January 14, 2009
TED's Excellent Adventure
That headline is so lame and obvious, I apologize. But I surprisingly have not seen it.
As I am the last guy left defending President Bush (I'll shut off the lights when I leave...) I am also the last guy with a nice word for TARP, or as it is known around here, "the unconscionable bailout of greedy wall street bastards." You can talk about moral hazard and find me sympathetic, you can go all Senator Durban on me and complain about lack of oversight -- it's a fair cop.
I have but one defense:
Hat-tip: Professor Mankiw who adds "Bloomberg reports that the Ted spread is now below 100 basis points. The Ted spread, the difference between the interest rates on interbank loans and T-bills, is one gauge of how much fear is gripping the financial system. Its decline suggests that the TARP is working and is certainly good news."