Nice work on behalf of the American taxpayer. A guarantee of $4 trillion to the biggest “too big to fail” banks when (not if) they get in trouble again. So much for the lessons of moral hazard. And a debate cap of just 10 hours in Congress when it comes times to dole out the next big bank bailout. A bill to protect the taxpayer?
It authorizes Federal Reserve banks to provide as much as $4 trillion in emergency funding the next time Wall Street crashes. So much for “no-more-bailouts” talk. That is more than twice what the Fed pumped into markets this time around. The size of the fund makes the bribes in the Senate’s health-care bill look minuscule.
The bill also allows the government, in a crisis, to back financial firms’ debts. Bondholders can sleep easy — there are more bailouts to come.
… in the event of another government request for emergency aid to prop up the financial system, debate in Congress be limited to just 10 hours.
David Reilly at Bloomberg News has all the details. Maddening and infuriating to read, don’t skip it.
Bankers Get $4 Trillion Gift From Barney Frank: David Reilly – Bloomberg.com.