Pat Toomey of the Club for Growth (who as a Congressman sat on the financial services committee) just held a conference call with conservative bloggers to discuss the bailout.
Toomey noted that there was a bit of good news today. First, he said, Washington Mutual being sold to JP Morgan was a very good sign. Depositors will get everything back, though stock holders will hurt. It could have been a very dangerous resolution, had JP Morgan not purchased them.
In addition, he noted that markets closed yesterday with everyone believing there was a deal. Even though the deal fell apart, the Dow is up 36 pts as we speak.
Toomey said that some banks are going to fail. He noted that we lost thousands of banks in the 80s and 90s -- but so far has lost hundreds of banks during this crisis.
He believes there are a few easy things that could be done that would dramatically
- The most important would be suspending mark to market rules as they apply to banks.
- He also recommended repealing at least some aspects of Sarbanes Oxley.
- He also recommends we pay interest on reserves. Banks are required to hold reserves, but they earn no interest.
If the Paulson bailout were to occur, as is, Toomey predicts airlines and homebuilders will next be asking for a bailout.
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