Responsibility Tax

Okay, folks, don’t worry, you’re off the hook. The bailout money Obama spent won’t be coming out of your paycheck. I mean, I could’ve shelled out the $117 billion. Maybe you could too. But no, that’ll be left up to the biggest Wall Street banks.

Yeah, the government has decided to levy a “financial crisis responsibility fee” on the nation’s largest banks. They expect that this tax will bring in $9 billion a year for the next ten years. And it won’t stop till it’s made back every penny of those loans.

Not only that but the federal government claims it will actually turn a profit on these loans, to the tune of $19 billion. Sounds like a good investment coming from interest, dividends, and sales of stock warrants.

So where’s all this money going to go? Back to the national budget so we don’t run a deficit? Towards a government body charged with preventing future crisis? Straight to me to get gambled away in Vegas? Who knows!

This move comes 3 years earlier than is required by law. Legally, the president has till 2013 to impose a system for recouping the government’s loans. But apparently, Obama is ready to reign in executive bonuses and large dividends early.

Democratic lawmakers feel the new tax will receive support from Congress and pass easily. If so, this summer (the start date for the tax) will prove to be a testing ground for whether the government’s investments have paid off.

Only time will tell.