Cramer on BloggingStocks: U.S. should take its Citi profit and skedaddle

But what we hear is that the government's either going to sell some blocks over time or dribble it out on a daily or monthly basis. Given that we are talking about a paper profit of $10 billion on 7 billion in shares it should take its 39% gain and skedaddle. If it feels like it wants to play it safe, then sell half, make a loss hard to come by and then dribble it out.

But to put this stock out over time betting that the market will stay strong doesn't seem to be in the best interest of the government or the stock. You put a lid on the stock even if the upcoming quarter is good and you risk leaving a huge gain on the table if it isn't.

The whole episode with Citigroup and the government has been a tortured one. It is still considered the poster boy for all that is wrong with the banking industry with CEO Vikram Pandit being viewed as a villain. I think he has done everything in his power to turn around this franchise, which was the most poorly run of all financials, except Lehman, Bear, Washington Mutual and Wachovia, because of its disastrous Golden West acquisition. The best thing the government can do is take its gain and let Pandit work off the Troubled Assets Relief Program.

The worst thing it can do is bet the market goes higher.

Jim Cramer is co-founder and chairman of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in the stocks mentioned.