TARP used to be just a piece of plastic to cover a campsite when it rained or to keep your firewood dry during the winter months. Not anymore.
Today's TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, has a whole new meaning for us now. Authorized by Congress and administered by the U.S. Treasury Department, this $700 billion trust fund continues to help a dwindling number of big banks cover their "you-know-what" from bad loans and ill-advised investment risks.
Mind you, these were high-stakes bets so extreme that if most of us had shown up with a business plan asking for a loan carrying the same amount of risk, we'd get laughed out of the bank.
Now some of the biggest financial institutions are patting themselves on the back because they are paying or have already paid back the TARP funds they received.
But what did we, the American taxpayer, get from the TARP program? At first glance, it seems we're stuck with the same big banks, operating in the same old way.
We certainly didn't get any jobs, small business loans or meaningful bank reform out of the deal.
Instead, the big banks took the money, cleaned up their balance sheets, paid big bonuses and paid back the money so they could get the government out of their business.
With some of the TARP money back in the coffers, there's hope in some quarters that the government will do something this time to help small business owners and workers.
Unveiled this month by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), The Main Street Lending Restoration Act would devote $30 billion of TARP funds to smaller community banks to get them healthy.
This legislation may prove to be a more positive and fruitful endeavor than the first go-round with big banks, since these lenders are more likely to make small business loans and extend credit to people in their communities.
But here's another idea for the TARP funds: let's use the money to finance projects that create permanent post-construction jobs for our community. If the banks won't finance new construction projects, the federal government should loan money to businesses and public agencies that will create jobs that stick around long after the last nail is hammered.
As anyone here can see, it is still raining out there. And as long as we have a TARP we should use for more than covering a woodpile.
End-of-the-year musings….What a difference a year makes, exiting Mill Plain at I-5 to be greeted by the Al Angelo building and the iQ Credit Union headquarters nearby…Brian Baird will be missed by those who loved him and those who loathed him, though at least with Brian you always knew where you stood … On healthcare reform, though I'm sure something will pass, I'm not sure it's going to be reform…2010 is just around the corner, so here's a Happy and Prosperous New Year's wish for you and yours.
