TAPR is surprising some.
The profits, collected from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations to the government, come to about $4 billion, or the equivalent of about 15 percent annually, according to calculations compiled for The New York Times.
[...]
So far, that experiment is more than paying off. The government has taken profits of about $1.4 billion on its investment in Goldman Sachs, $1.3 billion on Morgan Stanley and $414 million on American Express. The five other banks that repaid the government — Northern Trust, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street, U.S. Bancorp and BB&T — each brought in $100 million to $334 million in profit.
It's got a while to go but so far is looking up.
Obama has cut taxes for 98.6% of working households.
Obviously, the teabaggers do not know this.
An interview today on NPR by Steve Inskeep of RNC chair Michael Steele had an entertaining exchange. Steele, was saying how bad the government runs things [10 times worse than insurance he claimed] yet he was willing to admit that regulation by the government of insurance companies would actually help.
STEELE:...Sure, there are issues in the insurance market that we can regulate a little bit better and that we can control better to maximize the benefits to the consumers. That’s something that yeah, we can rightly reform and fix.
INSKEEP: Wait, wait — You would trust the government to look into that?
STEELE: No, I’m talking about the private — I’m talking about citizens. I’m talking about — (CROSSTALK)
INSKEEP: Who is it you — You said it is something that should be looked into. Who is it that you think should look into that?
STEELE: Well, who regulates the insurance markets?
INSKEEP: That would be the government, I believe.
STEELE: Well, and so what. Now wait a minute. Hold up. You’re doing a wonderful little dance here and you’re trying to be cute. But the reality of this is very simple. I’m not saying the government doesn’t have a role to play....
Inskeep also noted that Steele's position was nuanced to which Steele took offense - as if nuanced is a bad thing. It seems he wasn't ready for a challenging interview and got tripped up on his words.
Senate Confirms Sotomayor 68 - 31
Nine Republicans voted for her. Ohio's George Voinovich, Maine's Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, New Hampshire's Judd Gregg, Indiana's Richard Lugar, Missouri's Kit Bond, Florida's Mel Martinez, South Carolina's Lindsey Graham and Tennessee's Lamar Alexander.
In a telling political sign, none of the Republicans who voted for Sotomayor is seeking re-election in 2010.
That tells me that Republicans who are not up for re-election have learned to think for themselves. Good for them.
Senate votes for the last 11 Supreme Court Justices:
Sotomayor 68 to 31
Alito 54 to 42
Roberts 78 to 22
Breyer 87 to 9
Ginsburg 96 to 3
Thomas 52 to 48
Souter 90 to 9
Kennedy 97 to 0
Scalia 98 to 0 [!]
O'Connor 99 to 0
Stevens 98 to 0
Times have changed. It has been much more political since Thomas.
