The projected long-term cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program will be cut by more than $200 billion thanks to speedy repayments by large banks and government spending on efforts to help stabilize financial markets. Back in August the Treasury department said TARP would cost $341 billion over the next ten years, but a new estimate puts that number at $141 billion, meaning the government now has $200 billion to play with. The White House has expressed interest in using that money on a jobs bill. Republicans, who want to use it to pay down the deficit, think spending the money on a jobs bill is a bad idea. Or, in the words, of House Minority Leader John Boehner: “The worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
