bulls make money, bears make money,

but SOE's apparently do NOT make money.

People, have you seen the news that the ex-post cost of the TARP is now projected to be only around $90 billion? Even AIG might go back to being private (for the time being at least) this year. It's a pretty sunny story all the way around except for.....

Fan and Fred, of course. The $125 billion plus injected into them (so far) somehow doesn't count as part of the TARP bailouts, and no one is expecting that back any time soon. In fact the CBO projects another $370 billion plus of our money will find its way into those two black holes over the next few years.

So what does this mean?

1. I guess either the TARP rescues were a smashing success or else they were not really even needed to begin with. Seems like a win either way except for the precedent setting and the probable increase in moral hazard from here on.

2. Congress people who refused to seriously oversee / curtail / discipline Fan and Fred activities (yes I am talking to you Barney, you scalawag!) should be axed to 'splain themselves. Maybe like 20 random folks could be appointed to a commission and then could subpoena some congress people and drop the hammer on them. The head of GM got the ax in all this business, why not the champions of Fan and Fred?