Plan B and Plan C

It's been just a little over a month since the first half of the $700bn was passed over to Paulson, first to buy 'toxic securities', and soon after to buy non-voting equity in Paulson's buddies' banks.

Paulson now says the next $350bn will go to "help relieve pressure on consumer credit", whatever that means. Maybe that the new bank AmEx will get a big share, in addition to the funds it can now borrow from the Fed.

There also seems to be a shift in Treasury's approach to the public:

There does indeed seem to have been a visible change in Treasury policy since the election. Until that point, it cared a little about optics. Now, it's giving monster bailouts to the likes of AIG and American Express; it's dragging its feet on homeowner relief; and in general Hank Paulson's Wall Street buddies seem to be getting much better access than anybody in Detroit. And no one's even trying very hard to defend these actions in public: they know they'll be out of a job in January anyway, so they're just doing what they want to do and what they feel is right, without caring much whether anybody else agrees with them

As Brian Wilson points out, the TARP is now the CARP (Consumer Asset Relief Program), and he hints, soon to be the CRAP (make up your own acronym). CRAP will be Plan C.

We are privileged to be watching the greatest ripoff in the history of the world, done in broad daylight. Neither the media, the Congress, nor the public seem to care. It's hard to imagine a more silly, slavish, stupid people than we Americans. Soon we will get our just desserts.