Al,
You have caught me in a bad position. I have had a cold and then bronchitis for the last two weeks. I am completely congested. Not doing well.
It might have been a tax holiday v a mortgage halt. Not sure now. It was measured out as an alternative way of dealing with the meltdown.
Remember the swaps were more than just the tarp.
There were other costs to the US government for the losses of homes in capital loss write offs.
There were also capital losses for equity holdings.