Hey Uncle Sam: How about a little consistency?


With new taxpayer-funded bailouts at Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) making headlines this week, it's a good time to stop and ask ourselves: Do the people in Washington have any idea what they're doing?

The New York Times' Joe Nocera poses an interesting contradiction: "Think about it: Citigroup is slimming down. Bank of America is bulking up. The government is essentially backing both approaches. It makes no sense. "

It sure doesn't. Nocera suggests that setting up a "bad bank" to move the worst assets of banks off their books might be the best way to stop the vicious cycle of writedowns and capital infusions. Maybe he's onto something with that but his first point is the best one.

When we have an economic policy that provides financing for one bank to make acquisitions and another bank to split itself up, can we really trust the leadership?

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