Bailout Bill: I ain't no financial expert. Someone wanna explain this part??

(After all, this is MY money that's getting spent here.)

SEC. 101. PURCHASES OF TROUBLED ASSETS.

(e) PREVENTING UNJUST ENRICHMENT.—In making
purchases under the authority of this Act, the Secretary
shall take such steps as may be necessary to prevent
unjust enrichment of financial institutions participating in
a program established under this section, including by
preventing the sale of a troubled asset to the Secretary at
a higher price than what the seller paid to purchase the
asset. This subsection does not apply to troubled assets
acquired in a merger or acquisition, or a purchase of
assets from a financial institution in conservatorship or
receivership, or that has initiated bankruptcy proceedings
under title 11, United States Code.

https://financialservices.house.gov/essa/ayo08c04_xml.pdf

So if troubled assets were acquired in a merger or acquisition, or in a bankruptcy proceeding, then it suddenly becomes ok for the Secretary to pay financial institutions a higher price than they paid?

Why?

Seems clear enough to me. :shrug:

It passed. We are all patriots.

Paying the seller a higher price than they're worth should be what's prohibited, and this bill, even with oversight, gives Paulson too much power.

:eyes:

Section 101(e) Specifically allows Treasury to pay up to 100% of the original acquisition cost of an asset, irrespective of its current value in the marketplace, and such determination is non-reviewable. None of these "troubled assets" are currently priced or valued there, or they wouldn’t be "troubled". There is no threshold to prevent the Treasury from overpaying for these assets nor to keep sellers from gaming the system for acquisition.

:D

Man are we gonna get hosed or are we gonna get hosed?

:grr:

Geez I'm goin' to bed. Tomorrow's gonna be a doozy, and I don't mean DUzy.

and we got it for the bargain price of $85B!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :puke:

Insane.

Something like 80%.

I just don't know what to think anymore.