Obama doesn't want TARP money returned to tax payers

On Friday April 3, 2009, President Obama refused to allow JPMorgan Chase bank to re-pay the TARP money back to the US Government.

Obama had a meeting with the CEOs of some of the big US banks.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon insisted that he’d like to give the government’s TARP money back as soon as practical, and asked the president to “streamline” that process.

But Obama didn’t like that idea — arguing that the system still needs government capital.

Several CEOs disagreed, arguing instead that returning TARP money was their patriotic duty, that they didn’t need it anymore, and that publicity surrounding the return would send a positive signal of confidence to the markets.

The president offered an analogy: “This is like a patient who’s on antibiotics,” he said. “Maybe the patient starts feeling better after a couple of days, but you don’t stop taking the medicine until you’ve finished the bottle.” Returning the money too early, the president argued could send a bad signal.

Read the full report here:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/20871.html

I wonder why Obama thinks he’s so much smarter than the CEOs of some of the largest US banks…?