TARP extension

Geithner has informed Congress he's extending TARP till October of 2010, utilizing the authority granted Treasury in the initial TARP statute or whatever it was. Fine. They want to put the money they've gotten back to work for small businesses, small banks, what have you.

How's about kicking a little of it over the transom to Sheila Bair at the FDIC? Banks keep going bust, and the FDIC is tapped out. Which means it's raised the rates its assessing on banks (mostly in Georgia) to pay into its reserve pool for making account holders whole when banks go bust. Which means banks will soon be charging us for checking accounts, online bill payments, etc.

Admittedly, I'm happy to pay for online bill payments, for now, no biggie. And I do find it a little bit objectionable to be continually bailing out morons in the gated communities and McMansions of Alpharetta. But the FDIC have been troopers throughout it all.

However tight-fisted banks have been about making loans, somehow I doubt the ability of Treasury to build up alternate programs and infrastructure to get credit out to small businesses. And bailing out specific banks that have underserved their clientele, even if it's cute little ones, serves little purpose.