Everyone's Outraged But Short on Facts

I'm disturbed at what's going on lately.  You could even say that I'm outraged!  That was the word of the week last week.

Now people are upset that JP Morgan Chase has plans to spend $135 million to on two jets.  OUTRAGE!

Yes, it is true that JP Morgan Chase accepted $25 billion from the government in TARP bailout dollars.  But what most people seem to be ignorant of is that the government forced JP Morgan Chase to take the money.

Here's an important section that's buried a New York Times piece:

Mr. Dimon and Richard Kovacevich, the chairman of Wells Fargo, have said that they shouldn’t be criticized for being forced to take bailout money alongside weaker competitors. (Remember that the government last year asked JPMorgan to buy Bear Stearns and chose its bid to acquire Washington Mutual.)

And if you follow that link the Times put in there, you'll read:

Like a growing number of rivals, Wells Fargo is now complaining about TARP, including a provision that lets Congress unilaterally impose new restrictions on recipients.

“Is this America, when you can do what your government asks you to do and then retroactively you also have additional conditions put on?” Mr. Kovacevich said after a speech at Stanford University on Friday, Reuters reports.

Unfortunately, this point is being left out in most media reports (and even when it is there, it's waaaay at the bottom, either below the fold or after the jump).  Instead, most of America hears this story: "The bailed out companies that were about to fail are giving their employees huge bonuses and buying new toys!"

I apologize for letting the facts get in the way of a good story.