Most people assume that the $700 billion figure in the Bush-Obama plan (formerly the Paulson plan) is based on a reasonable assessment of the illiquid assets that would be bought. Makes sense, right?
Wrong. Check out what Rick Sincere found over at Forbes (emphasis added):
In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.
“It’s not based on any particular data point,” a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. “We just wanted to choose a really large number.”
I know I feel better about the Bush-Obama plan now, Don’t you?
[...] RWL: Check out what Rick Sincere found over at Forbes (emphasis added): In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy. [...]