Repaying TARP Bailouts to be Enforced via Taxes

The New York Times reported today on the Obama administration’s plans to add yet another tax burden on Americans in the midst of current financial challenges facing taxpayers.

It’s a tax on banks to recoup the money loaned to them under the terms of the financial industry’s recent bailout by Government. Set to go into effect after June 30th, the President says the tax is intended to “to recover every single dime the American people are owed” for bailing out the Economy.

The breathtaking ignorance of such a move is readily apparent. Taxpayers didn’t ask for the ability to loan money to banks in the first place. President Obama decided to do that in our name. When his grand plan to save the Economy proved both unpopular and ineffective, he is now demonizing banks and, again without consulting the taxpayers in whose name he purports to be acting, seeks to get our money back for us via a tax.

Why the Government doesn’t set up a payment plan for the banks and get our money back with interest is a question left unanswered. Probably because Liberal politicians are at least smart enough to understand that a payment plan eventually ends but a tax, once enacted, has a half life approaching that of a radioactive isotope! The Times even addresses the idea that the tax might not go away once the debt is repaid noting that “Administration officials did not outline any provision for having the tax expire once all the money is recouped.” Further, the administration brushed aside the bank’s contention that much of the money has already been repaid at interest and “called its tax a “financial crisis responsibility fee” aimed at those institutions whose risk-taking caused the problem in the first place.”

Continuing its savaging of private enterprise, the Market and the pocketbooks of individuals, the administration plans to try and force banks to pay in the way Liberals believe it should be paid, by reducing bonuses. Normally a business would properly pass on such outrageous costs arbitrarily mandated by Government to consumers. But the Administration is playing divide and conquer with financial institutions by exempting smaller banks and community banks from the tax so “that big banks will not be able to pass on the costs of its levy without risking a loss of market share to rivals that are not subject to the tax.”

It is precisely this sort of action by Government which is opposed by a large number of Americans. It pits one group of American against others; it injects Government into matters best decided by the Market; its end goal is to reduce and infringe upon the Liberty and Rights of the Individual as opposed to protecting them; and, it does all this and more under the demonstrably false banner of looking out for our best interests.

If you agree, do some research into our candidates, organizations and merchants and support those who also agree. It’s time and money well spent. Thanks for stopping by!