TARP Pays Dividends, Fed Sees Rise, Recovery Act’s Impact on Women

“From the perspective of the taxpayers getting their money back, TARP has been a great success.”

- Todd Petzel, chief investment officer at New York-based Offit Capital Advisors LLC [Bloomberg, 10/22/10]

Economy Highlights

• The Trouble Asset Relief Program provided taxpayers with a higher return than other investments, such as 30-year Treasury bonds. “The government has earned $25.2 billion on its investment of $309 billion in banks and insurance companies, an 8.2 percent return over two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That beat U.S. Treasuries, high-yield savings accounts, money- market funds and certificates of deposit.” [Bloomberg, 10/22/10]
• On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” reported that national economic activity continues to rise. “That conclusion contrasted with that of the previous beige book, released in early September, which reported "widespread signs of deceleration compared with previous periods." [Washington Post, 10/20/10]

Recovery Highlight

• A report released by the White House describes the impact of the recession on women and highlights how the Recovery Act helped them through the recession."[The report] cited the expansion of the earned-income tax credit, which disproportionately benefits working mothers; work-study money for community college students, 56 percent of whom are female; state aid supporting the jobs of teachers and nurses, who are mostly women; and Democratic opposition to privatizing Social Security, of which women make up 57 percent of beneficiaries.” [NY Times, 10/21/10]