses hire workers, problem solved, Thank you Mr. Bush....right?
Well, expect Obama to change his tune and take credit for TARP to contrast his miserable failure on the stimulus package, but just like a compulsive addict, expect him to raid the coffers of TARP to repeat his Stimulus mistake and then blame Bush for the returned money never getting paid back.
It is also worth noting that the $175 billion committed by the banks to pay back TARP when compared to the original $250 aloted by TARP1 leaves a single digit deficit, at least for this project alone. Bush was touted as the model of integrity for his willingness to cooperate with Obama's transition team. During the transition, Obama asked Bush to release the remaining $350 Bill for TARP, and the congress complied. So what that leaves is a very small footprint regarding the deficit from George Bush.
I think its time to reassess the Bush Deficit and consider that although his deficits were trending way down and the housing crash was thrust upon him, his handling of it may end up leaving a net impact of his final year in office a $100 billion or less deficit,....which was promptly Nuked by the New Socialist Regime.
You can expect the Propaganda machine to kick in to full force on the redefining of TARP. It will be painted as a success and an example of how big government solutions can work if given time. It will be proudly embraced as Obama's idea and Bush as a reluctant passenger. It will also be touted as grounds for a reward to be handed out for excellent performance in a lead role to Barack Obama who will take the left over hundreds of billions and formulate a dead-end jobs bill, that will push us over the brink in which case he will blame our soldiers in Afghanistan for ruining his Domestic wizardry.
This feels like an Orwellian Science Fiction story about Dystopian thugs sucking dry any form of life that pops its head up from the decaying wasteland.
Obama is playing out the Mortgage crisis on a macro scale, by cashing in the equity of Bush's TARP so he can plunge further into debt by indulging in his personal addiction that destroys himself and anyone around him. When the Chinese loan sharks come, they will ask why he took out a Second mortgage on his house when they had accepted it as collateral.
I wonder if the Obamas are still ashamed to be Americans, because I am feeling pretty humiliated right now.
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