NPR Wrongly Tells Listeners that Goldman Sachs Repaid Its Taxpayer Aid

[Hannah Bell]

In the top of hour news segment on Morning Edition, NPR told its listeners that Goldman Sachs has repaid the taxpayer money it received. This is important because it is about to report that it earned approximately $1.8 billion in the 2nd quarter. It will also be giving large bonuses to its executives.

While Goldman did repay the money it received under the TARP, it did not repay the $13 billion (approximately equal to 3 million annual family TANF payments) that it received from the government through AIG. Nor has it repaid the $28 billion in government subsidized loans that it obtained by borrowing with an FDIC guarantee. In addition, it may still be using the Fed's special lending facilities to borrow money short-term at below market rates. (The Fed doesn't reveal who borrows its taxpayer dollars.)

The difference between the TARP money that Goldman did repay and the other funds, which it did not, is that the government imposed conditions on the TARP, such as restrictions on executive compensation. The other aid comes without conditions.

http://prospect.org/csnc/blogs/beat_the_press_archive?month=07&year=2009&base_name=npr_wrongly_tells_readers_that

[blindpig]

1. k&r

NPR= capitalist propaganda for the educated.

[Hydra]

2. Everyone keep hitting this point

The Tarp money they are "Paying back" is the equivalent of the bank robber handing over his change purse and saying, "We're all square, right?"

[malletgirl02]

3. "Robbing a bank is no crime compared owning one"

Quote from Happy End by Kurt Weill, Elisabeth Hauptmann, and Bertolt Brecht

[girl gone mad]

4. Techinically, Goldman didn't even repay all of TARP.

There are still an estimated $1.2 Billion in warrants outstanding and Goldman has been attempting to massively lowball the government on that deal, as several other banks have already done with success. Not to mention that Goldman used funds from the AIG bailout to pay off their TARP loan. How anyone can spin that move as paying the taxpayers back is beyond me.

[malletgirl02]

5. NPR

Isn't NPR at least partially funded by taxpayers? If that is true than it is even worst.

[Greyskye]

6. Son of a...

I passed that bad information along to my wife later that day. They better make an on-air addendum to that report. :mad:

[Sebass1271]

7. let's contact NPR and tell them they are wrong.

[troubledamerican]

8. Ask Glenn Greenwald about NPR's propaganda ministry

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/06/30/shepard/index.html