Treasury's TARP Moves Today and Framing the Big Picture

We figured you saw that the Senate released the second half of the TARP money ($350 Billion). And we figured you saw that the Treasury Department 1) injected more money into Bank of America; 2) guaranteed some assets for Citi; 3) loaned money to a new Chrysler entity; and 4) updated the TARP's executive compensation rules. Well, maybe not on #4, but the others have been on the web, and will be in newscasts tonight if you didn't see cable today.

So we thought we'd do something a little different. We're going to highlight a columnist that is trying to bring all the nitty gritty into an understandable framework.

Here's why you care: The Washington Post's Steven Pearlstein has written a thoughtful column trying to weave the bigger picture issues of things like: Can we spend our way out? Where's the money coming from? Will this work? He's speaking to the MBA and non-MBA set alike, and thus he's worth your while. We thought his piece would be especially helpful as we get closer to the inauguration where you are likely to here much about the stimulus package and the economy. As we noted in our futures calendar yesterday - Next Week's News Today, the stimulus package will be debated over the weekend and through the inauguration. We are not endorsing Mr. Pearlstein, just noting that he is being thoughtful, and he does a great job of raising important questions going forward. And that's where we like you to be, ahead of the curve.