TARP Expires

TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, passed by Congress in late 2008 expired on October 3, 2010. The entire value of TARP was 700 billion dollars. The reason it was created was because mortgages and other bank assets were losing value fast in 2008. The idea was for the government to buy these "toxic" assets from the banks so the banks could have nice, clean balance sheets and would continue doing their job. That is, lending money. In the end, only 475 billion of TARP was used. Also, not all of the TARP money was given to banks. Some was given to the automobile industry and other industries where relief was needed. 

(It seems that a large part of the economic problem right now is that banks are unwilling to lend money. How can TARP be viewed as a success if it did not prevent what it was supposed to prevent?)

The small business jobs act to revive economy

Gist: On Thursday, the government passed the small business jobs act which expand loans to small businesses and give them tax breaks.
Heidi Moore think it will help to fix a mistake done in the first TARP stimulus to banks, where billions of dollars were given to big banks hoping that they will lend it to small businesses. The new thirty billion plan is creating a fund which will be given to banks in hope they will lend to small businesses. Small business owners said that it took too long and that this is not enough. Felix Salmon disagree. He believes that this money will be leveraged and will be translated into hundreds of billions of dollars in landings to small businesses.

Another ways to economic recovary

Gist: President Barack Obama introduced another stimulus plan for government infrastructure project which is going to cost another $50 billion.
In this section, they were going to question about whether pouring another $50 billion into stimulus after last year $800 billion in stimulus money or not. Howard Rosen from Peterson Institute for International Economics said it's time to switch the strategy from stimulating consumptions to stimulating investments. Cutting income taxes and some policies like that may be a help stoping the recession, but creating the stable empolyment can really raise the economy. However, Rober Shapiro, a commerce under-secretary in the Clinton Administration, indicate that investment-based tax credit will not drive the recovery. Business still need strong demand from market to balance the money put into investment. He recommanded the offering more support which can make the consumers feel more confident in spending.