Bailout is more Transparent

One of my favorite sources, Fair Game, noted on Sunday that "The secrecy and opacity that have surrounded some of the trickier decisions...do not engender trust." Indeed neither of these ways of doing things, especially as regards the bailout or Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP"), engender any kind of trust or confidence. The markets are still roiling partly because of continued uncertainty.

And now the administration has learned that it can't continue to be opaque about TARP. They are asserting that the $700 Billion will not be used for the purchase of bad assets (read troubled mortgages), rather the funds will be used in other ways to pump up the financial system (i.e. buying bank stock). So it's not gonna be another Asset Resolution Corp. (like it was in the 80's for the S&L's), rather we're moving more like Socialist Sweden, taking equity and pumping up balance sheets? Is that a good thing? I'm not sure, but lets be clear what it is at least.

Now that we have more transparency, will it help? Maybe, but if you are in need of lines of credit or financing in general, try alternative sources, as described by Steve Strauss on the NFIB website. These may be your best bet.