the tindog coffeehouse

A new report claims that the $700,000,000,000 bailout rescue plan known as TARP may have saved the economy (debatable), but it also severely damaged the credibility of the federal government:

The mixed and blunt assessment by Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general in charge of oversight for the bailout fund, appears in a quarterly report scheduled for release Wednesday. Barofsky said the Troubled Asset Relief Program has come at great cost to taxpayers, to the integrity of the financial system and to the public’s perception of the federal government.

“Despite the aspects of TARP that could reasonably be viewed as a substantial success,” he wrote, “Treasury’s actions in this regard have contributed to damage the credibility of the program and of the government itself, and the anger, cynicism and distrust created must be chalked up as one of the substantial, albeit unnecessary, costs of TARP.”

Of course, the report assumes that Americans had any faith in the government in the first place, which is questionable.

There’s a reason our currency says “In God We Trust”.

Previously:
‘Dude, where’s my $700 billion?’
TARP is the financial equivalent of the Vietnam War

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke thinks the U.S. should try to cut its budget deficits before Asia completely destroys us with its super economy-rebounding powers.

“As the global economy recovers and trade volumes rebound, however, global imbalances my reassert themselves,” Bernanke warned. For the United States’ part, “the most effective way” to boost national savings in this country “is by establishing a sustainable fiscal trajectory, anchored by a clear commitment to substantially reduce federal deficits over time,” Bernanke said. He didn’t suggest ways to do so.

Bernanke may not have any ideas for how to cut the deficit, but I have a few suggestions. How ’bout no more bailouts for starters? Maybe stop buying banks, auto companies, and insurance companies? Also, we could stop paying people to trade in their old cars. And — call me crazy! — maybe we should abandon plans for a massive, multi-trillion-dollar health care overhaul.

Just a few ideas off the top of my head. You’re welcome.

Previously:
The real ‘death panel’? The federal budget

It’s official: Hybrid cars cost more than fuel-efficient non-hybrids.

OK, so you knew that already. But now with an online calculator from the Rocky Mountain Institute (the independent, entrepreneurial, nonprofit think-and-do tank™), you have proof. With graphs!

For example, compare a (base) Toyota Corolla, which gets between 26 and 35 mpg, to a Toyota Prius, which gets between 48 and 51 mpg. At $2.61/gallon for gas, if you drive each car 15,000 miles for 5 years, the total cost of ownership of the Corolla is $5400 less than the Prius.

Continue reading…

It’s official: Washington has no idea what it’s doing.

This is a video of Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) questioning Treasury Secretary (and tax cheat) Timothy Geithner over the $700,000,000,000 bailout rescue plan (aka TARP).

Now, there’s a couple of parts to this video.

First, Sen. DeMint asks Geithner about the repayment of the bailout money. If a bank pays the government back $50 billion, he wonders, would that money go back into the general fund to be used elsewhere, or would it be re-loaned to other banks? Geithner says both.

Huh?

Continue reading…

Move over, BioWillie. Scientists at the University of Nevada at Reno are researching the possibility of converting used coffee grounds into inexpensive biodiesel.

For the study, the team collected leftover grounds of espressos, cappuccinos and other coffee preparations from the Starbucks coffee chain.

Being that the process is not particularly energy intensive, the researchers estimated that biodiesel could be produced for about a dollar a gallon. …

“We have found that biodiesel created from spent coffee grounds is stable over a longer period of time than other forms of biodiesel that have been created from feed stocks such as soy and corn,” Misra said. “Biodiesel from spent coffee grounds is a low-cost ‘green’ form of fuel that shows a significant reduction of carbon dioxide emission. It’s an excellent source for biodiesel.”

As an added bonus, the resulting exhaust smells like — you guessed it — coffee! Finally, a reason to enjoy my morning commute!

OK, time for another cup of joe. Y’know, just saving the planet and all.

The Big 3 automakers don’t need a bailout, they just need to build amphibious cars!