On Sept. 29, 2008, the House of Representative voted down the proposed TARP legislation by a vote of 205 (yes) to 228 (no). On Oct. 3, 2008, the TARP legislation, with a few changes, passed the House of Representative by a vote of 263-171. In the Forum for this Week we will discuss issues, debates and events that surrounded the development and proposal of this legislation. What were the “big” issues with the TARP legislation? Why did the legislation initially fail to pass Congress? What were the consequences? What were some of the main issues in the evolution of the legislation, from the 4 page “Break-the-Glass” posted on Sept. 20, 2008, to the legislation passed on Oct. 3, to the changes made by the Secretary of Treasury on Oct. 12? Finally: Blinder argues that TARP was a success? Is he correct? If you have an opinion on this please voice it, and present some supporting evidence.
