Confidence?

The TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) was sold by Hank Paulson and others as a way to allow banks to remove illiquid toxic assets (the TA part of TARP) from their balance sheets. Paulson, Bernanke and others railroaded the bill through Congress saying in so many words that if it wasn't passed immediately the worldwide financial system would suffer a catastrophic meltdown.

Today, Paulson held a press conference and stated, "It was clear to me by the time that the bill was signed on October 3 that we needed to act quickly and forcibly, and that purchasing troubled assets, our initial focus, would take time to implement and would not be sufficient given the severity of the problem."

Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me?

So the bill you lobbied for, no, begged for (literally, Paulson got down on one knee in front of Speaker Pelosi and begged) was a crock of shit from the get-go? You knew that the bill would not work before the ink had dried? "By the time the bill was signed".

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

My confidence in those in charge? Mark it ZERO.

The market didn't appear to like it much either. Down another 5%.

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Declining asset values, ballooning debt, inflationary expansion of the money supply, rising unemployment, peak oil, stagnant wages, debased currencies... Welcome to the popping of the standard of living bubble.