The next time you hear some teabagger complaining about how bailing out the banks ran up the deficit, just point out to them that the big bailout (more properly known as TARP) is actually doing better than predicted. In fact, the portion that was loaned out to banks will actually be paid back with a slight profit to the government (roughly $19 billion).
So says the Obama Treasury department in a report delivered today to Congress. This is happening because the economy is recovering faster than predicted. Based on this new information, the predicted federal deficit is being lowered by $200 billion, and an additional $100 billion will be available for job creation and aid to ailing homeowners.
On the other hand, Chrysler and GM still owe the government around $30 billion, and the same amount is owed by AIG, none of which we are likely to see for a while.
But the point is that the bailout was a loan, and not only does it seem to have done the job it was meant to do (albeit with a few hiccups), but it is being mostly repaid, with interest.
One Comment
Do you know what the interest rate is?