Reply #33: 750 billion was mentioned in the NY Times article and comes

[slipslidingaway]

from the recent budget proposal.

NY Times STORY
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/us/politics/08obama.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

"...The budget plan he released last month included a placeholder estimate of $250 billion for additional bank bailouts — an amount that represents the projected long-term cost to taxpayers of a $750 billion infusion into the financial sector — and in the interview Mr. Obama indicated that those figures were what he was likely to seek from Congress..."


NY Times TRANSCRIPT
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/us/politics/08obama-text.html?pagewanted=all

"Q. Can you envision allowing a major institution to fail? Can you say with certainty that you won’t need to ask Congress for any more money beyond the $250 billion placeholder in your budget.

A. I am absolutely committed to making sure that our financial system is stable. And so I think people can be assured that we’ll do whatever is required to keep that from happening. For example, that would mean preventing institutions that could cause systemic risks to the system being just left on their own. We’re going to make sure that the financial system is stabilized and in terms of the resources that are involved. We think the $250 billion placeholder is a pretty good estimate. We have no reason to revise that estimate that’s in the budget..."


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqcvi7_O_1nI&refer=home

"President Barack Obama’s administration will seek congressional approval for as much as $750 billion in new aid to bolster U.S. financial institutions if it is needed, White House budget director Peter Orszag said..."


http://www.propublica.org/article/obama-admins-budget-guesstimate-for-bailout-oh-around-750-billionish

"...The Obama administration's proposed budget today <2> (pdf) provides at least the clarity of an actual number: $750 billion. That's how much it cites as a guesstimate of the funds needed "for further efforts to stabilize the financial system." (See the full excerpt below.) The government should get about two-thirds of that investment back, today's blueprint says, meaning that the real cost would only be about $250 billion..."


Thanks for the transcript link, Obama has not asked for the money yet, although that is what they anticipate via the budget proposal. I agree that the headline should have made that point.

We think the $250 billion placeholder is a pretty good estimate. We have no reason to revise that estimate that’s in the budget..."