Washington Money Funnel
The definition of tainted money: It tain’t yours, and it tain’t mine.
This one was obvious before the Presidential swearing in. I wish I had the research staff to track it all down. It would be great fun.
Somebody with more time and more resources will, one day, sort out the larceny going on in Washington, and we will all tut-tut and buy the book for our coffee tables.
REDISTRIBUTION
The beauty of it all is the labeling. The President came into office, making it very clear that he was going to “fundamentally remake America,” and he was going to do it through “redistributive change.”
Cool. He will move other people’s money into different people’s pockets.
Nobody on the South Side of Chicago could wield a blade as fast as this guy.
In a multi-trillion dollar budget hustle, hundreds of billions of dollars have disappeared, completely unaccounted for. With the TV cameras rolling, Congressman and Senators increasingly ask, “Where’s the money?” “Are you even looking for it?” “Isn’t this your responsibility?”
If it’s possible you’ve missed any of this, just hop over to You Tube and wallow in it. This stuff will easily fill your day.
THE TAKE AWAY ON TARP
More recently, while the government is grabbing everything in sight and handing it over to those more deserving, the TARP money is, shall we say, up for grabs.
The Troubled Asset Relief Program shoveled astronomical piles of money into banks, whether they wanted it or not. And it was so fast. So fast. The Treasury didn’t borrow it. It wasn’t even printed. It was often a simple accounting entry. Poof! Instant money!
While the Fed is force-feeding profits into banks, using zero interest loans, every institution with a leader is scrambling to get out of the TARP trap. As the noose tightens, banks bulldoze billions back over to the government – along with the assigned vigorish.
There it sits, ready for politicians to have their fun with it.
I notice the occasional interview, and the articles here and there, that mention a small problem. Despite the enthusiasm of the folks willing to grab billions of dollars and use it for their own purposes, the TARP law had seemed very clear. TARP money was for financial institutions. How car companies became financial institutions is beyond me. But with that door open, almost any use a politician can think of might qualify for the use and reuse of TARP funds.
Never mind that the funds never existed. Never mind that some “funding” was “monetized” by printing pieces of paper that look just like real money. And never mind that some funding was borrowed from the Chinese.
Congress needs to put the money back, step away from the till, and resign.