The headline on this morning’s Times, “As Big Banks Repay Bailout Money, U.S. Sees a Profit,” indicates yes! Now, we’re no math geniuses — in fact, we’re pretty sure we don’t remember how to do long division — but we can add and subtract, and we’re pretty sure that $750 billion (the amount the government “lent” troubled companies) minus $39 billion (the amount paid back so far) minus $4 billion (the interest) does not equal a profit just yet. Unless maybe the government has picked up some new funky accounting technique from their new friends on Wall Street? [NYT]
