This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re: "Zions Bancorp repays remaining $700M on bailout" (Tribune, Sept. 27):
No one can deny that Zions Bank is better off than it was four years ago. "Zions was among hundreds of banks that were issued funds in late 2008 under the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program. … About $245 billion went to 707 banks under TARP after their bad loans mounted. Treasury says it has recovered around $266 billion from banks."
The federal loan Zions Bank received was money well invested, considering the banking industry was on the verge of collapse. When tea party candidates complain about federal spending, they disrespect people who got loans to rebuild their homes after flooding, businesses that get loans from the Small Business Administration to grow their companies.
And they defy all logic when they look only to the military to keep America safe, dismissing the thousands of employees at agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Weather Service, Consumer Product Safety Commission, etc. From jets to nuclear power plants, viruses to weather forecasts, cribs to cars, we need a strong, functioning government in this modern, complicated world.
End the dangerous gridlock. Send moderates to Congress.
Judy Hardy
Sandy