Today's Outrage: No Need for Government Greed

With all the banks lining up to repay the taxpayer loans they received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the government is faced with a dilemma: How much reward should Uncle Sam demand in return for the risks it took?

It's a multi-billion-dollar question. It's also a question the government might not be facing if lawmakers hadn't decided to take advantage of the situation and put in place so many rules such as restrictions on executive pay and hiring as well as the limits on the infamous bonuses. Those are among the reasons the banks want out of the bailout program so badly.

I know lawmakers were reacting to public outrage about a few unsettling reports about mega payouts to some folks at AIG (AIG Quote) and Bank of America's (BAC Quote) Merrill Lynch unit. The populist appeal of such restrictions continues to spur the Obama Administration and Congress to confront the executive pay issue. But that's another issue. ...