“The Treasury Department said on Sunday that its scaled-down program to help banks unload their troubled mortgages and mortgage securities would begin operating at full strength by the end of this month, more than a year after Congress authorized $700 billion for that purpose. Treasury officials said that five out of the nine money-management firms it selected to buy up unwanted mortgage-backed securities had raised the minimum amount of money from private investors — $500 million each — to qualify for matching investments and loans from the federal government.” (New York Times ^[1], Monday)

What an opportunity to dispense privileges.

FEE Timely Classic
“Transforming America: The Bush-Obama Stimulus Programs” ^[2] by Randall G. Holcombe