http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/09/on-dishonest-sale-of-bailout-bill.html
"One of the worst things about TARP is the way that Paulson has wrongfully and mendaciously conflated the last weekâs money market panic with the need for TARP. They are two separate issues. As you probably know, the short term credit markets got close to seizing up last week. I understand why Paulson injected $105 billion to calm institutional money fund holders and then guaranteed money fund holdings (though the way he did the latter was hamfisted in my opinion).
However, if I understand the NYT article about Paulsonâs briefings to Congress to sell TARP, and his other attempts to sell TARP on television, he seems to be saying that TARP will prevent a market Armegeddon. As far as I can see, we got close to Armageddon with the money market panic (which he touched off by letting LEH fail without making sure creditors got a reasonable shot at getting most of their money back). At any rate, money markets wonât seize up while money funds remained guaranteed by the Treasury, so we have time to work out a comprehensive solution and no need to jam through TARP or anything as reckless. We have time to get it right. He is using the money market problems to grab for power, and that seems to me to be both dishonest and under-reported."
"One of the worst things about TARP is the way that Paulson has wrongfully and mendaciously conflated the last weekâs money market panic with the need for TARP. They are two separate issues. As you probably know, the short term credit markets got close to seizing up last week. I understand why Paulson injected $105 billion to calm institutional money fund holders and then guaranteed money fund holdings (though the way he did the latter was hamfisted in my opinion).
However, if I understand the NYT article about Paulsonâs briefings to Congress to sell TARP, and his other attempts to sell TARP on television, he seems to be saying that TARP will prevent a market Armegeddon. As far as I can see, we got close to Armageddon with the money market panic (which he touched off by letting LEH fail without making sure creditors got a reasonable shot at getting most of their money back). At any rate, money markets wonât seize up while money funds remained guaranteed by the Treasury, so we have time to work out a comprehensive solution and no need to jam through TARP or anything as reckless. We have time to get it right. He is using the money market problems to grab for power, and that seems to me to be both dishonest and under-reported."
