Monday, February 09, 2009

Understanding Matthew and the TARP Funds

Wow - read the comments from my last few posts!

The Bible gives a great parable in Matthew 25:14-30. Jesus told this parable right after his triumphal entry. Given some assets of different sizes, three people were told to put it to work. It tells of two who invested and got returns and the third one who simply hid his money for fear of losing it. When the Master returned he took the money from the one who could do nothing with it and gave it to the one who knew how to use it.


Congress passed the TARP Fund Bill in record time. The original premise was that the bank regulators would buy bad loans (assets) from hemorrhaging banks to get them off the banks' books. But very soon into this plan the Regulators (FDIC) had to admit that they were not prepared to take on these assets. You see, we are not talking about notes and mortgages here, we are talking about houses and their owners, buildings, land, and stores, etc. Real physical properties that all needed real hands-on property management, people management teams. The FDIC consists of accountant types in expensive suits. What to do?


Perhaps FDIC should come up with a remedy like the Master did in the parable. Perhaps the FDIC should simply give the TARP money to the working banks and tell them to go buy out the unhealthy ones with all their bad loans. After all, we know how to manage the physical assets that their bad loans represent. My Bank did get TARP money. Please understand why we got it and take a big hint from me as to what we are to do with it. (I cannot discuss this beyond what I have said here).


PS

I like to gripe about the frustration of the times and I will likely continue to do so. It helps to give you an inside look at what I see. Anonymous knows me and so does OrangRecneps. We still have a picture of his 3 wonderful children on our refrigerator. Perhaps Kevin understands best. He once informed a commenter that posting an opposing argument to me was like peeling a banana for a gorilla.

It's all good and I love the interaction.

5 comments:

Strider said...

I heard that several healthy banks in the state are getting money to buy failing banks. It was interesting to see you side of it.

OrangRecneps said...

Ditto to strider.

I had not thought of the bailouts in that way. I guess there is just too much blood shooting from my eyes over this whole thing to see clearly.

I am still very concerned about the government owning so much of what used to be private enterprise. We've all seen how well the DMV (DOL) works. We've all seen how consistent the IRS is with enforcing the tax code.

So let's be honest, going to a bank is a miserable experience now. How much more inefficient is it going to be now that the government is running them? How many months am I going to have to wait to access my Direct deposit? How many years will I have to wait to be approved for a home loan? Just how much power does the government have?

By the way. Even gorillas need to eat.

Anonymous said...

Freedom Fighter,
I especially liked the video with Milton Friedman and a much younger Phil Donahue. His questions were very good and it was interesting to see good old Phil listening.
Today on his program, Rush commented on Mr Friedman and also read for us an interview with Michael Munger, an economist from Duke University.
Mr Munger, also against the stimulus bill, compared it to doctors back in the days when they used to bleed their patients. (Talk about a hemmorage!)
Mr Munger also commented that politicians cannot wait for the economy to right itself. Instead, they have to do something to "fix it" so they can say "see what I did!" The power to "fix" is too great a temptation, and has become a common commodity. For this reason, I think the "bleeding" analysis is quite sobering.

Anonymous Sister

Killer Bee said...

Hey, I'm just kicking back and enjoying the show.
Let someone else peel bananas for the gorilla for awhile.

Just remember, Truthseeker, to keep the interaction "all good" FOR YOU. And take a walk with your wife. Then take your dog for another walk.

As for the rest of it, my guy is in. So it looks pretty good to me. I'm getting a feel for how many of you must have felt the past eight years -- or at least six of the last eight. It's nice.

I'd like to draw your attention to the Republicans who did NOT vote NO on the stimulus package.

No, I'm not talking about those three liberal-loving traitors in today's vote. I'm talking about the one or two dozen who have been kicked out of both houses of congress these past two years.

You all can keep crying your "European Socialist" this and your "Community Organizer" that. But keep in mind that you're shouting it from the bench. And that is no accident.

It's halftime and the country is down by double digits. We've pulled the Republicans out of the game. And we're going to let the young left-handed point guard from Hawaii try to start a rally.

You Republicans don't get to play and it goads you. He's let you state your opinion in the huddle these past couple of weeks. But once the buzzer sounds, you have to sit down.

Why are you on the bench? How did you get there?

As long as you're finger pointing, take a look in the mirror and ask yourselves if you, as a party, are where you want to be in 2010 and 2012 with Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber as your iconic leaders.

When the Republicans elect Michael "Hey, we got a Black guy too!" Steele as their chairman and immediately announce to the nation, "We get it now.", take all of the next few years to ask yourselves: Do we really get it?

For me, Truthseeker, it hasn't been so much about greed. Rather, the opposite.
I'm talking about COMPASSION. Jesus showed countless examples of compassion that do not fit any economic model.

Compassionate Conservative? That was something Bush uttered back in his first election.
He offered it like it was a novel idea. Fresh. Unique.

Truly, I believe you and every other contributor to this blog to be compassionate souls.
And I've already taken too much of your space and time going off on a tangent of your original topic. But I think it's relevant.

The Republicans , like the Dems of the past eight years, have the next four to eight years to sit on the bench and become very introspective.

The Republicans declare, "We get it now." Do you really?

We should all use this time when people are really hurting, really scared, and are in serious trouble, to ask Christ daily if we as indiduals, communities and political parties, are acting in compassion.

a woman who is said...

There you go Mr. K. B. We all are surly going to have to pitch in here and help. The B team may now be on the bench, but I am telling you from the sidelines it looks like a slaughter. You better hope your quarter back OB can pull off a Hail Mary...hehehe I don't even know if that is the term? (I kind of like this football analogy.) I just know that it has something to do with a miracle. God help us all!