Saturday, July 25, 2009
Part of the new Obama education initiative is a program to increase internet based education. There is no greater example of opportunity than this. Even the poorest and most disadvantaged child or adult has the opportunity to get the best education, while working at a regular job or caring for a family, at no cost. Internet education can provide almost all degrees, at almost all levels. It is great. No one has any excuse any more, except for their own lassitude.
I would like clarification that speaking in a bad tempered criticism of a police officer, in my own home, while not be the best in manners, is not a crime. I have been a police auxiliary, long ago, and my memory is that cops really that believe part of their job is to punish disrespect, in any form. I believe this is poisonous, and reflects the ongoing hostility between Cops and most poor folks.
Good cops are civil to everyone, friendly to no one, and arrest only after someone has committed a crime, not just to enforce a respectful tone.
Our local town police are superb. Each officer realizes that a weak arrest like this Gates matter would put a hold on their career.
The military has it right. If you, an officer, get into a racial or sexual discrimination problem, your career is on hold. This way, everyone bends over backwards to achieve civility and fairness. As a result, there are few complaints and overall good morale.
Good cops are civil to everyone, friendly to no one, and arrest only after someone has committed a crime, not just to enforce a respectful tone.
Our local town police are superb. Each officer realizes that a weak arrest like this Gates matter would put a hold on their career.
The military has it right. If you, an officer, get into a racial or sexual discrimination problem, your career is on hold. This way, everyone bends over backwards to achieve civility and fairness. As a result, there are few complaints and overall good morale.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
TARP IN CONTEXT: OTHER GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS TO ASSIST THE FINANCIAL SECTOR
By itself, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”) is a huge program at $700 billion. As discussed in SIGTARP’s April Quarterly Report, the total financial exposure of TARP and TARP-related programs may reach approximately $3 trillion. Although large in its own right, TARP is only a part of the combined efforts of the Federal Government to address the financial crisis. Approximately 50 initiatives or programs have been created by various Federal agencies since 2007 to provide potential support totaling more than $23.7 trillion.
The Federal Reserve has been one of the lead agencies responding to the financial crisis — increasing its balance sheet to more than $2 trillion to implement a wide range of programs designed to stimulate liquidity in financial markets, as well as several institution-specific interventions.321 The Federal Reserve’s $2 trillion balance sheet (which grew from approximately $900 billion prior to the financial crisis to a peak of nearly $2.3 trillion in December 2008),322 however, does not reflect the true potential amount of support the Federal Reserve has provided to those programs, which is estimated to be at least $6.8 trillion. This is because many of the programs involve guarantees that, although not listed on the balance sheet, expose the Federal Reserve to significant losses if the assets they are backing deteriorate in value.
Other players in the Government’s efforts include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), which has contributed more than $2 trillion in new gross potential support. The newly created Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) — under whose auspices fall the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (“GSEs”) such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Home Loan Banks (“FHLBs”) — has effectively provided more than $6 trillion in gross potential support. Meanwhile, Treasury itself has programs outside of those authorized under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (“EESA”), and has supplied potential support beyond TARP of approximately $4.4 trillion. An overview of the Government’s new potential support relating to the financial crisis is listed by Federal agency in Table 3.4.
Of this $23.7 trillion in assistance to financial institutions, participants in non-TARP programs are not subject to TARP’s restrictions and conditions, such as executive compensation, nor do they necessarily require specific Congressional approval. Although SIGTARP’s oversight responsibility is for the operations of TARP and directly related programs (such as TALF and the Public-Private Investment Program (“PPIP”)), it is necessary to understand the larger context in which TARP operates, the linkages between TARP and the trillions of dollars of other Government initiatives. As noted earlier, SIGTARP has no authority over any of the non-TARP activities of the agencies discussed below.
By itself, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”) is a huge program at $700 billion. As discussed in SIGTARP’s April Quarterly Report, the total financial exposure of TARP and TARP-related programs may reach approximately $3 trillion. Although large in its own right, TARP is only a part of the combined efforts of the Federal Government to address the financial crisis. Approximately 50 initiatives or programs have been created by various Federal agencies since 2007 to provide potential support totaling more than $23.7 trillion.
The Federal Reserve has been one of the lead agencies responding to the financial crisis — increasing its balance sheet to more than $2 trillion to implement a wide range of programs designed to stimulate liquidity in financial markets, as well as several institution-specific interventions.321 The Federal Reserve’s $2 trillion balance sheet (which grew from approximately $900 billion prior to the financial crisis to a peak of nearly $2.3 trillion in December 2008),322 however, does not reflect the true potential amount of support the Federal Reserve has provided to those programs, which is estimated to be at least $6.8 trillion. This is because many of the programs involve guarantees that, although not listed on the balance sheet, expose the Federal Reserve to significant losses if the assets they are backing deteriorate in value.
Other players in the Government’s efforts include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), which has contributed more than $2 trillion in new gross potential support. The newly created Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) — under whose auspices fall the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (“GSEs”) such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Home Loan Banks (“FHLBs”) — has effectively provided more than $6 trillion in gross potential support. Meanwhile, Treasury itself has programs outside of those authorized under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (“EESA”), and has supplied potential support beyond TARP of approximately $4.4 trillion. An overview of the Government’s new potential support relating to the financial crisis is listed by Federal agency in Table 3.4.
Of this $23.7 trillion in assistance to financial institutions, participants in non-TARP programs are not subject to TARP’s restrictions and conditions, such as executive compensation, nor do they necessarily require specific Congressional approval. Although SIGTARP’s oversight responsibility is for the operations of TARP and directly related programs (such as TALF and the Public-Private Investment Program (“PPIP”)), it is necessary to understand the larger context in which TARP operates, the linkages between TARP and the trillions of dollars of other Government initiatives. As noted earlier, SIGTARP has no authority over any of the non-TARP activities of the agencies discussed below.
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