It might be a good idea to devote more money to job creation (okay, it is a good idea), but there is no difference between using left over or repaid TARP money for this purpose than any other money. CBO recently revised downward its projection of the money that would be lost on the TARP since it now expects the bulk of loans to be repaid. This reduces its projection of the deficit. Under the law, TARP money is returned to the Treasury, however, if we had a specific deficit target in mind, the better than expected numbers on the TARP now means that the government is projected to come in under that target.
However, CBO also increased its projections of the deficit back in August because the economy had performed considerably worse than it had anticipated when it made its budget projections last winter. If we work from the winter deficit projections, we are still looking at higher than predicted deficits, even with the savings on the TARP.
So, the real question is how large a deficit the country is prepared to live with. The TARP really has nothing to do with this question.
There's too much at stake this November for us to quit. As we navigate another presidential election year, thoughtful independent journalism is more important than ever. We're committed to bringing you the latest news on what's really happening across the country this election season, shining a light on the stories corporate media overlooks and keeping the public informed about how power really works in America.
Quality reporting doesn't come for free, and we don't have corporate backers to rely on to fund our work. Everything we do is thanks to our incredible community of readers, who chip in a few dollars at a time to make what we do possible. This month, we're trying to raise $50,000 to help fuel our election coverage, and we've fallen behind on reaching our goal. Any amount you give today will bring us closer to making our reporting possible—and a generous donor has agreed to match all online donations, so your impact will be doubled.
