This Bailout Is a Bargain? Think Again - by GRETCHEN MORGENSON - IT’S way too early to tally the costs of the government’s various efforts to help our nation’s financial institutions survive the credit debacle. But that hasn’t stopped anonymous Treasury officials from claiming in recent days that their Armageddon-avoidance will wind up costing far less than many feared. (has a list of programs Treasury is not talking about) - NY Times

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Must Germany bail out Portugal too? - By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Portugal, not Greece, poses the greater existential threat to Europe's monetary union. - Telegraph.co.uk

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Sin Taxes Are All the Rage - Janet Novack - Politicians hungry for tax revenue have become puritanical about smokes, soda and plastic bags – Forbes

Obama Fights Goldman With Social Media - Dallas Lawrence - And he's winning. Corporate image managers--especially those at Goldman Sachs--have a lot to learn from the administration's Web savvy. - ... For a peak behind the curtain at the White House's efforts to focus voter frustration on Wall Street's woes, you need only turn to Google, where the administration has unleashed a multi-week search engine marketing (SEM) campaign designed to funnel information seekers to the "Organizing for America" website ... also talks about Facebook and Twitter strategies - Forbes

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No FHA Bailout - by Peter G. Miller - ... This is nonsense. There has been no government bailout of the FHA mortgage program. Not a dime in taxpayer money has gone to the FHA. ... The FHA loan plan is an insurance program. Borrowers put down less money to buy a house and in exchange pay insurance premiums. The insurance is used to compensate lenders if a borrower is foreclosed. ... - FHA LoanPros.com
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(what happens when legislators don't know what they are doing) - Craig Pirrong - The Next Derivatives Disaster -  Streetwise Professor Blog

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Fed Seen Renewing "Extended Rate" Pledge - (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to surprise no one on Wednesday by holding interest rates near zero and repeating its vow of an extended period of very low rates at the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting. - ABC News - Money

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Do big banks control our government? Thoughts on Johnson and Kwak - Tyler Cowen -   ... Ask yourself the simple question: who has both the guns and the money, including the ability to print new money at zero cost? It's Washington, not the private banks. ... running a balanced budget is probably the most important step we could take. It would mean that our government no longer needs to worry so much about financing its activities. Of course such an outcome is distant these days, mostly because American voters love both high government spending and relatively low taxes. ... - Marginal Revolution Blog

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WHY THE DERIVATIVES REFORM BILL MUST PASS - By Randall Wray - Randall Wray echoes Senator Lincoln’s calls for splitting up the risky derivatives business from commercial banks which ought to be serving the public good. - The Pragmatic Capitalist