So I got a call from Ben Smith prior to this article coming out. What I delivered into the phone was likely a barely intelligible rant, which explains why none of my brilliant insights show up as quotes in Ben’s piece.
However let me say this:
A) Read Ben’s piece its pretty good
B) If no one else will defend TARP, I will defend it. I will defend it through any medium, at anytime, under any circumstances. I will be the lone voice in a town hall full of Ron Paul supporters. I will say it at a Code Pink Regional Conference. I will not let this go.
There are few moments when I have shed a tear over policy. Despite initial missteps what I saw was lawmakers coming together in the face of overwhelming public opposition to protect the future of our society. It made me more confident in our government than any other single event I have ever experienced.
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Wednesday ~ September 15th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Johnnie Linn
Is the spleen directed at TARP or the lawmakers who voted for it, “sweetening” in in the process?
Wednesday ~ September 15th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Stephan
Hmmm … OK. So tell me. Why was TARP smarter than simply nationalize broken financial entities?
Wednesday ~ September 15th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Mike
Finest is a good title but not useful as an analytical category. Was there any ways lawmakers and the Federal Reserve could have improved on the TARP and 13(3) bailouts? Or was their implementation optimal from a long-term perspective?
Wednesday ~ September 15th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Karl Smith
Of course, but lets not make perfect the enemy of the good and extremely necessary.
I am not arguing that there is no room for improvement here. I am arguing that the fact something was done at a difficult time, in the face of enormous political pressure not to act, is a sign that republican democracy works. That is, when you choose a bunch of particular citizens and say “look at the end of the day the fate of the US rests on your shoulders, not the body politic” then good policy can triumph over gut reaction.
Sunday ~ September 19th, 2010 at 4:47 am
Dick Hertz
The lost part of the question is for whom does this republican democracy work? The oligarchs who were insulated from the consequences of moral hazard? I would refer you back to Citibank’s infamous plutonomy paper and ask again, for whom does this purported republican democracy work?
Wednesday ~ September 15th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Max
TARP was a giant boondoggle and slush fund. It was robbery, bribery, thievery, and waste. Lawmakers were not protecting society. It rewarded all the wrong people at the expense of main street. The British had the right idea when they burned Washington to the ground in 1812.
Wednesday ~ September 15th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Our Finest Hour: The Troubled Asset Relief Program « Brucetheeconomist's Blog
[...] via Our Finest Hour: The Troubled Asset Relief Program. [...]
Thursday ~ September 16th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Wonks Anonymous
You should not be surprised that the politico piece has come in for criticism:
http://reason.com/blog/2010/09/15/politico-in-a-world-without-ci
Friday ~ September 17th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Matthew Yglesias » In Praise of TARP
[...] chime in with Karl Smith and Kevin Drum more opinion leaders really have an obligation to point out that TARP, the Troubled [...]
Friday ~ September 17th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
After TARP [The Economist] | DreamInn
[...] the passage of the bill that gave us TARP. The occasion is prompting a wave of praise for the law among some [...]
Saturday ~ September 18th, 2010 at 10:04 am
jazzbumpa
Here’s my quibble:
It made me more confident in our government than any other single event I have ever experienced.
Congress collectively stared into the abyss, said, “Oh, shit!” took a step backwards, and this gives you confidence. You’ve suddenly gone all optimist on me.
The reality is this bunch of venial buffoons look us to the brink though their greed, short-sighted stupidity, and chattel-status to BIG FINANCE. The situation is clearly a failure of capitalism, and another failure of regulation.
http://jazzbumpa.blogspot.com/2009/12/thinking-worse-of-bernanke.html
No government that has any relevant control will EVER allow their financial structure to collapse. Confronted with the brink, they did the minimum necessary to avoid national suicide. This gets graded as an F+, not any kind of passing grade, and certainly nothing to inspire confidence, or “Finest Hour” accolades.
Cheers!
JzB
Sunday ~ September 19th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Who Shall Arbitrate? « Modeled Behavior
[...] politics from policymaking is definitely a good thing (I even came around on TARP), especially in monetary policymaking. However, having a monetary authority that is gallivanting [...]