Making a Deal with the Devil

[Karen Parker]

Should I find it humorous or extremely upsetting that the US banks that took TARP funds now regret taking that money because the Fed is now controlling them? I might find it humorous if it weren't for the fact that the Fed has now refused repayment of those funds.Iberiabank, the first to bail out of the bail out cited in this article: http://money.cnn.hu/2009/02/27/news/companies/iberia_tarp/index.htm?postversion=2009022716 as saying tightening restrictions and changes to the program puts them at a disadvantage. And then there is Goldman Sachs and B of A saying they regret taking the funds because they came with strings attached and are repaying the funds as quickly as possible. All of this tells me these banks didn't need "our" money anyway. Especially if they had it to throw around on bonuses, parties and buying entire other financial institutions. But it appears they may have sold their souls to the devil as some feel this is an attempt by BO of a fascist take over the financial institutions (see WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123879833094588163.html). While this isn't something I didn't exactly foresee as Big Brother continues to rule and regulate us to death, I must say, it will be interesting to watch the two most hated institutions in this country battle it out.