The amount of money being thrown at financial institutions by the U.S. treasury is so vast, it even has a name - the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, for short.
$700 billion has been allocated to the TARP. Around $250 billion has been disbursed so far. But, disbursed to who, exactly? American International Group (AIG) got an $85 billion loan before TARP existed. Then $37 billion more. $40 billion in TARP funds were used to purchase AIG STOCK. Another $52 billion to purchase mortgage securities owned or backed by AIG. Some estimate AIG's draw on the U.S. taxpayer at $173 billion, so far. And the "terms" keep changing. How many really understand what's going on here? I must admit that I am curious as to who exactly is on the receiving end of these TARP and non-TARP billions. We know they are coming from the U.S. government, billions to AIG, but then they're going THRU AIG to....who, exactly? Who bought those billions in Credit Default Swaps (CDS) that AIG sold? Besides the stock and securities purchases, why don't we know who is actually on the receiving end of all of these other billions?
All this money going to the financial industry, and Congress can't scrape up a relatively paltry $25 billion for loans to the three primary U.S. automobile makers? Those companies - Ford, GM and Chrysler - directly employ hundreds of thousands of people, and then there is the web of companies that supply parts and services to the carmakers. How many employees are on the line with AIG? How many employees are affected by the monies we've been giving to AIG? We have no idea, because we really don't know where that money is even going. And Congress doesn't seem all that interested in finding out.
Our Big 3 carmakers have been largely asleep at the wheel, granted. Poor management, poor products, bloated unions (which have been giving back large amounts in wage concessions, by the way), resistance to increasing mileage, these are only some of the problems that beset the Big 3. I think they basically suck, but to borrow a phrase common these days, they are too big to fail. 
Some people consider the Big 3's behavior so heinous that they would LIKE to see the companies fail, taking who knows how many employees with them. This grudge they carry could hurt not a small number of innocent people. The unemployment rate is already getting high. Jobless claims are rising fast. At least Congress just extended unemployment insurance coverage, and Bush signed it (what a humanitarian he is), but why they - Congress AND Bush - seem intent on doing nothing or demanding all sorts of strings while hundreds of thousands could lose jobs if they refuse to try and help the carmakers, I do not understand.
I agree that strings need to be attached to the money for the carmakers. We have a chance to insist on electric cars, hybrid cars, smaller cars, flex-fuel vehicles, increased mileage, etc.
Why didn't they insist on some tighter strings when they hurled billions at the financials? Why be so picky now?
And where's Barack in all this?
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