Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Fed Paying Above Market Value for Toxic Debt

It now appears that in order to try to shore up the economy, the Federal government is now paying premium prices for toxic debt. Private investors that were willing to buy these troubled assets are withdrawing offers because the government is so willing to pay a higher-than-market price for the same debt in the hopes that they will increase in value sometime down the road. This is a fine prescription for saddling the American taxpayer with crushing debt and monstrous losses in the future as more and more of these instruments continue to lose value. The government is betting against private capital that they can make them increase in value despite the views to the contrary of the finest minds in private industry. This is risky at best because our government is betting that these bad loans have greater value than the price that private distressed debt experts believe they are worth. History suggests that the government will be wrong and that the American People will pay a much heavier price for the indulgent overconfidence of government beaurocrats. Not only is the government over-paying for this debt now, but the American People will pay for it again at some point in the future. So this is what the Plunge Protection Team really looks like?