[lbo-talk] "The bailout returned a profit for the US taxpayer!"

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Fri Oct 21 07:18:10 PDT 2011


On Oct 21, 2011, at 9:51 AM, Adam Proctor wrote:


> The first question I would ask is: which bailout? The second thing I would
> say is, "Sir/Ma'am, there is no way to get back a sum total which is MORE
> THAN US GDP with interest. It's economically and fundamentally impossible.
> Read more here from my friend "Petrino diLeo":
> http://socialistworker.org/2011/09/07/the-16-trillion-bailout This is some
> of the best analysis around on the bailouts.

I'm getting an internal server error on that one.

But the $16 trillion is, as they say in the trade, notional. The actual cash outlay from the Treasury was under $700 billion, and much of that has come back with interest. Here's what the CBO said in its March report:

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/121xx/doc12118/03-29-TARP.pdf


> CBO estimates that the cost to the federal government of the TARP’s transactions (also referred to as the subsidy cost), including grants for mortgage programs that have not been made yet, will amount to $19 billion. That cost stems largely from assistance to American International Group (AIG), aid to the automotive industry, and grant programs aimed at avoiding foreclosures. Other transactions with financial institutions will, taken together, yield a net gain to the federal government, in CBO’s estimation.



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