PUT THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SHMOKE IT

The "we profited off of TARP" argument is a load of horse shit. We've had this discussion again and again. But, to quickly rehash:

--Making a 12 billion dollar profit does not make up for helping to destroy the economy --The banks hardly recouped TARP through their amazing skills and hard work alone, there were numerous programs put in place to absolutely ensure that the banks would make money (TALF, changing of the mark-to-market rules, access to the Fed's discount window with borrowing at near 0% interest rates, AIG Backdoor bailout, etc.) To act as though this was some sort of good investment ignores reality and means that you live in a vacuum. ANYONE could have made money with that much in their court.

Not to mention, this is as socialist as arguments get. People who argue "it's ok cause TARP profited" are basically arguing for the government to intervene in markets and take STATE OWNERSHIP of companies. Many of the jackasses who champion TARP bitch and moan about what happened with GM. You can't have it both ways.

Furthermore, again, 12 billion dollars is virtually NOTHING compared to the excessive systemic damage created by the actions of the banks (and shady lenders, and people who lied about their income, etc.)

I'm just sick and tired