The government is losing more than $30 billion on lifelines extended to insurance giant American International Group Inc., according to Treasury data released Wednesday in an audit by the Government Accountability Office. It also is losing more than $30 billion on rescues of struggling automakers Chrysler and General Motors.

Treasury says the losses are offset in part by profits earned from bank bailouts. It says the bank bailouts will net taxpayers $19.5 billion.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091209/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bailout_extension

Looks like that if the Treasury had left the original intent of the bailout for bank relief only, that the taxpayers would actually made 19.5 billion dollars before expenses of administrating the program.....when has that ever happened.... It's a shame Chrysler and GM was structured as a give away from the taxpayers and not like the banks.
Do you remember all the reports about the bailouts costing the taxpayers trillions in the end.....and now just three months ago the government even estimated total losses at over 350 billion and now recently states it's 200 billion less than that. How could u be that far off in three months????

Government couldn't estimate the number of eggs in a dozen.....

I hear ya'.
I got a call from one of Husseins Czars asking me for the number to 911.

Banks have been paying off their loans, with interest, for several months now.
You say getting back some of the original bailouts, and making a $19.5 billion dollar profit is bad?
I don't think so......

Do you know what's really great crickster?

The Gov wouldn't allow the banks to pay back the loans unless the passed a financial stress test first.

That means the ones who have paid back the loans, with interest, are financially sound.

How's that for getting a bang for your buck?


Obama's the man!

Not hardly but nice try to wrongfully interpret... I said that if the government had left Tarp soley for the banks or structured the Chrysler and GM or AIG deals similarily that all the taxpayers monies that the government had to borrow to fund the program would have been paid back.

And that if only three months ago that it was estimated that there would be 350 billion in losses and now the losses are 200 billion less than that who the h*ll is the accountant.

Ah, the program was started under the Bush administration.....Obama inhereited it.

When the treasury overestimates losses by 200 billion dollars in three months I wouldn't put a whole lot of faith in those stress test.

When you have a net that is in the red, no, it's very bad. Even breaking even is bad because you still lose net wealth due to inflation. And especially when you are talking about taking that money and putting it into some jobs program when the original intention was to pay it back once it was returned.

Speaking of which, I vote that if Obama actually takes the money that was supposed to be paid back and spends it, he is no longer allowed to ***** about Bush's administration's deficit spending.

The monies that have been paid back so far by the banks has been equal to about 15% interest but u are right about the bottom line - cost the taxpayers 141 billion dollars. That's bad and it was borrowed monies also.

Only TARP.
The one without checks and accountability.
The Bush Tarp plan gave money out and they still don't where it went!
No Checks!

The Obama stimulus is accounted for and being paid back. Except for GM and Chrysler, but hey, they haven't recovered yet. Give them time. It wasn't a gift. It was a loan.

The Treasury Department is acknowledging for the first time that it lost $61 billion on two key programs designed to stabilize the economy after the largest financial crisis in decades.

The government is losing more than $30 billion on lifelines extended to insurance giant American International Group Inc., according to Treasury data released Wednesday in an audit by the Government Accountability Office. It also is losing more than $30 billion on rescues of struggling automakers Chrysler and General Motors.

Treasury says the losses are offset in part by profits earned from bank bailouts. It says the bank bailouts will net taxpayers $19.5 billion.

Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.

Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.
Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.
Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.
Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.
Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.
Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.
Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.
Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.
Over all, the bailouts are projected to cost taxpayers $41.5 billion.


Just a smidgen when compared to the whole.

Hogwash....Bush and Paulson structured the bailouts and the loan repayments of the banks....Bush, even though he knew better, saved the auto companies using funds that were appropriated to go to the banks. The dems wouldn't even appropriate additional monies for the auto companies so it was Bush that saved those jobs.

The Obama stimulus....yeah, some accountability if you look at the cost to taxpayers per job created. And to overestimate the cost of the bailout by 200 billion in just a three month time frame is ludacrous.

You need to go here to refresh your memory:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/credit_crisis/bailout_plan/index.html

And the 41.5 billion is only the loss from AIG, the auto companies, minus the profit from the banks. The total estimated cost of the program is still close to $150 billion. Of course with Obama's estimates who knows.

I do agree with you that Tarp as far as the banks are concerned was an absolute necessary but most of the credit goes to Bush and Paulson. As for all the stink about not loaning out the money at that time, if the banks had done that instead of propping up their balance sheets it would have only meant more bad debts. The fact that the banks are going to repay all the Tarp monies shows that bank executives made some good decisions as to what to do with the monies.

What everybody seems to be missing is the banks have been taxing the American people on the front end with credit card rates and fees! They never paid the American people back the American people paid themselves back! Not to mention when all the big banks where gobbling up the samll banks for pennies on the dollar they received their assets at a bargain and now have our housing market held hostage! The bailout was wrong and the banks should have failed and when they did they would have never been able to recover the money owed to them! The money owed to them by the American people by in large! bailing them out only gave them the money to go after us and they have in full force! The banks get a free ride on the backs of the American tax payers! We paid to bail out our own creditors to collect on a good debt and we paid to clean up their bad debt! We had the banks on the ropes and all the suckers including those damn republicans that i voted for sold us down the river! Had they allowed the banks to fail the FDIC could have cleaned up the mess and what couldnt be cleaned up would have been foriegn investors losing their money or other investors!!!! But nnoooooooooooo we can't let the chinese and saudi's and wealthy lose their money so we put it on the backs of the american tax payer! Such a farse by all politicians! Almost every single one of them was in on this scandal!

yeah what are your credit card rates at? How much have your bank fees gone up! What is the yrild on bonds today? Jeez you guys really shouldn't talk economics the idea banks are getting 0% interest rates from the fed does that count? My word!

Wrong... the ones that paid back the money ponzied the funds through the fed reserve backdoor by selling assets to the Fed to offeset the cost of return.

Our government itself is not financially sound... we are rafting on the lazy river... (round and round and round we go...)

and of course instead of actually RETURNING that airsupported non cash money we 'spent'... Government is going to keep the 'ponzy' flowing by recirculating it so no one knows it ain't real money (jobs.. yeah right, wonder how many pockets will get lined for each so called job)...

One only has to look at what the government allowing Lehman Brothers to fail caused. Letting Bank of America and Citigroup fail would have shut down the whole world basically.. It would have been real nasty for the American people. The FDIC would have had no clue as to where to start to clean up the mess. Foreign nations would no longer do business with the US.

You don't have to use a credit card....no one forced you to sign the agreement but yourself.

Free markets don't work that way... If they had allowed BofA and Citigroup (two branches of the same network) to fail...

Someone else would have elbowed their way in and took over their market...

Life would have gone on with a small hic-up instead of a HUGH crash that we are STILL in.

So... The panic caused mistakes. The mistakes will cause another panic as the next ledge gives way a plumets the economy yet again. they saved a burning house by putting gasoline in the basement had sprinkling water on the burning timbers... What happens when the embers finaly hit the basement.

I will never believe that....Wall Streeters say otherwise too. More like the New Orleans scenerio during Katrina where no one had answers.

Wall streeters have a vested interest.

Wait till the housing markets catch up. And the banks realize they still have those 'troubled assets'... All they did was transfer them to another book... they are still there.

PONZY SCHEME... All the signs are there... What will it take before we all wake up...

and get this government back under a semblance of control.

Then answer this for me:

What did the financial industry learn from all of this? What was their punishment?


I can guarantee the free market is far less forgiving of those that fail.

It is not that complicated really! the credit card companies i complained about are involved in usary and i am one of there victims! the second thing is the homes are still there! Yes they are worth a lot less, but they still have some value! So a bank is leveraging money at 30 times. They are holding toxic assets and go under overnight! So what is the lesson? If you expect to leverage at that rate you better have your money insured right? WELL GUESS WHAT THE INSURER WAS HOLDING THE SAME ASSETS! oh oh now what? Well guess now what! Some one needs to pony up the money! I mean they insured it and how could they insure it if they couldn't back up there word? I will tell you how, the FDIC thats how! So now the American government is on the hook to investors right? Well many of those investors where other countries and non-american citizens! So where the hell are we gonna get the money? Ohhhh i have an idea the American people can pay it! Let them pay to cover the toxic debt and for china's saudi and others bad investment. After all the interest they made on the money came at no risk right? I mean if other governments make an investment in our banks we can't let it fail right? So now going back to your point! On one hand you tell me it's my responsability for the credit card and on the other hand you say foriegn investors and others have no responsability! Wrong! If you make a bad investment tough shiet, lose your money and learn! Dont ask the American people to pay for their bad investment!