Larks comments on Mathematicians and the Prevention of Recessions - Less Wrong

8 Post author: JonahSinick 25 May 2013 04:12AM

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Comment author: JonahSinick 24 May 2013 11:29:17PM 0 points [-]

Can you give a reference?

Comment author: John_Baez 25 May 2013 12:05:40AM *  9 points [-]

According to Wikipedia:

As of December 31, 2012, the Treasury had received over $405 billion in total cash back on Troubled Assets Relief Program investments, equaling nearly 97 percent of the $418 billion disbursed under the program.

But TARP was just a small part of the whole picture. What concerns me is that there seem to have been somewhere between $1.2 trillion and $16 trillion in secret loans from the Fed to big financial institutions and other corporations. Even if they've been repaid, the low interest rates might represent a big transfer of wealth from the poor to the wealthy. And the fact that I'm seeing figures that differ by more than an order of magnitude is far from reassuring, too! The GAO report seems to be worth digging into. If not mathematicians, at least accountants could be helpful for things like this!

Comment author: Larks 25 May 2013 01:49:38PM *  1 point [-]

Even if they've been repaid, the low interest rates might represent a big transfer of wealth from the poor to the wealthy.

They might represent a transfer from taxpayers to bondholders and shareholders of banks, but not to the tune of $9 billion.

Also thank you for providing the reference I was in too much of a hurry to.

Comment author: rhollerith_dot_com 16 June 2013 08:24:41PM 0 points [-]

They might represent a transfer from taxpayers to bondholders and shareholders of banks, but not to the tune of $9 billion.

Typo: you meant, "trillion".